_(cropped).jpg) Izien with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023 | |||||||||||
| No. 29 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |||||||||||
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| Position | Safety | ||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (2000-06-08)June 8, 2000 (age 25) Far Rockaway, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Erasmus Hall (Flatbush, New York) | ||||||||||
| College | Rutgers (2018–2022) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2023: undrafted | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||
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Christian Izien (born June 8, 2000) is an American professionalfootballsafety for theTampa Bay Buccaneers of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theRutgers Scarlet Knights and was signed by the Buccaneers as anundrafted free agent after the2023 NFL draft.
Izien was born on June 8, 2000.[1] He grew up inFar Rockaway, New York, and attendedErasmus Hall High School.[2] A two-way player as acornerback andwide receiver, he earned New York City Defensive Player of the Year honors as asenior.[3] Ranked a three-star recruit, he opted to be near home by committing to playcollege football for theRutgers Scarlet Knights.[4]
As a truefreshman at Rutgers in 2018, Izien appeared in four games as aspecial teams player.[2] He played all 12 games as asophomore, totaling a secondary-leading 78tackles while starting seven times.[4] He started all nine games in theCOVID-19-shortened 2020 season, leading the team with fourinterceptions while also having 66 tackles.[4][5] Izien started all 13 games in 2021, being named honorable mention all-conference while having 75 tackles.[2][4] He again started every game in 2022, finishing with 41 consecutive starts while having 80 tackles on the year, earning another honorable mention all-conference selection.[2][4] Izien declared for the2023 NFL draft and was invited to theHula Bowl andEast–West Shrine Bowl.[6]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft8+3⁄4 in (1.75 m) | 199 lb (90 kg) | 30+7⁄8 in (0.78 m) | 9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 4.43 s | 1.59 s | 2.50 s | 4.25 s | 6.81 s | 41.5 in (1.05 m) | 9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) | 20 reps | |
| All values fromPro Day[7] | ||||||||||||
After going unselected in the 2023 NFL draft, Izien was signed by theTampa Bay Buccaneers as anundrafted free agent.[8] He impressed in the off-season and made the final roster, being named the startingnickelback as arookie.[9][10][11] He had interceptions in his first two games, becoming only the fourth undrafted player in NFL history to accomplish the feat.[12] As a rookie, he appeared in all 17 regular season games and made four starts. He finished with 65 total tackles (47 solo), two interceptions, two passes defended, and one forced fumble.[13]
Izien made 14 appearances (10 starts) for Tampa Bay in 2024, totaling one interception, three pass deflections, one forced fumble, and 75 combined tackles. On December 26, 2024, Izien was placed on injured reserve with a pectoral injury, ending his season.[14]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)