Alex Cappa
{{Short description|American football player (born 1995)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Alex Cappa
| image = Alex Cappa WFT-Buccaneers NOV2021 (cropped).jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Cappa with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021
| current_team = Las Vegas Raiders
| number = 65
| position = Guard
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1995|1|27}}
| birth_place = Dublin, California, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 6
| weight_lb = 312
| high_school = Dublin
| college = Humboldt State (2013–2017)
| draftyear = 2018
| draftround = 3
| draftpick = 94
| pastteams =
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers ({{NFL Year|2018}}–{{NFL Year|2021}})
- Cincinnati Bengals ({{NFL Year|2022}}–{{NFL Year|2024}})
- Las Vegas Raiders ({{NFL Year|2025}}–present)
| status = Active
| highlights =
| statleague = NFL
| statseason = 2024
| statweek =
| statlabel1 = Games played
| statvalue1 = 102
| statlabel2 = Games started
| statvalue2 = 96
| pfr = C/CappAl00
}}
Alex Cappa (born January 27, 1995) is an American professional football guard for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Humboldt State Lumberjacks and was selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
College career
During Cappa's time at Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt), he was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) offensive lineman of the year for 4 years in a row.{{Cite web |last=Penza |first=Danny |date=November 16, 2016 |title=HSU's Alex Cappa named GNAC Offensive Lineman of the Year for third straight season |url=http://www.times-standard.com/article/NJ/20161115/SPORTS/161119880 |access-date=April 3, 2018 |work=Eureka Times-Standard}} He was also named to the First-team GNAC every year of his playing career.{{Cite web |last=Penza |first=Danny |date=November 15, 2017 |title=Alex Cappa, Ja'Quan Gardner headline Humboldt State football's all-conference award haul |url=http://www.times-standard.com/article/NJ/20171115/SPORTS/171119899 |access-date=April 3, 2018 |work=Eureka Times-Standard}} Following his senior season, Cappa was invited to the 2018 Senior Bowl.{{Cite web |last=Penza, Danny |date=November 28, 2017 |title=Humboldt State left tackle Alex Cappa eager to show his talent after getting Senior Bowl invite |url=http://www.times-standard.com/article/NJ/20171128/sports/171129848 |access-date=April 3, 2018 |work=Eureka Times-Standard}}
Professional career
=Pre-draft=
{{external media
| video1 =
[http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/0ap3000000909863/Mike-Mayock-breaks-down-Alex-Cappa-He-has-the-nastiest-tape-I-ve-ever-seen Mike Mayock reviews Cappa's game tape]
| video2 =
[http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine/0ap3000000924295/Alexander-Cappa-s-full-2018-NFL-Scouting-Combine-workout Alex Cappa's NFL Combine Workout]
}}
On November 27, 2017, Cappa accepted his invitation to play in the Senior Bowl.{{Cite web |last=Goetz |first=Sarah |date=November 27, 2017 |title=Alex Cappa Invited to 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl |url=http://www.hsujacks.com/news/2017/11/27/football-alex-cappa-invited-to-2018-reeses-senior-bowl.aspx?path=football |access-date=August 19, 2018 |website=hsujacks.com}} He impressed scouts and NFL analysts with a strong week of practice before the Senior Bowl and helped solidify his draft stock.{{Cite web |last=Lott |first=Thomas |date=January 28, 2018 |title=2018 NFL Draft watch: Top performers at Senior Bowl |url=http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/2018-nfl-draft-watch-top-performers-senior-bowl-josh-allen-kyle-lauletta-baker-mayfield-marcus-davenport/1im8igtju687z1pbkppqe2sqed |access-date=August 19, 2018 |website=sportingnews.com}} On January 27, 2018, Cappa played in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl and was part of Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien's South team that won 45–16 to Denver Broncos head coach Vance Joseph's North team.
