Vinny Ciurciu
No. 44, 50, 54, 46, 52 | |||||||
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Position: | Linebacker | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S. | May 2, 1980||||||
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 240 lb (109 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Saint Joseph Regional (Montvale, New Jersey) | ||||||
College: | Boston College | ||||||
Undrafted: | 2003 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Vincenzo “Vinny” Ciurciu (born May 2, 1980) is a former
Ciurciu has also been a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots and Detroit Lions.
Early years
Ciurciu played high school football at Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey after playing one season in Elmwood Park Memorial High School in Elmwood Park, New Jersey. He was garnished all-state honors at linebacker as a junior and senior. He rushed for 1,260 yards and 25 touchdowns his senior year.
College career
Ciurciu began his college career at
Professional career
First stint with Panthers
After going undrafted in the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On October 8, 2003, the Buccaneers signed Ciurciu off the Panthers practice squad to their active roster. He was released by the Buccaneers on December 2, 2003.
Second stint with Panthers
Ciurciu was re-signed to the Panthers practice squad on December 5, 2003. He was elevated to their active roster on December 20, where he spent the remainder of the regular season and the
In 2004, Ciurciu played in all 16 games and started four games, for an injured Dan Morgan, at middle linebacker, and registered a career-high 33 tackles, 25 of them solo tackles. In three of his four starts, he had 7 or more tackles. In 2005, he ranked second on team with 14 special teams stops. His one start of the year came against Miami on September 25 at outside linebacker in place of Will Witherspoon. In 2006, he led Carolina with a career-best 18 special teams tackles 11 of them solo tackles, and again played in all 16 games.
Minnesota Vikings
Ciurciu signed with the Minnesota Vikings following the 2006 season. In 2007, he tied for second among Vikings with 15 special teams tackles despite missing three games during the season with injuries. In 2008, he played in 14 games with one start and totaled eight tackles. He was released by the Vikings in March 2009 after his total of tackles plummeted from 15 in 2007 to eight in 2008. At the finish of his career with Minnesota, Ciurciu appeared in 27 regular seasons games, totaling 23 tackles on special teams.
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots signed Ciurciu on May 4, 2009. He was released on September 4, 2009.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions signed Ciurciu October 22, 2009. He was re-signed on March 5, 2010.
On September 3, 2011, it was announced that Vinny Ciurciu would be suspended from four regular season games for violating the league's substance abuse policy.[1]
References
- ^ Florio, Mike (4 September 2011). "Commish suspends a slew of free agents". Retrieved 4 September 2011.