Anthony Chickillo

Anthony Louis Nicholas Chickillo (born December 10, 1992) is a former American football linebacker who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, and Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Miami and was drafted by the Steelers in the sixth round (212th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Not to be confused with the defensive lineman, Tony Chickillo.

Anthony Chickillo
refer to caption
Chickillo with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015
No. 56, 91
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1992-12-10) December 10, 1992
Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school:Braulio Alonso (Tampa, Florida)
College:Miami (FL)
NFL Draft:2015 / Round: 6 / Pick: 212
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:108
Sacks:8.5
Forced fumbles:3
Fumble recoveries:3
Defensive touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Chickillo attended Gaither High School in Tampa, Florida prior to transferring to Braulio Alonso High School, which is also in Tampa, before his junior year. As a senior, he had 140 tackles, 18 sacks and two interceptions. Chickillo was named the MVP of the 2011 Under Armour All-America Game after he recorded 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.[1] He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and was ranked as the third best defensive end in his class.[2] He committed to the University of Miami to play college football.[3]

College career

Chickillo played at Miami from 2011 to 2014. He entered his freshman season as a backup before becoming a starter. After three games, he became a starter and would start the next 47 games through his senior year. He finished his career with 170 tackles and 15.5 sacks.[4][5]

Professional career

Coming out of college, Chickillo was projected by some analysts to be a fourth to sixth-round draft pick. He was rated the 13th-best defensive end out of the 148 available by NFLDraftScout.com. Many scouts were divided on what position he was best suited for and classified him as a tweener. He received mostly mixed reviews from analysts and was thought to be a future rotational defensive end.[6] Chickillo was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and was able to participate in the full workout and complete all the positional drills. He also attended Miami's Pro Day but was satisfied with his combine performance and only did positional workouts.[7]

External video
video icon Anthony Chickillo's NFL Combine Workout
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 3+1⁄8 in
(1.91 m)		 267 lb
(121 kg)		 33+1⁄2 in
(0.85 m)		 10+1⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		4.79 s1.66 s2.77 s4.25 s7.17 s34+1⁄2 in
(0.88 m)		9 ft 6 in
(2.90 m)		27 reps
All values from NFL Combine[6]

2015

On May 2, 2015, Chickillo was drafted by the Steelers in the sixth round (212th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft.[8] Chickillo was the 24th defensive end drafted in 2015.[9]

External video
video icon Steelers draft Anthony Chickillo 212th overall

On May 11, 2015, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Chickillo to a four-year, $2.37 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $73,700.[10][11]

On September 6, 2015, he was waived by the Steelers after initially making the 53-man roster. He was signed to the practice squad three days later. On September 30, 2015, Chickillo was activated from the practice squad to the Steelers' active roster.[12]

On October 18, 2015, he appeared in his first career game against the Arizona Cardinals. He appeared in seven regular-season games for the Steelers in his rookie year, recording six tackles and forcing a fumble. The following week, he recorded his first tackle during a 23–13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He had a season-high two tackles and forced a fumble during the Steelers' Week 17 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Chickillo finished his rookie season with a total of six combined tackles and a forced fumble, while appearing in seven regular-season contests and two postseason games.[13]

2016

He began his second season as the third left outside linebacker on the depth chart behind Bud Dupree and Arthur Moats.[14] Although he was mainly featured on special teams, he began to receive more reps as a rotational outside linebacker after Dupree missed the first ten games due to an abdominal injury.

On October 9, 2016, Chickillo recorded three solo tackles, a forced fumble, and his first career sack on New York Jets' quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, during the Steelers' 31–13 victory. The following week, he earned his first career start against the Miami Dolphins and finished the loss with three solo tackles. During a Week 9 13–21 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Chickillo made a season-high six combined tackles and was credited with a half a sack on Joe Flacco. The next game, he made a total of four tackles, forced a fumble, and sacked Dak Prescott during a 30–35 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.[13]

2017

On February 14, 2017, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Chickillo to a one-year, $615,000 restricted free agent tender.[10][15] He returned as the Steelers' third left outside linebacker behind Dupree and Moats, but began the regular season featured on special teams.

