BuccaneersFan.com • Player Spotlight • Tampa Bay No. 65
Current official portrait: Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Guard / center • Tenth NFL season
An experienced hand along the interior
Daniel James Feeney
- Born
- May 29, 1994
- Hometown
- Orland Park, Illinois
- Listed size
- 6 feet 4 inches • 310 pounds
- High school
- Carl Sandburg High School
- College
- Indiana University • 2012–2016
- NFL Draft
- April 28, 2017 • Round 3 • No. 71 • Los Angeles Chargers
- Buccaneers
- Signed September 18, 2025 • No. 65
- 2026 return
- One-year contract • March 16, 2026
Sources: Buccaneers profile, Indiana biography, draft announcement and 2026 transactions. Orland Park is his listed hometown.
NFL figures stop after November 1, 2026 (Week 8), checked November 3. College figures cover his completed Indiana career. Sources: completed NFL season record, current game log and Indiana’s career summary. See the participation note.
Dan Feeney joined Tampa Bay during a season that kept asking more of its offensive line. Signed from Buffalo’s practice squad in September 2025, he finished that year with 10 starts for the Buccaneers. An experienced guard and center had become part of the answer when the original lineup could no longer stay together. The club’s review of his arrival.
For the Krewe, his story offers a reason to watch beyond the ball. Follow the spacing between blockers, the quick adjustment before a snap and the exchange of responsibility when defenders change places. Those small decisions help explain why a team values someone who has handled several jobs across the line.
Los Angeles → New opportunities → Tampa Bay
Three chapters in a long NFL journey
2017–2020 Establishing himself with the Chargers.
The Chargers drafted Feeney from Indiana in the third round. His rookie season earned a place on the 2017 PFWA All-Rookie Team. He then started every regular-season game in each of the next three years, working at left guard in 2018 and 2019 before moving to center in 2020. The rookie honor; his Chargers starting record.
2021–2024 Taking his experience to new rooms.
Two seasons with the Jets followed. Feeney joined Miami in March 2023, then was traded to his hometown Bears that August. Minnesota became his next stop in 2024. The recurring attraction was his experience across the interior: Chicago’s announcement specifically emphasized his ability to handle all three inside positions. The Miami chapter; the Bears trade; Minnesota’s agreement.
2025–present Answering Tampa Bay’s call.
On September 18, 2025, the Bucs placed Cody Mauch and Luke Goedeke on injured reserve and added Feeney from Buffalo’s practice squad. He arrived with prior NFL experience at guard and center. Tampa Bay brought him back on a one-year deal the following March, keeping a veteran option for its interior. The September roster moves; the 2026 return.
October 26, 2025 • Week 8 at New Orleans
A full afternoon in his first Buccaneers start
Offensive snaps
58
EVERY SNAP • RIGHT GUARD
His first Tampa Bay start.
A division win in the Superdome.
TAMPA BAY 23 • NEW ORLEANS 3
Feeney became Tampa Bay’s fifth different starting right guard of the 2025 season and played all 58 offensive snaps in the win. That number captures the assignment clearly: after joining the club during the season, he was needed for the entire game. The official participation review.
The defense supplied four takeaways, while the offense put together four scoring drives after halftime. Feeney’s milestone belongs within that team effort, a road victory that sent Tampa Bay into its bye at 6–2. The game report.
Preparation • Communication • Changing assignments
Learning a position, then learning another
A rookie’s lesson in preparation
After his first NFL season, Feeney credited Matt Slauson, Kenny Wiggins and Russell Okung with helping him adjust to the starting lineup. Slauson’s injury had opened an opportunity, and Feeney described the mental step from college to a job devoted to football: recognizing blitzes, studying opponents and understanding their techniques. His rookie-season reflections.
There is a useful lesson for anyone watching an offensive line. A player must know his own assignment and how it fits beside someone else’s. A change in position changes that relationship, even when the play call stays familiar.
A veteran option in Tampa Bay
The Bucs’ March 2026 re-signing report highlighted Feeney’s footwork, awareness of defensive exchanges and usefulness on zone blocks. Their opening regular-season depth chart then listed him behind Graham Barton at center, reflecting another way his experience could serve the line. The club’s assessment; the September depth chart.
