Anthony Cioffi (born August 26, 1994) is an American football safety and linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football for Rutgers University, where he was a four-year starter, as a cornerback his freshman and sophomore years, as a free safety his junior year, and as a strong safety in his senior season.[1] He was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He spent two years on the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks before signing a futures/reserves contract with the New York Jets of the National Football League. In January 2021, Cioffi signed with the BC Lions.[2]
 Cioffi before a Redblacks game in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | August 26, 1994 Springfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Springfield (NJ) Dayton |
| College: | Rutgers |
| Position: | Safety, Linebacker |
| Undrafted: | 2017 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at CFL.ca | |
Early years
editAnthony's parents, Jerry and Josephine Cioffi, own a deli in his hometown of Springfield, NJ. His mother is an Italian teacher at Florence M. Gaudineer Middle School while his father and other family members runs the deli, Cioffi's Deli and Pizza. Known for his exceptional speed, Sports Illustrated noted in an April 2017 feature that "...Cioffi and BYU's Micah Hannemann were the only white corners to start for a BCS school recently. Cioffi had earned his way into that coveted corner spot after a stellar high school career at Jonathan Dayton in Springfield, New Jersey and by winning the 2012 Group 1 state title in the 100 meters with a time of 10.86. Cioffi defeated the favorite in that state title race, Anthony Averett, who is now a cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens. He graduated high school with a 2.3 GPA"[3]
Professional career
editOakland Raiders
editCioffi signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2017.[4] He was waived on September 2, 2017.[5]
Ottawa Redblacks
editOn April 19, 2018, Cioffi signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[6]
New York Jets
editOn February 13, 2020, Cioffi was signed to a two-year deal by the New York Jets.[7] He was waived on August 15, 2020,[8] but re-signed a week later.[9] He was waived again on August 25, 2020.[10]
BC Lions
editOn January 13, 2021, it was announced that Cioffi had signed a one-year contract with the BC Lions.[11] He played in 10 regular season games where he had 23 defensive tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble. He was released prior to free agency on January 11, 2022.[12]
Tampa Bay Bandits
editOn February 23, 2022, on the second day of the 2022 USFL draft, the Tampa Bay Bandits picked Cioffi with the 5th pick of the 19th round.
Cioffi and all other Tampa Bay Bandits players were all transferred to the Memphis Showboats after it was announced that the Bandits were taking a hiatus and that the Showboats were joining the league.[13]
On January 21, 2023, Cioffi was released by the Showboats.[14]
Vegas Vipers
editAfter participating in the XFL Combine, Cioffi's league playing rights were acquired by the Vegas Vipers on August 9, 2023.[15] He signed with the team on October 18, 2023.[16] The Vipers folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[17]
St. Louis Battlehawks
editOn January 5, 2024, Cioffi was selected by the St. Louis Battlehawks during the 2024 UFL dispersal draft.[18] He was released on March 10, 2024.[19]
References
edit- ^ "SCARLETKNIGHTS.COM Anthony Cioffi Bio – Official Athletic Site Official Athletic Site – Football". www.scarletknights.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014.
- ^ "Raiders and Rutgers' Cioffi: Match made in speed heaven?". April 30, 2017.
- ^ "The White Cornerback: NFL players past and present open up about race at the position". SI.com. April 26, 2017.
- ^ "Raiders Announce Undrafted Free Agent Signings". Raiders.com. May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017.
- ^ "Raiders Announce Transactions". Raiders.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
- ^ "Transactions: April 19, 2018 – Ottawa REDBLACKS". Ottawa REDBLACKS. April 19, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ^ Lange, Randy (February 13, 2020). "Jets Sign S Anthony Cioffi". NewYorkJets.com.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (August 15, 2020). "Jets Sign TE Connor Davis, Release S Anthony Cioffi". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (August 22, 2020). "Jets Sign S Anthony Cioffi, Release TE Connor Davis". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
- ^ "Jets Sign RB Pete Guerriero, Waive S Anthony Cioffi". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
- ^ "Lions Bolster Secondary with Addition of Anthony Cioffi on one-year deal". BC Lions. January 13, 2021.
- ^ "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
- ^ Knight, Joey. "Tampa Bay Bandits won't play in United States Football League in 2023". tampabay.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ @USFLShowboats (January 21, 2023). "Free Agent Signings" (Tweet). Retrieved January 21, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ "XFL Teams Claim Rights to 28 Players Following Combine". www.xfl.com. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ Seifert, Kevin (January 1, 2024). "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ "UFL - Team Rosters". www.theufl.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- ^ "UFL Teams Set their Training Camp Rosters to 58". UFLBoard.com. March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
External links
edit- Official website
- BC Lions bio
- Rutgers profile Archived 2014-12-27 at the Wayback Machine