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 5 3/4
| weight = 305
| dash = 5.39
| ten split = 1.87
| twenty split = 3.10
| shuttle = 4.84
| cone drill = 8.04
| vertical = 26.5
| broad ft = 8
| broad in = 1
| bench = 24
| arm span = 32 5/8
| hand span = 9 1/4
| note = All values from NFL Combine{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/alex-cappa/32004341-5037-0596-30b8-a29641c28ea6 |title=Alex Cappa Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |website=NFL.com |access-date=August 19, 2018}}{{Cite web |url=http://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1019818&DraftYear=2018 |title=2018 NFL Draft Scout Alex Cappa College Football Profile |access-date=June 23, 2023 |website=DraftScout.com}}
}}
He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed all of the combine and positional drills.{{Cite web |last=Patsko |first=Scott |date=March 5, 2018 |title=Alex Cappa, Humboldt State OT: NFL Draft 2018 (video) |url=https://www.cleveland.com/nfl-draft/index.ssf/2018/03/alex_cappa_humboldt_state_ot_n.html |access-date=August 19, 2018 |website=cleveland.com}} At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Cappa was projected to be a fifth round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 14th best offensive tackle prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and was ranked the 15th best offensive tackle by Scouts Inc.{{Cite web |title=NFL Alex Cappa -ESPN |url=http://espn.com/nfl/draftcard?playerId=101733&src=desktop |access-date=August 19, 2018 |website=ESPN.com}}{{Dead link|date=September 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
=Tampa Bay Buccaneers=
== 2018 ==
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Cappa in the third round with the 94th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=2018 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2018/draft.htm |access-date=March 12, 2021 |work=Pro Football Reference}} The Buccaneers traded their fourth (102nd overall) and sixth round picks (180th overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the Vikings' third round pick to draft Cappa.{{Cite web |last=Auman |first=Greg |date=April 27, 2018 |title=Bucs trade back into 3rd round, grab Humboldt State OL Alex Cappa |url=https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/bucs/2018/04/27/bucs-trade-back-into-3rd-round-grab-humboldt-state-ol-alex-cappa/ |access-date=August 19, 2018 |website=TampaBay.com}} Cappa was the 12th offensive tackle drafted in 2018.{{Cite web |title=2018 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2018/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-17 |work=Pro Football Reference}} He became Humboldt State's highest draft selection in school history.{{Cite web |last=Thorman |first=Joel |date=April 27, 2018 |title=Bucs draft OT Alex Cappa out of Humboldt State |url=https://www.bucsnation.com/2018/4/27/17294544/bucs-draft-ot-alex-cappa-out-of-humboldt-state |access-date=March 12, 2021 |work=Bucs Nation}} He also holds the distinction of being Humboldt State's 11th player drafted and the first player selected in the NFL draft since Freeman Baysinger in 1992, as well as being the final player drafted from Humboldt State as the school discontinued its football program after 2018.{{Cite web |title=The Football Database: Humboldt State |url=https://www.footballdb.com/draft/college.html?c=Humboldt+State |access-date=August 19, 2018 |website=footballdb.com}}
{{external media
| video1 =
[http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/0ap3000000929680/Buccaneers-select-Alex-Cappa-No-94-in-the-2018-NFL-Draft Buccaneers draft Alex Cappa 94th overall]
}}
On May 13, 2018, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Cappa to a four-year, $3.36 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $793,704.{{Cite web |title=Spotrac.com: Alex Cappa contract |url=https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/tampa-bay-buccaneers/alex-cappa-25193/ |access-date=August 18, 2018 |website=spotrac.com}} As a rookie, Cappa appeared in six games, all at the end of the regular season.{{Cite web |title=Alex Cappa 2018 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CappAl00/gamelog/2018/ |access-date=March 12, 2021 |work=Pro Football Reference}}
== 2019 ==
Cappa made his first career start in the 2019 regular season opener against the San Francisco 49ers.{{Cite web |title=San Francisco 49ers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – September 8th, 2019 |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201909080tam.htm |access-date=March 12, 2021 |work=Pro Football Reference}} In a game against the New Orleans Saints on October 6, 2019, Cappa suffered a broken left arm but did not miss a snap after sustaining the injury in the second quarter.{{Cite web |last=Reyes |first=Lorenzo |title=Buccaneers OL Alex Cappa breaks arm vs. Saints, plays through rest of game |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/buccaneers/2019/10/07/nfl-tampa-bay-buccaneers-alex-cappa-broken-arm-saints/3899292002/ |access-date=March 12, 2021 |work=USA TODAY}}
== 2020 ==
During the COVID-19 outbreak Cappa was involved with supporting local restaurants and businesses.{{Cite web |last=Stroud |first=Rick |title=One Buc's support of Tampa Bay restaurants sparks circle of giving |url=https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bucs/2020/04/15/one-bucs-support-of-local-restaurants-sparks-circle-of-giving/ |access-date=March 12, 2021 |work=Tampa Bay Times}}