His role through Week 8 has been as a reserve. The weekly record below distinguishes games in which he played from those in which he dressed but did not enter. That distinction matters when following a veteran whose opportunity can change from one Sunday to the next.
NFL regular season • 2017–2026
The playing record, season by season
Feeney has 135 regular-season appearances and 75 starts through Week 8 of 2026. His Tampa Bay portion is 15 appearances and 10 starts. The current season remains in progress; preseason games and playoff appearances are separate.
| Season | Team | G | GS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Los Angeles Chargers | 15 | 9 |
| 2018 | Los Angeles Chargers | 16 | 16 |
| 2019 | Los Angeles Chargers | 16 | 16 |
| 2020 | Los Angeles Chargers | 16 | 16 |
| 2021 | New York Jets | 16 | 5 |
| 2022 | New York Jets | 17 | 2 |
| 2023 | Chicago Bears | 16 | 1 |
| 2024 | Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 0 |
| 2025 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 12 | 10 |
| 2026* | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 0 |
| Career | Through 2026 Week 8 | 135 | 75 |
G = games played; GS = games started. An official start can include opening a game as an extra offensive lineman. The table follows official games and starts rather than attempting to reconstruct them from a listed depth-chart position.
Participation note, November 3: The annual summary ends with 2025 at 132 games and 75 starts. The 2026 gamebooks add three appearances, in Weeks 5, 7 and 8, and no starts, bringing the career total to 135 games and 75 starts. Weeks 1–4 and 6 were active DNPs and are excluded from games played. His Week 8 appearance was on special teams. *2026 is a partial season. Official gamebooks: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8.
2021 starts: The Jets’ original season account distinguishes five official starts from three conventional line starts. Miami’s subsequent career breakdown includes two starts as an extra offensive lineman. The 2021 row retains the official total of five.
2026 game-by-game participation • through Week 8
| Week | Date | Opponent | Tampa Bay result | Participation | G | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 09/13 | @ Cincinnati | L 27–33 | Active — DNP | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 09/20 | Cleveland | L 19–23 | Active — DNP | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 09/27 | Minnesota | L 16–23 | Active — DNP | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 10/04 | Green Bay | L 14–17 | Active — DNP | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 10/08 | @ Dallas | W 24–16 | Substitute | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | 10/18 | Pittsburgh | L 19–26 (OT) | Active — DNP | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 10/25 | @ Carolina | W 43–13 | Substitute | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | 11/01 | Atlanta | W 16–0 | Substitute — special teams | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Through W8 | Tampa Bay | Team 3–5 | 3 played / 5 active DNP | 3 | 0 |
Scores show Tampa Bay first; @ indicates an away game and OT means overtime. DNP means he was active but did not play. A substitute appearance counts as a game played. Tables scroll horizontally on small screens; keyboard users can focus each table region.
Source: official game log, checked against the gamebooks linked in the participation note.
The 2018 Chargers • January 2019
Two starts in the NFL playoffs
Feeney started at left guard in both Chargers playoff games after the 2018 regular season. Los Angeles won 23–17 at Baltimore on January 6, 2019, then lost 41–28 at New England one week later. The Chargers’ record credits him with every offensive snap in both games. The official postseason account.
| NFL season | Game date | Team | Round / opponent | Team result | G | GS | Starting position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Jan. 6, 2019 | L.A. Chargers | Wild Card / @ Baltimore | W 23–17 | 1 | 1 | Left guard |
| 2018 | Jan. 13, 2019 | L.A. Chargers | Divisional / @ New England | L 28–41 | 1 | 1 | Left guard |
| Playoff career | Through 2025 | L.A. Chargers | Two games | 1–1 | 2 | 2 | Left guard |
These two appearances and two starts are separate from his regular-season totals. He was inactive for Minnesota’s January 13, 2025 playoff game. Tampa Bay did not qualify after the 2025 season, and the 2026 postseason had not begun.
