Brian de la Puente

Brian Loomis de la Puente[1] (born May 13, 1985) is a former American football center. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2008.

Brian de la Puente
refer to caption
de la Puente with the New Orleans Saints in 2012
No. 60, 64
Position:Center
Personal information
Born: (1985-05-13) May 13, 1985
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:306 lb (139 kg)
Career information
High school:San Clemente
(San Clemente, California)
College:California
Undrafted:2008
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:61
Games started:50
Player stats at NFL.com

De la Puente has also been a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, and Washington Redskins.

Early life

De la Puente is Jewish on his mother Carrie's side,[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] and was born in Los Angeles, California.[9] His maternal grandmother was also Jewish.[2][6] His grandfather on his father's side is of Mexican descent.[10]

He attended San Clemente High School, where he played football, basketball, and volleyball, was on the track and field team, and was a member of the Superintendent's Honor Roll.[9] He knows sign language, as his youngest sister is deaf.[11]

He played college football at California, where he was a legal studies major.[9]

Professional career

First stint with 49ers (2008)

After going undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft, De La Puente was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent on May 1. He was waived during final cuts on August 30.

Kansas City Chiefs (2008–09)

De la Puente was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs on August 31, 2008.[12] He was inactive for the team's first seven games before being released on October 29. The Chiefs re-signed him to the practice squad the following day.

De la Puente was re-signed to a future contract by the Chiefs on December 30, 2008. He was waived on August 24, 2009, when the team acquired offensive linemen Andy Alleman and Ikechuku Ndukwe from the Miami Dolphins.[13]

Seattle Seahawks (2009)

De la Puente was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Seahawks on August 25, 2009, after the team waived guard Grey Ruegamer.[14] He was cut on September 5, and added to the practice squad on September 16. He was cut from the practice squad on September 22, and re-added on September 30.[15]

Carolina Panthers (2009–10)

De la Puente was signed to the Carolina Panthers' practice squad on November 17.

Second stint with 49ers (2010)
De la Puente at 49ers training camp in August 2010

De la Puente signed a future contract with the San Francisco 49ers on January 22, 2010. He was waived on September 4.

Second stint with Seahawks (2010)

De la Puente was signed to the Seattle Seahawks' practice squad on September 16, 2010. He was released on September 21.

New Orleans Saints (2010–13)

De la Puente was signed to the Saints practice squad on October 15, 2010, and spent the rest of the season there.

In 2011, Saints starting center Jonathan Goodwin left to join the San Francisco 49ers, and the Saints signed longtime Chicago Bears star Olin Kreutz to replace him. De la Puente filled in effectively when Kreutz was injured early in the season, then found himself as the starter when Kreutz unexpectedly decided to retire in mid-season. De la Puente continued to play well as the Saints set offensive records for the season[16] and the offensive line won its second Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award in three years.

De la Puente continued to hold the starting center position through the 2012 season. In its 2012 season-end review, Pro Football Focus, calling de la Puente "the least well known player on the line", rated him as the team's highest-performing lineman in 2012.[17]

A restricted free agent after the 2012 season, on April 9, 2013, de la Puente signed the Saints' one-year tender. He was paid $2.023 million for the 2013 season.[18] He started 16 games for the second season in a row.[19]

Over the three seasons De La Puente started for the Saints, he received grades of +6.1 (2013), +23.0 (2012), and +6.1 (2011) from Pro Football Focus.[20]

The New York Daily News reported that the Giants indicated interest in him in March 2014.[19][21]

Chicago Bears (2014)

De la Puente was signed to a one-year deal by the Chicago Bears on April 6, 2014.[22] De la Puente was placed on injured reserve on November 26 due to an ankle injury.[23]

Washington Redskins (2015-16)

De la Puente was signed with the Washington Redskins on November 10, 2015.[24] He was waived on January 5, 2016.[25]

See also

References
  1. According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searchable at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/39461
  2. "2011 NFL Football Preview". Jewish Sports Review. 8 (87): 6–7. September 15, 2011.
  3. Seth Berkman (September 5, 2012). "Are Ya Ready for Some (Jewish) Football?". The Forward. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  4. Fine, Jeremy (January 3, 2013). "Wrapping Up the Jewish NFL Season". The Great Rabbino. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  5. Bloom, Nate (September 22, 2011). "Celebrity Jews". Jweekly. Retrieved March 14, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "Jews in the News", by Nate Bloom in Arts & Culture, Pro Football, 2011, Let My People Go, September 2011
  7. Ron Kaplan (December 1, 2011). "Welcome to the club, Brian De La Puente (Updated) » Kaplan's Korner on Jews and Sports". New Jersey Jewish News. Archived from the original on March 29, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  8. Ron Snyder (October 18, 2012). "Active Jewish NFL Players". Baltimore Jewish Times. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  9. "Brian De La Puente Bio". Calbears.com. May 13, 1985. Archived from the original on March 15, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  10. ITB: Big Guys, Cars - De la Puente
  11. Restrepo, Alex. "Brian de la Puente". New Orleans Saints. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  12. "Kansas City Claims G Brian De La Puente and LB Erik Walden on Waivers". kcchiefs.com. August 31, 2008. Archived from the original on September 3, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2008.
  13. kcchiefs.com Archived August 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  14. "Danny O'Neil: However, roster update is". Twitter.com. August 25, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  15. "Seattle Seahawks Transactions at". Nfl.com. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  16. "Saints Questions: Can de la Puente, Collins maintain their surprisingly high level?" Archived September 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, WWL-TV, July 11, 2012.
  17. Khaled Elsayed, "Ranking the 2012 Offensive Lines", Pro Football Focus, January 28, 2013.
  18. Larry Holder, "Center Brian de la Puente signs RFA tender with New Orleans Saints", Times-Picayune, April 9, 2013.
  19. "NFL free agency: Giants express interest in Saints C Brian De La Puente". NJ.com. March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  20. "Giants' Free Agency 2014: Andrew Quarless, Brian De La Puente draw interest". Big Blue View. March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  21. "Report: Giants show "interest" in Brian de la Puente | ProFootballTalk". nbcsports.com. March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  22. Biggs, Brad (April 6, 2014). "Bears add veteran center de la Puente". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  23. Alper, Josh (November 26, 2014). "Bears place Brian de la Puente on injured reserve". Profootballtalk.com. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  24. Keim, John (November 10, 2015). "Redskins lose Kory Lichtensteiger for rest of regular season". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  25. Keim, John (January 5, 2016). "Redskins place Kyshoen Jarrett on IR, activate Kory Lichtensteiger". ESPN. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
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