Joe Stepanek

{{Short description|American football player (born 1963)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Joe Stepanek

| number = 73

| position = Defensive tackle

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|11|6}}

| birth_place = Tama, Iowa, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 5

| weight_lb = 268

| high_school = Regis

| college = Minnesota

| undraftedyear = 1986

| pastteams =

• Miami Dolphins ({{NFL Year|1986}})*
• Saskatchewan Roughriders ({{CFL Year|1987}})*
• Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|1987}})*
• Minnesota Vikings (1987)
• New York Jets ({{NFL Year|1988}})*

| statlabel1 = Safeties

| statvalue1 = 1

| pfr = StepJo20

}}

Joseph Paul Stepanek (born November 6, 1963) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football for the Waldorf Warriors in Iowa before transferring to play for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 1984.{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-gazette/134588130/|newspaper=The Gazette|via=Newspapers.com|date=January 13, 1984|page=24|title=Joe Stepanek picks Gophers|agency=Associated Press}} {{Open access}} He played for the Warriors from 1982 to 1983 and for the Golden Gophers from 1984 to 1985, lettering both years with the latter.{{Cite web|url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/players/step00200.html|website=Pro Football Archives|title=Joe Stepanek Stats}}

Stepanek began his professional career in 1986 by joining the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) but did not make the team.{{Cite web|url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/transactionss/step00200.html|website=Pro Football Archives|title=Joe Stepanek Transactions}} In the 1987 off-season, he had stints in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-leader-post/134588277/|newspaper=The Leader-Post|via=Newspapers.com|date=June 3, 1987|page=52|title=Gregory reduces roster|author=Miliokas, Nick}} {{Open access}} When the NFL Players Association went on strike, Stepanek was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as a replacement player.{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-des-moines-register/134588354/|newspaper=The Des Moines Register|via=Newspapers.com|date=October 6, 1987|page=7, [https://newspapers.com/article/the-des-moines-register/134588397/ 10]|title=Ex-Hawk sees 'heckuva' job by NFL replacement players|author=Witosky, Tom}} {{Open access}} He played only one game for the Vikings, starting against the Green Bay Packers at defensive tackle, and recorded a safety; he finished tied for the league lead in that category even though he played only one of 15 possible games.{{Cite web |title=Joe Stepanek stats |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/StepJo20.htm |access-date=November 3, 2023 |publisher=Pro Football Reference}} He was released by the team after the strike and later had a short stay with the New York Jets, but never played professionally again.