Shaquille Olajuwon Mason (born August 28, 1993) is an American professional football offensive guard for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). Mason played college football at Georgia Tech from 2011 to 2014[1] and was selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft.

Shaq Mason
refer to caption
Mason with the Patriots in 2017
No. 69 – Houston Texans
Position:Guard
Personal information
Born: (1993-08-28) August 28, 1993 (age 31)
Columbia, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:310 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school:Columbia Central
(Columbia, Tennessee)
College:Georgia Tech (2011–2014)
NFL draft:2015 / round: 4 / pick: 131
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 1, 2024
Games played:138
Games started:133
Stats at Pro Football Reference

College career

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Mason with Georgia Tech in 2014

Mason played 11 games as a true freshman in 2011. From 2012 to 2014, he started in 39 of the Yellow Jackets' 41 games, including every game as a junior and senior. Mason was first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013 and 2014 as well as first-team All-American in 2014.[2]

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 1+34 in
(1.87 m)
304 lb
(138 kg)
32+18 in
(0.82 m)
9+12 in
(0.24 m)
4.99 s 1.75 s 2.82 s 4.65 s 7.53 s 32.0 in
(0.81 m)
9 ft 2 in
(2.79 m)
25 reps
All values from Pro Day[3]

New England Patriots

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On May 2, 2015, Mason was selected in the fourth round (131st overall) by the New England Patriots.[4] Mason appeared in 14 games with 10 starts for the Patriots as a rookie.[5]

Mason broke his hand during the 2016 preseason and did not start in the season opener against the Arizona Cardinals but split time at right guard with rookie Ted Karras.[6] Since then, he started every game at right guard for the Patriots.

On February 5, 2017, Mason was part of the Patriots team that won Super Bowl LI. In the game, the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime.[7]

In 2017, Mason started all 16 games at right guard for the Patriots. He started in Super Bowl LII, but gave up the strip sack that ultimately proved to be the biggest play of the game. The Patriots lost 41–33 to the Philadelphia Eagles.

On August 27, 2018, Mason signed a five-year, $50 million contract extension with the Patriots.[8] He started 14 games at right guard in 2018, missing two with a calf injury. He was given a grade of 82.1 by Pro Football Focus in the regular season, the highest grade of any guard in the league.[9] Mason played every offensive snap in Super Bowl LIII and the Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13–3.[10]

Mason was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Patriots on October 17, 2020,[11] and activated on October 21.[12]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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On March 15, 2022, Mason was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a fifth round pick in the 2022 NFL draft.[13] The trade reunited him with star quarterback Tom Brady.

Houston Texans

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On March 20, 2023, the Buccaneers traded Mason and a 2023 seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft.[14][15] He signed a three-year, $36 million contract extension on May 10, 2023.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Shaquille Mason bio". ramblinwreck.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  2. ^ "Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – Georgia Tech Athletics". Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  3. ^ "Shaquille Mason, Georgia Tech, C, 2015 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  4. ^ "Patriots draft Mason". nesn.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  5. ^ "Shaq Mason | New England Patriots". www.patriots.com. Archived from the original on May 6, 2015.
  6. ^ Cox, Zach (August 21, 2016). "Patriots Guard Shaq Mason Reportedly Has Broken Hand; Timetable Unknown". NESN.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  7. ^ "Super Bowl LI – New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons – February 5th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  8. ^ Teope, Herbie (August 27, 2018). "Shaq Mason agrees to 5-year, $50M Patriots extension". NFL.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  9. ^ "Best player at every position in the NFL in 2018". Pro Football Focus. January 3, 2019. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  10. ^ "Georgia Tech Football: Former Jacket Shaq Mason wins Super Bowl 53". February 4, 2019. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  11. ^ Reiss, Mike (October 17, 2020). "New England Patriots place Sony Michel, Shaq Mason, Derek Rivers on reserve/COVID-19 list". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  12. ^ Roche, Conor (October 21, 2020). "Patriots remove three players from COVID list; place Jermaine Eluemunor on IR". Boston.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  13. ^ Shook, Nick (March 15, 2022). "Patriots trading guard Shaq Mason to Buccaneers for fifth-round draft pick". NFL.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  14. ^ Smith, Scott (March 15, 2023). "Bucs Trade Shaq Mason to Texans". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  15. ^ Houston Texans Public Relations (March 20, 2023). "Houston Texans Transactions (3-20-2023)". HoustonTexans.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  16. ^ Baca, Michael (May 10, 2023). "Texans signing OG Shaq Mason to three-year, $36 million extension". NFL.com.
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