Peter Henry Metzelaars(born May 24, 1960) is an American former professionalfootballplayer who was atight endfor 16 seasons in theNational Football League(NFL) with theSeattle Seahawks,theBuffalo Bills,theCarolina Panthersand theDetroit Lions.He playedcollege footballfor theWabash Little Giantsand was selected by the Seahawks in the third round of the1982 NFL draft.
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| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | May 24, 1960 Three Rivers, Michigan,U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 254 lb (115 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Central(Portage, Michigan) | ||||||||
| College: | Wabash | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1982/ round: 3 / pick: 75 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| As a coach: | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early life and college
editMetzelaars played high school football atPortage Central High SchoolinPortage, Michigan,[1]and played college football atWabash College,graduating from Wabash in 1982.[1]While at Wabash, he played for an undefeated football team, while also leading the basketball team to theNCAA Division III national championshipas a senior and being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. During his senior year, he earnedAcademic All-Americanhonors[2]In football, he was coached byStan Parrishand in basketball coached by legendary basketball coach Mac Petty.
Professional career
editMetzelaars was taken in the 3rd round with the 75th pick bySeattlein the1982 NFL draft.He played for three seasons in Seattle before being traded to theBillsin 1985. WhenJim Kellyjoined the Bills in 1986, Metzelaars became a productive part of the offense. He played with the Bills in their 4Super Bowllosses from 1990 to 1993, and scored a touchdown inSuper Bowl XXVI.Metzelaars' best season was in 1993, when he caught 68 passes for 609 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Metzelaars was not re-signed by the Bills after the 1994 season. He then signed a three-year, $2.4 million deal[3]with theCarolina Panthers.He caught the first touchdown pass in Carolina franchise history,[4]but only played one season for them. He finished his career by playing two seasons for theDetroit Lions,starting in 17 of the 31 games he appeared in while splitting time withDavid Sloan.The Lions offensive coordinator in 1996 wasTom Moore.Metzelaars would go on to work alongside Moore later in their careers.
Metzelaars finished his 16 NFL seasons with 383receptionsfor 3,686 yards and 29touchdownsin 235 games. At the time of his retirement, his 235 games were the most ever played by a tight end in NFL history.
NFL career statistics
edit| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1982 | SEA | 9 | 2 | 15 | 152 | 10.1 | 26 | 0 |
| 1983 | SEA | 16 | 7 | 7 | 72 | 10.3 | 17 | 1 |
| 1984 | SEA | 9 | 4 | 5 | 80 | 16.0 | 25 | 0 |
| 1985 | BUF | 16 | 8 | 12 | 80 | 6.7 | 13 | 1 |
| 1986 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 49 | 485 | 9.9 | 44 | 3 |
| 1987 | BUF | 12 | 12 | 28 | 290 | 10.4 | 34 | 0 |
| 1988 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 33 | 438 | 13.3 | 35 | 1 |
| 1989 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 18 | 179 | 9.9 | 23 | 2 |
| 1990 | BUF | 16 | 5 | 10 | 60 | 6.0 | 12 | 1 |
| 1991 | BUF | 16 | 1 | 5 | 54 | 10.8 | 51 | 2 |
| 1992 | BUF | 16 | 7 | 30 | 298 | 9.9 | 53 | 6 |
| 1993 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 68 | 609 | 9.0 | 51 | 4 |
| 1994 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 49 | 428 | 8.7 | 35 | 5 |
| 1995 | CAR | 14 | 14 | 20 | 171 | 8.6 | 27 | 3 |
| 1996 | DET | 15 | 11 | 17 | 146 | 8.6 | 20 | 0 |
| 1997 | DET | 16 | 6 | 17 | 144 | 8.5 | 22 | 0 |
| 235 | 157 | 383 | 3,686 | 9.6 | 53 | 29 | ||
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1983 | SEA | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 1 |
| 1984 | SEA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | BUF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 14 | 0 |
| 1989 | BUF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | BUF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1991 | BUF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 14 | 1 |
| 1992 | BUF | 4 | 4 | 8 | 72 | 9.0 | 24 | 0 |
| 1993 | BUF | 3 | 3 | 10 | 80 | 8.0 | 17 | 0 |
| 1997 | DET | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | 14 | 23 | 194 | 8.4 | 24 | 2 | ||
Coaching career
editAfter retiring, Metzelaars moved into the coaching ranks as theoffensive coordinatoratCharlotte Christian Schoolfrom 1998 to 2002. In 2003, Metzelaars joinedWingate Universityas an assistant offensive coach but also coached inNFL EuropewithBarcelonaduring the off-season. He also was an intern with theIndianapolis Coltsduring their 2003 training camp, assisting with the tight ends underoffensive coordinatorTom Moore.In 2004, Metzelaars joined the Colts staff full-time as the offensive quality control coach. After reaching four Super Bowls with theBuffalo Billsas a player, he finally won aringwith the Colts' triumph inSuper Bowl XLI.[4]In 2012, Metzelaars joined the Buffalo Bills staff full-time as the tight ends coach. He, along with the entire Bills coaching staff, was dismissed on December 31, 2012. On January 24, 2014, Metzelaars became tight ends coach for theSan Diego Chargers,replacingJason Michaelwho left to be offensive coordinator for theTennessee Titans.He was reunited with former Buffalo Bills teammateFrank Reich,who was promoted to be the Chargers' new offensive coordinator.[5][6][7]
In 2018, Metzelaars became the offensive line coach for theAtlanta Legendsof the newly formedAlliance of American Football.[8]
In 2023 he joined theHelvetic Guardsof theEuropean League of Football(ELF) as thespecial teams coordinatorand tight ends coach.[9]However, On 4 April 2024, the team announced the end of operations.[10]
Personal life
editMetzelaars and his wife, Barbara, have two sons: Anthony and Jonathan.
In 2011, Metzelaars was inducted into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame.[2]
References
edit- ^ab"Profile for Pete Metzelaars".RetrievedJuly 31,2007.
- ^ab"Peter Metzelaars".Capital One Academic All-America Hall of Fame.Archived fromthe originalon February 27, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 25,2014.
- ^"SPORTS PEOPLE: FOOTBALL; Two More for Panthers".The New York Times.March 9, 1995.RetrievedJanuary 2,2007.
- ^ab"PETE METZELAARS '82 FINALLY GETS HIS SUPER BOWL RING".wabash.edu.February 6, 2007.
- ^Gaughan, Mark (December 31, 2012)."Bills make it official: Gailey is fired".The Buffalo News.Archived fromthe originalon January 2, 2013.RetrievedDecember 31,2012.
- ^"Chargers hire Pete Metzelaars".U-T San Diego.January 24, 2014.
- ^"Chargers Hire Metzelaars as Tight Ends Coach".chargers.January 24, 2014.
- ^Alper, Josh (October 9, 2018)."AAF teams continue building coaching staffs".Profootballtalk.RetrievedOctober 12,2018.
- ^"Helvetic Guards announce changes in the coaching staff with Super Bowl champions".europeanleague.football.February 12, 2023.RetrievedMay 8,2024.
- ^"DIE HELVETIC GUARDS STELLEN DEN BETRIEB EIN – ERSATZTEAM STEHT IN DEN STARTLÖCHERN"[The Helvetic Guards cancel operations – Replacement team is in the starting holes].endzone.ch(in German). April 4, 2024.RetrievedMay 8,2024.
External links
edit- San Diego Chargers profile
- Career statistics fromNFL·Pro Football Reference