Tommy Kraemer

Tommy Kraemer's Biography

Tommy Kraemer, an accomplished American professional football guard, was born on April 16, 1998, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His journey in football began during his high school days at Elder High School. Here, he demonstrated remarkable talent by protecting Peyton Ramsey, who would become a quarterback at Northwestern and a future rival.

An impressive feat during his high school was winning the Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year award. His skill and talent weren’t overlooked, as he was rated the fourth-best player from the state of Ohio. After his fruitful years at Elder High School, he made the decision to attend the University of Notre Dame.

Tommy’s first year at the University of Notre Dame found him on the sidelines, not yet started a single game. However, his patience and consistency paid off in his sophomore year when he started his first game. He would go on to start twelve out of the thirteen games during the season, proving invaluable to the team’s rushing offense which ranked seventh in the FBS with an average of 269.3 rushing yards per game.

In his junior year, Tommy played in twelve games, starting ten of them, and maintained a solid performance throughout. Unfortunately, his senior year took a sudden turn as he suffered a season-ending knee injury during the first seven games. Until the injury, Tommy had maintained an impressive streak of not allowing a single sack. Despite the setback, he doubles down in his graduate season, hitting the ground running for ten out of twelve games. This earned him coveted spots on the first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference team and the All-American third team.

Despite not being drafted in the 2021 NFL draft, Tommy’s career took a positive turn when he was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent. Even though he was waived before the beginning of the 2021 NFL season, he was placed on the practice squad. Before the eighth week of the 2021 NFL season, Tommy was promoted to the active roster. He was waived on November 2 and re-signed to the practice squad, then promoted back to the active roster on November 23.

For Tommy, the 2022 season started with a setback. On September 15, he was placed on injured reserve due to a back injury. The year took a turn for the better on August 2, 2023, when Tommy was signed by the New Orleans Saints. Despite being waived on August 29, 2023, he was re-signed to the practice squad and climbed his way back to an active roster spot on October 7.

Tommy’s time with the Saints has been marked by numerous waivers and re-signings. He was waived on October 9, and re-signed to the practice squad. He came back to the active roster on October 19, only to be waived and re-signed to the practice squad once again. At the termination of the 2023 regular season, the Saints committed to his talent, signing him to a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024. Despite this, Tommy was yet again waived on May 8, 2024, marking another hurdle in his professional career.

Summarily, Tommy Kraemer’s history in professional football denotes a story of resilience, strength, and undeniable talent. Born into the world of football in 1998, he has shown time and time again that setbacks, waivers and injuries can’t detract from his passion for the game, his commitment to growth, and constant pursuit of excellence.