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Yosh Nijman

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Yosh Nijman
refer to caption
Nijman with the Green Bay Packers in 2022
No. 77 – Carolina Panthers
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1996-01-02) January 2, 1996 (age 28)
Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:314 lb (142 kg)
Career information
High school:Columbia
(Maplewood, New Jersey)
College:Virginia Tech (2014–2018)
Undrafted:2019
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Games played:67
Games started:22
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Yosuah Hesdy Nijman (born January 2, 1996) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech.

Early life

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Born in Orange, New Jersey to Surinamese parents, Nijman was raised in nearby Maplewood and played prep football at Columbia High School.[1] While at Columbia High School, Nijman played as a offensive tackle for the Columbia Cougars.[2] Nijman later played one semester as a strongside defensive end with the Blue Devils while at Fork Union Military Academy, graduating in 2015.[3] Rated as a four-star recruiting prospect by Rivals.com and 247Sports, Nijman received offers from Temple, Miami and Virginia.[3][4]

College career

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The connections between Fork Union and Virginia Tech influenced Nijman to commit to VT as early as 2014. Despite earlier promises of playing as a defensive lineman for the Hokies, reconsiderations assigned him to play on the offensive line. During his freshman season in 2014, Nijman played in 12 games as a reservist. In his sophomore season in 2015, Nijman played in all 14 games as a starting left tackle. During his junior season in 2016, Nijman would only play 9 out of 14 games, missing the last 5 games due to injury. He returned to play his senior season as a left tackle, allowing room to assign Christian Darrisaw to right tackle. Another season-shortening injury caused Nijman to miss the team's final three games. After the 2018 season, Nijman entered the 2019 NFL draft.[4]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
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
6 ft 6+7⁄8 in
(2.00 m) 		324 lb
(147 kg) 		34 in
(0.86 m) 		10 in
(0.25 m)		 4.88 s 1.71 s 2.84 s 4.50 s 7.29 s 30.5 in
(0.77 m)		 9 ft 6 in
(2.90 m)		 27 reps
Sources:[5][6][7]
Nijman at Packers training camp in 2019.

Green Bay Packers

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After playing four years at Virginia Tech, Nijman was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent on May 3, 2019.[8] He was waived on August 31[9] and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[10] On November 26, he was promoted to the active roster;[11] however, on December 21, he was placed on injured reserve after suffering an elbow injury that would keep him out for the rest of the season.[12]

Nijman made the Packers' 53-man roster in 2020,[13] playing mostly on special teams.[14] He signed an exclusive-rights free agent tender with the Packers on May 6, 2021.[15][16]

Nijman was named the Packers' third-string left tackle to begin the 2021 season, behind David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins. After Jenkins injured his ankle in a Week 2 victory over the Detroit Lions, and with Bakhtiari still rehabilitating a torn ACL suffered during the 2020 season, Nijman made his first career start in a Week 3 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. With Jenkins remaining out, Nijman retained the starting job for a Week 4 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers and a Week 5 win against the Cincinnati Bengals[17] before Jenkins finally returned for a Week 6 win against the Chicago Bears.[18]

Nijman was dubbed the "World's Biggest Robot"[19] by teammate, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, after doing "The Robot" dance during a touchdown celebration. Rodgers praised Nijman for his play, stating that he "almost forgot about that side of the line", implying he trusted Nijman to protect his blindside.[20]

During the Packers' Week 11 game against the Minnesota Vikings, Jenkins suffered a season-ending knee injury. Nijman again stepped in during the game and remained the Packers' starting left tackle for the next several weeks. He missed several snaps during their Week 15 matchup with the Cleveland Browns, being replaced by fourth-string tackle Ben Braden, but returned later during the game.[21] On January 9 against the Detroit Lions, the Packers named five-time All-Pro David Bakhtiari the starter for the game after he missed nearly the entire regular-season with a knee injury sustained the previous year. Bakhtiari played most of the first half, but exited the game from fatigue and Nijman replaced him for the remainder of the game.[22] He signed his tender offer from the Packers on April 18, 2022, to keep him with the team.[23] In Week 7, Nijman was named the starting right tackle in place of Elgton Jenkins, who was moved from right tackle to left guard.[24]

Entering the 2023 offseason as a restricted free agent, the Packers placed a second round tender on Nijman on March 15, 2023.[25]

Carolina Panthers

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On March 18, 2024, Nijman signed a two-year contract with the Carolina Panthers.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Yosuah Nijman, Virginia Tech Hokies football. Retrieved October 25, 2020. "Hometown: Maplewood, N.J.; High School: Columbia... Born in Orange, New Jersey"
  2. ^ "247Sports" Recruitment Profile. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Rivals.com" Recruitment Profile. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Yosh Nijman, a NFL draft hopeful for Virginia Tech" 247 Sports Article. Sis, Matej. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  5. ^ "Yosh Nijman Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  6. ^ "2019 NFL Draft Scout Yosuah Nijman College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "Yosuah Nijman 2019 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  8. ^ "Packers sign 11 rookie free agents". Packers.com. May 3, 2019. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  9. ^ "Packers announce roster moves". Packers.com. August 31, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  10. ^ "Packers sign 10 players to practice squad". Packers.com. September 1, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  11. ^ Huber, Bill (September 1, 2019). "Packers Promote Nijman to 53-Man Roster". Packers.com. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  12. ^ Williams, Charean (December 21, 2019). "Packers place Yosh Nijman on injured reserve, sign John Leglue". NBCSports.com. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  13. ^ Spofford, Mike (September 5, 2020). "Here's the Packers' initial 53-man roster". Packers.com. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  14. ^ "Yosuah Nijman Stats". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  15. ^ "2021 NFL Transactions: Signings – May". National Football League. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  16. ^ "Yosh Nijman signs tender". Yahoo! Sport. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  17. ^ Wilde, Jason (September 26, 2021). "Down to third option at left tackle, Packers opt for unproven Yosh Nijman against 49ers". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  18. ^ Huber, Bill (October 15, 2021). "With Guarded Optimism, Packers Ready to Tackle Jenkins' Return". Sports Illustrated Green Bay Packers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  19. ^ Wilde, Jason (November 26, 2021). "Again missing David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins, Packers turn once more to 'the world's biggest Robot' at left tackle – Yosh Nijman". Madison.com. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  20. ^ Schneidman, Matt (November 29, 2021). "Aaron Rodgers told Yosh Nijman..." Retrieved March 4, 2023 – via Twitter.[non-primary source needed]
  21. ^ "Green Bay Packers offensive line suffers more losses against Browns". On3. December 26, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  22. ^ "Packers LT David Bakhtiari exited season debut due to fatigue". Packers Wire. January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  23. ^ Alper, Josh (April 19, 2022). "Packers re-sign six as offseason program gets going". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  24. ^ Huber, Bill (October 23, 2022). "Packers Unveil New Offensive Line vs. Commanders". Sports Illustrated Green Bay Packers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  25. ^ Simmons, Myles (March 15, 2023). "Packers tender RFA Yosh Nijman". NBCSports.com. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  26. ^ Gantt, Darin (March 19, 2024). "Panthers agree to terms with tackle Yosh Nijman". Panthers.com. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
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