Wayne Hunter

{{More citations needed|date=May 2024}}{{Infobox NFL biography

| image =

| name = Wayne Hunter

| number = 73, 70, 78, 72

| position = Offensive tackle

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1981|7|2}}

| birth_place = Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 5

| weight_lbs = 318

| high_school = Admiral Arthur W. Radford (Honolulu, Hawaii)

| college = Hawaii

| draftyear = 2003

| draftround = 3

| draftpick = 73

| pastteams =

Seattle Seahawks ({{NFL Year|2003}}–{{NFL Year|2005}})
Jacksonville Jaguars ({{NFL Year|2006}})
New York Jets ({{NFL Year|2007}}–{{NFL Year|2011}})
St. Louis Rams ({{NFL Year|2012}})
Buffalo Bills ({{NFL Year|2015}})*

| status =

| statlabel1 = Games played

| statvalue1 = 77

| statlabel2 = Games started

| statvalue2 = 25

|pfr=HuntWa20

}}

Wayne Hunter (born July 2, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the 2003 NFL draft. He played college football for the Hawaii Warriors after transferring from the California Golden Bears.

Hunter also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, and St. Louis Rams.

Early life

Hunter attended Radford High School in Honolulu, Hawai'i. After retirement, he was inducted into the Radford Hall of Fame on 15 May 2024.

College career

Hunter began his college career playing at the University of California, Berkeley. He later transferred to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Professional career

{{NFL predraft

| height ft = 6

| height in = 6

| weight = 303

| arm span = 33

| hand span = 11+1/4

| dash = 5.12

| ten split = 1.77

| twenty split = 2.97

| shuttle = 4.57

| cone drill = 7.72

| vertical = 31

| broad ft = 8

| broad in = 8

| bench = 37

| wonderlic =

| note = All values from NFL Combine.{{Cite web |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=880&DraftYear=2003 |title=Wayne Hunter, Hawaii, OT, 2003 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football |website=draftscout.com}}

}}

=Seattle Seahawks=

Hunter was selected with the 73rd overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=2003 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2003/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He played three seasons with the Seahawks.

=Jacksonville Jaguars=

Hunter played one season with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2006.

=New York Jets=

On March 23, 2010, Hunter signed a 1-year tender with the Jets worth about $1.2 million.{{cite news |last=G |title=Hunter's deal worth about $1.2M|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=5022582&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines/ }} Hunter came to an agreement on a four-year $15 million contract extension on July 26, 2011, with the team, replacing Damien Woody. During the 2011 season finale against the Miami Dolphins, Hunter was involved about an argument with Santonio Holmes while the team was huddling. Holmes was benched for the game after the argument and the Jets would eventually lose the game plus miss the postseason for the first time in 3 years.

On August 23, 2012, head coach Rex Ryan made the decision to bench Hunter for allowing too many sacks. Austin Howard replaced Hunter at that time.{{cite web|title=Jets Right Tackle Wayne Hunter Benched; Austin Howard To Replace Him As Starter|date=August 23, 2012 |url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/08/23/jets-right-tackle-wayne-hunter-benched-austin-howard-to-replace-him-as-starter/|publisher=CBS News New York|accessdate=August 24, 2012}}

=St. Louis Rams=

On August 27, 2012, the Jets traded Hunter to the St. Louis Rams for right tackle Jason Smith.{{cite web|title=Jets deal for RT Jason Smith|url=https://www.espn.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/8308587/new-york-jets-close-deal-jason-smith-st-louis-rams|publisher=ESPN New York|author1=Cimini, Rich|author2=Chris Mortensen|date=August 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831014852/http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/8308587/new-york-jets-close-deal-jason-smith-st-louis-rams|archive-date=August 31, 2012|access-date=August 27, 2012|url-status=live}}

On March 6, 2013, Hunter was released.

=Buffalo Bills=

On July 1, 2015, Hunter signed with the Buffalo Bills.{{cite web|work=NFL.com|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/buffalo-bills-sign-veteran-ot-wayne-hunter-0ap3000000499648|title=Buffalo Bills sign veteran OT Wayne Hunter|first=Marc|last=Sessler|date=July 1, 2015|access-date=July 1, 2015}} Hunter was later released on July 21, 2015.{{cite web|last1=Alper|first1=Josh|title=Bills release Wayne Hunter|date=July 21, 2015 |url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/07/21/bills-release-wayne-hunter/|accessdate=July 21, 2015}}