On September 10, in the season-opening 21–18 victory over the Cleveland Browns, Chickillo had two sacks. In addition, Tyler Matakevich blocked a punt, which Chickillo recovered in the end zone for his first career touchdown and gave the Steelers their first points of the season.[16]

2018

On March 13, 2018, the Pittsburgh Steelers extended an original round tender offer to Chickillo as a restricted free agent. On April 21, 2018, Chickillo officially signed his one-year, $1.90 million contract.[10][17]

2019

On March 12, 2019, Chickillo signed a two-year, $8 million contract extension with the Steelers.[18] After he was arrested for domestic violence on October 20, 2019,[19] he was placed on the exempt/commissioner's permission list on October 23, 2019.[20] The domestic violence charges were withdrawn on October 30, and he was brought back to the active roster on October 31.[21] On March 16, 2020, Chickillo was released.[22]

New Orleans Saints

On May 26, 2020, Chickillo signed with the New Orleans Saints.[23] He was released on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day.[24][25]

Denver Broncos

On September 18, 2020, the Denver Broncos signed Chickillo off the Saints' practice squad.[26] In Week 6 against the New England Patriots, Chickillo recorded his first sack as a Bronco on Cam Newton during the 18–12 win.[27]

Chickillo announced his retirement from professional football on July 11, 2021.[28]

Personal life

His father Tony Chickillo and grandfather Nick Chickillo both played at the University of Miami and in the NFL.[29]

References
  1. "Anthony Chickillo has a happy homecoming". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  2. "Anthony Chickillo". yahoo.com. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  3. "Anthony Chickillo follows heart, family to Miami". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  4. "Shrine Game gives Anthony Chickillo another chance to shine at Trop". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  5. "Anthony Chickillo seems happy to leave Miami Hurricanes defensive system – Canes Watch". palmbeachpost.com. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  6. "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles – Anthony Chickallo". NFL.com. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  7. "Anthony Chickillo, DS #13 DE, Miami: 2015 NFL Draft". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  8. "Steelers select LB Anthony Chickillo in the Sixth Round". Steelers.com. May 2, 2015. Archived from the original on December 26, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  9. "2015 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  10. "Spotrac.com: Anthony Chickillo contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  11. Bryan, Dave (May 2, 2015). "CAP Steelers Salary Cap: Looking Ahead At The Walton, Chickillo And Holliman Rookie Contracts". Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  12. "Steelers promote linebacker Anthony Chickillo". Steelers.com. September 30, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  13. "NFL Player Profile: Anthony Chickillo". NFL.com. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  14. "Ourlads.com: Pittsburgh Steelers Depth Chart". ourlads.com. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  15. Bryan, Dave (February 14, 2017). "Steelers Re-Sign Exclusive Rights Free Agent OLB Anthony Chickillo". SteelersDepot.com.
  16. "Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns - September 10th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  17. Chester, Simon (April 21, 2018). "Anthony Chickillo signs his RFA tender with Steelers". SteelersWire.USAToday.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  18. Williams, Charean (March 12, 2019). "Steelers re-signing Anthony Chickillo". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  19. Conroy, Anthony and Jonathan D. Silver (October 20, 2019). "Steelers' Anthony Chickillo arrested for assault in Fayette County, told by team to stay home Monday". Post-Gazette.com. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  20. Varley, Teresa (October 23, 2019). "Chickillo placed on exempt list; Elliott signed". Steelers.com. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  21. Pryor, Brooke (October 31, 2019). "Steelers' Anthony Chickillo removed from commissioner's exempt list". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  22. Varley, Teresa (March 16, 2020). "Steelers make multiple roster moves". Steelers.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  23. Gantt, Darin (May 21, 2020). "Anthony Chickillo signs one-year deal with Saints". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  24. "Saints announce 53-man roster reductions for 2020". NewOrleansSaints.com. September 5, 2020.
  25. "New Orleans Saints announce practice squad additions". NewOrleansSaints.com. September 6, 2020.
  26. DiLalla, Aric (September 18, 2020). "Broncos sign OLB Anthony Chickillo from New Orleans' practice squad". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  27. "Denver Broncos at New England Patriots - October 18th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  28. "Former Steelers LB Anthony Chickillo announces retirement". NFL.com. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  29. "Anthony Chickillo, one of the most-coveted defensive ends in the country, will sign Wednesday with the Hurricanes. – College Football News – FOX Sports on MSN". FOX Sports. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
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