Cory Raymer Cory Gene Raymer ( born March 3 , 1973 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was a center in the National Football League ( NFL ) for eleven seasons . Raymer played college football for the University of Wisconsin , and was honored as an All - American . A second - round pick in the 1995 NFL Draft , he played professionally for the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers of the NFL . Early years . Raymer was born in Fond du Lac , Wisconsin . He attended Goodrich High School in Fond du Lac , and was a " USA Today " All - America honorable mention selection and earned first - team all - state honors as a defensive tackle . College career . Raymer attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison , where he played for the Wisconsin Badgers football team from 1991 to 1994 . As a senior in 1994 , he was recognized as a unanimous first - team All - American at center . He was Wisconsin ' s first consensus All - American since Tim Krumrie in 1981 . Raymer was also one of 12 nominees for the 1994 Lombardi Award , which is awarded to college football ' s top lineman . He graduated from Wisconsin with a bachelor ' s degree in letters and sciences . Professional career . Raymer was selected by the Washington Redskins in the second round ( 37th pick ) of the 1995 NFL Draft , and he played for the Redskins from to . In , while returning home from a fishing trip , a car crossed his path . In an attempt to avoid the car , Raymer turned over his vehicle and suffered a bruised kidney , fractured vertebra and badly sprained left shoulder . This would cause him to miss the rest of the season and put his NFL career in jeopardy . However , Raymer played six games the following season and started three after Jeff Uhlenhake was sidelined . The 1998 season marked the first time Raymer started all 16 games in an NFL season . He took the snap in all but one of the 1 , 029 offensive plays . Again in 1999 Raymer started all 16 games and also playoff games . He was a fixture on the Redskins ' offensive line , composed of Keith Sims and Tre Johnson at guard , Andy Heck and Jon Jansen at tackle , the NFL ' s second - ranked offense that season with 443 points ( 27 . 7 points / game ) , with Brad Johnson at quarterback . In a wild card game of the 1999 - 00 NFL playoffs , Washington defeated the Detroit Lions , rushing for a massive 223 yards , as the interior line bowled over defensive tackle s James Jones ( defensive lineman ) and Luther Elliss with middle linebacker Stephen Boyd . But the Redskins lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round . The 2000 season was a setback for Raymer , suffering a torn ACL in practice and reinjuring his knee a month later , again in practice . This led to Raymer being placed on the injured reserve and missing the entire season , not playing in a single game , replaced at starting center by Mark Fischer . But Raymer bounced back again in 2001 by starting in all 16 games in an 8 - 8 won - lost season . Raymer then went on to play for the San Diego Chargers in 2002 , while Larry Moore became the starting center for Washington . But Raymer but suffered a season - ending Achilles injury just three games into the season . The following year , Raymer again bounced back and played in 15 games , starting eight . On March 11 , 2004 , Raymer returned to the Redskins by signing as a free agent , when he appeared in 15 games and started 14 in a 6 - 10 season . In 2005 , he lost his starting job to free agent Casey Rabach , though seeing action in 2 regular games and also against the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional playoff game , and then retired .