Thomas Schaffer
{{short description|Austrian gridiron football player (born 1996)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox Canadian Football League biography
|name=Thomas Schaffer
|image=2023, 91, Thomas Schaffer (cropped).jpg
|image_upright=
|caption=Schaffer with the Ottawa Redblacks in 2023
|team=
|number=
|position1=Defensive lineman
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1998|10|23|df=y}}
|birth_place=Vienna, Austria
|Height_ft=6
|Height_in=7
|Weight_lbs=301
|college=Stanford
|high_school=Lake Forest Academy (IL)
|playing_years1={{NFL Year|2021}}
|playing_team1=Chicago Bears*
|playing_years2=2022
|playing_team2=Raiders Tirol
|playing_years3=2023
|playing_team3=Vienna Vikings*
|playing_years4={{CFL Year|2023}}
|playing_team4=Ottawa Redblacks
|career_footnotes=
|status=
|import=global
|career_highlights=
|CFL=thomas-schaffer
}}
Thomas Schaffer (born 23 October 1998) is an Austrian professional gridiron football defensive lineman. He played college football at Stanford. He has been a member of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), the Raiders Tirol and Vienna Vikings of the European League of Football (ELF), and the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL)
Early life
Schaffer was born in Vienna, Austria and grew up playing American football, soccer, handball, basketball, skiing, and snowboarding.{{cite web | url=https://www.ottawasun.com/sports/from-austria-to-ottawa-thomas-schaffer-has-big-presence-on-redblacks-defensive-line/wcm/31c6116d-8609-42a8-a9a1-29d6645e3c95/amp/ | title=FROM AUSTRIA TO OTTAWA: Thomas Schaffer has big presence on Redblacks' defensive line | publisher=ottawasun.com | date=7 October 2023 | accessdate=27 February 2024 | author=Baines, Tim}} He was part of the Austrian team at the 2012 IFAF U-19 World Championship and was Austria's youngest ever member at 15 years old. He moved to the United States when he was 16 and played high school football at Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois, recording 62 tackles, 4.5 sacks, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles his senior year. Schaffer played volleyball in high school as well.{{cite web | url=https://gostanford.com/sports/football/roster/thomas-schaffer/17057 | title=Thomas Schaffer | publisher=gostanford.com | accessdate=27 February 2024}} He was also a member of Team Austria at the 2014 IFAF U-19 World Championship and the 2015 U-19 European Championship.
College career
Schaffer played college football at Stanford from 2017 to 2020. He was redshirted in 2016.{{cite web | url=https://europeanleague.football/news/vienna-vikings-sign-former-chicago-bear-thomas-schaffer-1202 | title=Vienna Vikings sign former Chicago Bear Thomas Schaffer | publisher=europeanleague.football | date=2 April 2023 | accessdate=27 February 2024 | author=Krauss, Dominik}} He was the first Austrian to play FBS football.
Schaffer played in three games in 2017 and recorded one tackle. He appeared in five games in 2018, totaling three tackles and one pass breakup. Schaffer played in 12 games in 2019, accumulating 13 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble. He started all six games of the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, recording 20 tackles and three sacks, earning honorable mention All-Pac-12 Conference honors.
Professional career
Schaffer signed with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) on 14 May 2021. He was released on 21 June 2021.
Schaffer played four games for the Raiders Tirol of the European League of Football (ELF) in 2022, recording nine tackles and a fumble recovery.{{cite web | url=https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/vienna-vikings-bolster-offensive-line-with-former-chicago-bear-thomas-schaffer/amp/ | title=Vienna Vikings bolster offensive line with former Chicago Bear Thomas Schaffer | publisher=americanfootballinternational.com | accessdate=27 February 2024 | author=MacKenzie, Daniel}} He signed with the Vienna Vikings for the 2023 season but joined the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL) before ever playing for the Vikings.{{cite web | url=https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/ottawa-redblacks-sign-austrian-dl-thomas-schaffer/amp/ | title=Ottawa REDBLACKS sign massive Austrian DL Thomas Schaffer | publisher=americanfootballinternational.com | accessdate=27 February 2024}}
Schaffer was signed by the Redblacks on 1 May 2023.{{cite web | url=https://www.footballdb.com/players/thomas-schaffer-schafth01/transactions | title=Thomas Schaffer | publisher=Footballdb.com | accessdate=27 February 2024}} He dressed in six games for the Redblacks in 2023, totaling two tackles on defense and one forced fumble.{{cite web | url=https://www.footballdb.com/players/thomas-schaffer-schafth01 | title=Thomas Schaffer | publisher=Footballdb.com | accessdate=27 February 2024}}{{cite web | url=https://www.cfl.ca/players/thomas-schaffer/166208/ | title=Thomas Schaffer | publisher=cfl.ca | accessdate=27 February 2024}} He was released on May 11, 2024.{{cite web | url=https://www.footballdb.com/teams/cfl/ottawa-redblacks/transactions | title=Ottawa RedBlacks Transactions | publisher=Footballdb.com | accessdate=13 August 2024}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{commonscatinline}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaffer, Thomas}}
Category:Chicago Bears players
Category:Raiders Tirol players
Category:Vienna Vikings players
Category:Ottawa Redblacks players
Category:Stanford Cardinal football players
Category:American football defensive linemen
Category:Canadian football defensive linemen
Category:Austrian players of American football
Category:Austrian players of Canadian football