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Justin Zimmer

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Justin Zimmer
refer to caption
Zimmer with the Buffalo Bills in 2021
No. 92, 99, 61, 96
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1992-10-23) October 23, 1992 (age 32)
Greenville, Michigan, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:300 lb (136 kg)
Career information
High school:Greenville (MI)
College:Ferris State
Undrafted:2016
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:35
Sacks:2.0
Forced fumbles:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Stats at CFL.ca

Justin Zimmer (born October 23, 1992) is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at Ferris State University. Professionally, he has been a member of the Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, and Miami Dolphins of the NFL, in addition to the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

College career

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Zimmer played four seasons for the Ferris State Bulldogs, compiling a total of 216 tackles, 26 sacks, 48.5 tackles for a loss, 1 interception, 1 touchdown, 14 pass deflections, 9 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 3 blocked kicks. He was a three time first-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, a two time Division II All-American, and a three time Division II Academic All-American.[1]

Professional career

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Buffalo Bills (first stint)

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Zimmer signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent on May 6, 2016.[2] He was waived by the Bills on August 30, 2016.[3]

New Orleans Saints

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On December 13, 2016, Zimmer was signed to the practice squad of the New Orleans Saints.[4] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Saints on January 2, 2017.[5] He was waived on September 2, 2017.[6]

Montreal Alouettes

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Zimmer signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on September 21, 2017, and was added to the team's practice roster.[7] He was promoted to the active roster and appeared in the Alouettes' final game of the season, recording three tackles and one sack.[8]

Atlanta Falcons

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On April 17, 2018, Zimmer was signed by the Atlanta Falcons.[9] Zimmer made the Falcons' 53-man roster, and made his regular season debut in Week 3.[10] He was waived by the Falcons on October 2, 2018, and was re-signed to the practice squad.[11][12] On December 4, 2018, Zimmer was signed to the Falcons’ 53-man roster.[13]

On August 31, 2019, Zimmer was waived by the Falcons and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[14][15]

Cleveland Browns

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On December 3, 2019, Zimmer was signed by the Cleveland Browns off the Falcons' practice squad.[16] The Browns waived Zimmer with a non-football injury designation on July 31, 2020.[17]

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

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Zimmer greets Bills fans in 2021

On August 16, 2020, Zimmer signed with the Buffalo Bills.[18] He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day.[19][20] He was elevated to the active roster on September 12 and October 19 for the team's weeks 1 and 6 games against the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, and reverted to the practice squad the day after each game.[21][22] He was signed to active roster on October 21.[23]

In Week 8 against the New England Patriots, Zimmer made a key play late in the fourth quarter, punching the ball out of Patriots quarterback Cam Newton's hands on a quarterback keeper as New England was driving down the field to either tie or win the game. The forced fumble and recovery by teammate Dean Marlowe sealed a 24–21 Bills win.[24] In Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals, Zimmer recorded his first career sack on Kyler Murray during the 32–30 loss.[25] During the Bills' Divisional Round matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, Zimmer recorded a top speed of 18.45 miles per hour on an interception return, which was the second fastest speed by a Defensive Tackle during the 2020-21 season.

During the 2021 season, Zimmer was placed on injured reserve with a season-ending knee injury on November 11.[26] He became a free agent after the season, but was re-signed to the Bills' practice squad on October 4, 2022.[27]

Miami Dolphins

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On November 23, 2022, Zimmer was signed by the Miami Dolphins off the Bills' practice squad.[28] On December 31, Zimmer was placed on season–ending injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.[29]

References

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  1. ^ Scheldt, Marshall (May 1, 2016). "Justin Zimmer signs with Bills". The Ferris State Torch. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  2. ^ Florio, Mike (May 2, 2016). "Bills announce deals with 14 undrafted free agents". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  3. ^ Brown, Chris (August 30, 2016). "Reserve/PUP for Shaq Lawson; WR Little among cuts to get to 75". BuffaloBills.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  4. ^ Dabe, Christopher (December 13, 2016). "New Orleans Saints sign defensive tackle Justin Zimmer to practice squad". NOLA.com. The Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  5. ^ Hendrix, John (January 2, 2017). "New Orleans Saints sign seven players to reserve/future deals". CanalStreetChronicles.com. SB Nation. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  6. ^ "New Orleans Saints make 37 roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  7. ^ Wallner, Peter (September 21, 2017). "Former Ferris State standout Justin Zimmer signs with CFL team". The Grand Rapids Press. MLive.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  8. ^ Woodroof, Cory (April 17, 2018). "Falcons sign ex-Seahawks DT Garrison Smith, DT Justin Zimmer, CB Tyson Graham". TheFalcoholic.com. SB Nation. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  9. ^ McFadden, Will (April 17, 2018). "Falcons announce signing of three defensive players". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  10. ^ "Justin Zimmer Career Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  11. ^ Conway, Kelsey (October 2, 2018). "Falcons sign former Jaguars' defensive tackle Michael Bennett". AtlantaFalcons.com.
  12. ^ Conway, Kelsey (October 4, 2018). "Falcons sign defensive tackle Justin Zimmer to practice squad, waive cornerback Taveze Calhoun". AtlantaFalcons.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  13. ^ Tabeek, Matthew (December 4, 2018). "Falcons place Josh Harris on injured reserve, promote Justin Zimmer to active roster". AtlantaFalcons.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  14. ^ McFadden, Will (August 31, 2019). "Falcons 2019 roster announced". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  15. ^ McFadden, Will (September 1, 2019). "Falcons sign seven players to practice squad". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  16. ^ "Browns sign DT Justin Zimmer, make other roster moves". ClevelandBrowns.com. December 3, 2019.
  17. ^ "Browns release 4 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  18. ^ "Bills sign DTs Justin Zimmer and Tanzel Smart". BuffaloBills.com. August 16, 2020.
  19. ^ Brown, Chris (September 5, 2020). "Bills announce these moves to get to the 53-man roster limit". BuffaloBills.com.
  20. ^ "Bills announce the initial 2020 practice squad". BuffaloBills.com. September 6, 2020.
  21. ^ "Cam Lewis, Justin Zimmer elevated from practice squad for Jets game". BuffaloBills.com. September 12, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  22. ^ @BuffaloBills (October 19, 2020). "We've elevated DE Bryan Cox, Jr. and DT Justin Zimmer for tonight's game. #KCvsBUF" (Tweet). Retrieved October 31, 2020 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "Bills promote DT Justin Zimmer to the 53-man roster". BuffaloBills.com. October 21, 2020.
  24. ^ Reporter, Jay Skurski News Sports (November 1, 2020). "10 observations: Justin Zimmer's forced fumble saves the day for Bills". The Buffalo News. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  25. ^ "Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals - November 15th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  26. ^ "Bills sign Cam Lewis to 53-man roster; Justin Zimmer place on injured reserve + other moves announced". BuffaloBills.com. November 11, 2021.
  27. ^ Boccachino, John; Warren, Matt (March 16, 2022). "2022 NFL Free Agency: Bills tender OG Ryan Bates, but not DT Justin Zimmer". buffalorumblings.com. Vox Media, LLC. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  28. ^ "Miami Dolphins sign Zimmer". MiamiDolphins.com. November 23, 2022.
  29. ^ "Dolphins make a flurry of roster moves ahead of Patriots game". dolphinswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
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