Orland Park → Bloomington
A Hoosier captain with work to pass along
Feeney arrived at Indiana from Carl Sandburg High School and moved from prep tackle to college guard. He and fellow freshman Jason Spriggs shared a dorm room and each started all 12 games in 2012. By his final season, Feeney was helping younger linemen learn the standard that he and Spriggs had helped establish. Indiana’s account of that development.
His college career produced 46 starts: the first 41 at right guard, then five at right tackle. He served as captain in 2015 and 2016. When the Chargers drafted him, Indiana placed his consecutive seasons of first-team All-America recognition alongside those of some of the program’s best-known players. The completed college record.
- 2015: First-team All-America, ESPN.
- 2016: First-team All-America, Associated Press.
- 2015 and 2016: First-team All-Big Ten.
The awarding organizations are identified in Indiana’s December 2016 honors announcement.
Indiana participation • 2012–2016
| Season | G | GS | Starting role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 12 | 12 | Right guard |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | Medical redshirt |
| 2014 | 12 | 12 | Right guard |
| 2015 | 13 | 13 | Right guard |
| 2016 | 9 | 9 | 4 RG / 5 RT |
| Indiana career | 46 | 46 | 41 RG / 5 RT |
G = games played; GS = games started; RG = right guard; RT = right tackle. He missed the 2013 season with a foot injury and received a medical redshirt. Bowl appearances are already included in these college totals.
Source: Indiana’s annual biography and completed career. College participation is separate from NFL appearances.
Starting fresh on the next snap
A 2015 Indiana feature described Feeney’s habit of clearing his mind and refocusing before each play. Offensive line coach Greg Frey praised the effort he brought to practices and walk-throughs as well as games. The account gives the honors a practical foundation: repeated work, attention and a willingness to begin the next assignment with the same intensity. The school’s work-ethic feature.
A degree before his final season
Feeney completed his exercise science degree in May 2016, before returning for his final college season. Indiana’s biography records that graduation alongside his playing history. His Bloomington years therefore include a completed academic program as well as the leadership and football experience that preceded the NFL. The university’s education record.
A familiar hairstyle • Work beyond the field
Getting to know the man under the helmet
The mullet has a backstory
Feeney’s distinctive hair began with a teammate’s example. Minnesota’s 2024 introduction explained that he liked Chargers kicker Michael Badgley’s training-camp mullet and grew his own for the following year. Feeney kept his version after Badgley moved on from the style. The same feature describes an Orland Park native with an appreciation for Chicago deep-dish pizza. The Vikings’ personality feature.
Another team introduction traces his early experience with hard work to his father, Tony, a pipefitter. Feeney helped install air-conditioning units and boilers, learning what it meant to move heavy equipment long before he faced NFL defensive linemen. The Dolphins’ family account.
Turkey Time with the O-Line
On November 25, 2025, Feeney joined Tampa Bay teammates at Turkey Time with the O-Line. The official photographs identify him at the Thanksgiving distribution. The club’s announcement described plans for more than 1,000 full meals, funded by offensive linemen and their coaches with community support. The event photographs; the program announcement.
His charitable visibility predates Tampa Bay. For the Chargers’ 2018 My Cause My Cleats campaign, Feeney selected the MS Association of America. The initiative gave players a chance to bring attention to their chosen causes through custom footwear on game day. The Chargers’ participant list.
Ready for the next assignment
Follow No. 65 when the personnel changes
Feeney’s career connects a college captaincy, years as an NFL starter and the demands of a reserve role. The first Tampa Bay start in New Orleans is one clear chapter in that journey. For fans watching the next lineup change, his record provides useful context: experience at different positions can become important very quickly.
Sources & statistical notes
This Spotlight draws on the official team and university records linked throughout. Regular-season participation, NFL playoffs and college games are kept separate. Dates distinguish the season being described from the calendar date of a playoff game.
- Buccaneers biography and completed NFL season summaries; current game log.
- Indiana biography, annual participation and graduation; draft and career summary.
- First Buccaneers start and offensive snaps; New Orleans game report.
- Chargers media-guide biography and 2018 postseason; Minnesota’s 2024-season playoff inactive list.
- Thanksgiving community photographs; 2018 charitable-cleats announcement.
Statistics checked November 3, 2026, through games completed November 1. College honors identify the awarding organization and year.