On January 9, 2021, in the Wild Card Round against the Washington Football Team, Cappa suffered a fractured ankle.{{Cite web |date=January 10, 2021 |title=Bucs fear fractured ankle for G Alex Cappa |url=https://bucswire.usatoday.com/2021/01/10/alex-cappa-injury-update-nfl-playoffs-wild-card-nfc-bucs-washington/ |access-date=March 12, 2021 |work=Bucs Wire}} On January 15, 2021, Cappa was placed on injured reserve due to the injury.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Scott |date=January 15, 2021 |title=Bucs Place Alex Cappa on IR, Bring Earl Watford Back |url=https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-place-alex-cappa-injured-reserve-sign-earl-watford-roster-move |access-date=March 12, 2021 |website=Buccaneers.com}} The Buccaneers went on to win Super Bowl LV.{{Cite web |last=Patra |first=Kevin |date=February 7, 2017 |title=What we learned from Buccaneers win over Chiefs in Super Bowl LV |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/what-we-learned-from-buccaneers-win-over-chiefs-in-super-bowl-lv |access-date=March 11, 2021 |website=NFL.com}}{{Cite web |title=Super Bowl LV – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs – February 7th, 2021 |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/202102070tam.htm |access-date=March 11, 2021 |work=Pro Football Reference}}
==2021==
Cappa started all 19 games, regular season and playoffs, and was the only player to be on the field for all 1328 offensive snaps. He had his best season in 2021, helping the Buccaneers allow only 23 sacks and a 3.15% sacks per pass play rate, with both stats leading the league. In addition, the Buccaneers averaged 4.89 yards per carry while running over right guard.{{cite web |url=https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-2022-guard-alex-cappa-free-agent-focus |title=2022 Buccaneers Free Agent Focus: Alex Cappa |date=February 17, 2022 |last=Smith |first=Scott |website=buccaneers.com}}
=Cincinnati Bengals=
==2022==
Cappa signed a four-year, $35 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals on March 18, 2022.{{cite web|work=Bengals.com|url=https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-roster-moves-x4967|title=Bengals Roster Moves|date=March 18, 2022|accessdate=March 20, 2022}} Cappa was the starting right guard in all 17 regular season games for Cincinnati in 2022, helping the team to a 12–4 record,{{Cite news |last=Vrentas |first=Jenny |date=2023-01-06 |title=N.F.L. Cancels Bills-Bengals Game |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/05/sports/football/bills-bengals-game-canceled.html |access-date=2023-01-06 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106132155/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/05/sports/football/bills-bengals-game-canceled.html |url-status=live}} but he incurred an ankle injury during the finale against the Baltimore Ravens. Cappa did not return for the postseason run, in which the Bengals lost the AFC Championship game to the Kansas City Chiefs.{{Cite web |title=Alex Cappa 2022 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CappAl00/gamelog/2022/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |work=Pro Football Reference}}{{Cite web |title=2022 Cincinnati Bengals Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/2022.htm |access-date=2024-12-26 |work=Pro Football Reference}}
==2023==
Cappa returned as the starting right guard for the 2023 season. He started all 17 games in the season.{{Cite web |title=Alex Cappa 2023 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CappAl00/gamelog/2023/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |work=Pro Football Reference}}
==2024==
Cappa struggled as the starting guard through all 17 games in 2024, finishing last among NFL guards in pressures (51), hurries (36), and sacks allowed (8, tied with Shaq Mason).{{Cite web|title=Look: Alex Cappa Takes Home Negative Pass Protection Triple Crown Following 2024 Season|url=https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/allbengals-insiders-plus/look-alex-cappa-takes-home-negative-pass-protection-triple-crown-following-2024-season-01jh0w9c8enz|access-date=January 15, 2025|website=si.com}}
On March 3, 2025, Cappa was released by the Bengals.{{cite web |title=Bengals Release G Alex Cappa |url=https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-release-g-alex-cappa-bengals-roster-update |website=bengals.com |access-date=4 March 2025}}
=Las Vegas Raiders=
On March 5, 2025, Cappa signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.{{Cite news|title=Raiders sign G Alex Cappa|url=https://www.raiders.com/news/raiders-sign-alex-cappa-guard-nfl-2025-free-agency-transactions|website=Raiders.com|date=March 5, 2025|access-date=March 5, 2025}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons}}
- [https://www.bengals.com/team/players-roster/alex-cappa/ Cincinnati Bengals bio]
- [https://hsujacks.com/sports/football/roster/alex-cappa/5745 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football bio]
{{Buccaneers2018DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl LV}}
{{Las Vegas Raiders roster navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cappa, Alex}}
Category:American football offensive tackles
Category:Humboldt State Lumberjacks football players
Category:People from Dublin, California
Category:Players of American football from Alameda County, California
Category:Dublin High School (California) alumni
Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers players