Shane Olivea


Shane Olivea is a former American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ohio State.
Olivea was also a member of the New York Giants, Florida Tuskers and Virginia Destroyers.

College career

After growing up in Long Beach, New York and attending Lawrence High School his senior year, Olivea played for Ohio State University from 2000-2003. He was a three-year starter and a two-time member of the All-Big Ten second team.

Professional career

2004 NFL Draft

Originally valued as a third rounder, Olivea strained his pectoral muscle lifting weights about a week before the draft and this scared away a lot of teams. One of which was the Miami Dolphins, who wanted to take Olivea in the first day, but called just before their 3rd round pick to tell Olivea that they took him off their draft board because they thought he would need surgery. A. J. Smith, excited at the fact Olivea was off many draft boards, took him with one of their final picks. Concerning Olivea's injury status, AJ said, “We checked him out, like a lot of clubs, but medical staffs vary. We rely heavily on our medical staff, and he checked out perfectly. We’re not going to take a chance if we think a player is damaged goods. We were doing other things, so selfishly we were kind of glad he took a ride and he was still there. We kind of stole one in the seventh round.”
Olivea was drafted by the Chargers in the last round of the 2004 NFL Draft.

San Diego Chargers

Since being drafted in 2004, Olivea started 31 of 32 games in 2 seasons for the Chargers. In August 2006, The Chargers rewarded Olivea with a 6-year, $20 million extension. The deal made him the sixth highest-paid right tackle in the NFL at the time. Due to his performance and his low draft position, Olivea was considered to be a draft steal.
On February 28, 2008, Olivea was released by the Chargers, due to a missed drug test following a previous failed drug test. Olivea tested positive for pain medication.

New York Giants

On July 10, 2008, it was reported that Olivea had agreed to terms on a contract with the New York Giants.
On August 14, 2008, the Giants placed offensive tackle Shane Olivea on season-ending injured reserve with a back injury. He was later released with an injury settlement.