When Omameh was in fourth grade, he did not know what
American football was and when he asked his father about it, his father brought out a
soccer ball. One of the football coaches persuaded Patrick's parents to let him play, offering to take him to and from practice every day. On the first day of football practice, he wore
sandals and a
wristwatch.[1] As a senior at
St. Francis DeSales High School in
Columbus, Ohio, Omameh was selected as a 2007 Division II All-Ohio first team offensive lineman and member of The Columbus Dispatch All-metro team.[2][3] He was a straight-A student recruited by the likes of
Princeton University and
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1] Omameh matriculated at Michigan as the lowest rated prospect in the 24-man entering class of 2008 according to
Rivals.com.[4] He also earned three varsity letters in
track & field and one in basketball.[5]
Omameh redshirted as a freshman for the
2008 Michigan Wolverines.[5] He made his first career start on November 7, 2009 when Perry Dorrestein was sidelined with a back injury against
Purdue, and Omameh stayed in the starting lineup for the final two games of the season for the
2009 team.[6][7] Despite being Michigan's lowest rated prospect in the entering class of 2008, he went on to start for the team for three and a half seasons.[8] By the end of the 2012
Michigan–Ohio State game, Omameh had started 41 consecutive games.[1] Omameh played both left and right
offensive tackle before starting 41 games at guard.[9]
Omameh has been known for eating prowess since high school, once eating 30
White Castle hamburgers.[1] Even other offensive linemen, such as teammate
Taylor Lewan, marveled at his appetite.[10] This helped Omameh bulk up from about 240 pounds (110 kg) as a freshman to over 300 pounds (140 kg) two years later when he became a regular starting offensive lineman.[1]
At Michigan, he had difficulty understanding
quarterbackDenard Robinson's playcalling in the
huddle because of Robinson's rapid speech pattern.[11] In 2010, Omameh was a nominee to be the University of Michigan
homecoming king.[12] Omameh was an Academic All-Big Ten in both 2010 and 2011.[5]
On September 18, 2012, Omameh was named to the 11-man Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team.[13][14] His Good Works team recognition was for his weekly appearances at the
C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.[14] He joins
Zoltan Mesko as the only two Michigan players to ever receive the AFCA Good Works Team recognition.[15] On November 13, Omameh was named a finalist for the 2012 Pop Warner National College Football Award.[16]
Omameh was a first team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and an honorable mention selection by the media.[17][18] He earned his third consecutive Academic All-Big Ten recognition in 2012.[19]
Professional career
Early career as a regular starter
Omameh signed an undrafted free agent contract with the
San Francisco 49ers following the
2013 NFL Draft.[20] Omameh was cut during the final preseason roster moves on August 31,[21] and signed to the practice squad two days later.[22] He spent some time playing tackle.[9] On October 11, the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Omameh off of the 49ers' practice squad.[23] They activated him for the final game of the season.[24] During the offseason, he worked with
LeCharles Bentley and 2 dozen other offensive linemen at Bentley's performance facility in Arizona.[25] He started all 16 games for the Buccaneers at the right guard position during the
2014 season.[26] The Buccaneers cut Omameh before the 2015 season on September 5, 2015.[27] On September 6, Omameh was signed the following day to the
Chicago Bears after he cleared
waivers.[28] After playing 679 snaps for the Bears, he became an unrestricted free agent, but was expected to return to the team.[29] Omameh signed with the
Jacksonville Jaguars on June 2, 2016.[30] Despite not looking that good to coach
Doug Marrone in practices, Omameh made the roster over
Mackenzy Bernadeau and others.[31] When left guard
Luke Joeckel had season-ending surgery in October, Omameh took his place.[32] He was placed on injured reserve on November 21 after sustaining a left foot injury in Week 11 against the
Detroit Lions.[33] According to Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union, despite his mediocre pass protection performance, in Omameh's six starts (453 snaps) at left guard, he performed superior to the other 4 people who started in 2016 at that position for the team.[31] On March 7, 2017, Omameh re-signed with the Jaguars.[34] He started 13 regular season games and 3 playoff games at left guard for the Jaguars in 2017. On March 14, 2018, Omameh signed a three-year, $15 million contract with the
New York Giants with $5.5 million guaranteed.[35][36] He entered the season slated as the Giants starting right guard. He started the first six games before missing Week 7 with a knee injury. He was then released by the Giants on November 10,[37] which freed up about $3 million on the
salary cap.[38] Prior to his release,
Pro Football Focus graded Omameh as the 67th offensive guard.[39] On November 13, Omameh was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars.[40] Starter
Andrew Norwell was placed on injured reserve on November 26, and Omameh was named the starting left guard in Week 13 (December 2) for
Chris Reed who had replaced Norwell when he left the game on November 25.[41][42]
Late career
Omameh was signed by the
New Orleans Saints on July 29, 2019.[43] On May 14, 2020, Omameh re-signed with the Saints.[44] He was released on September 5.[45] Omameh was signed to the
Las Vegas Raiders practice squad on September 19,[46] and was promoted to the active roster four days later.[47] He was waived on December 14.[48] On December 15, Omameh was claimed off waivers by the New Orleans Saints.[49] He was waived on December 24.[50] On December 26, 2020, Omameh was signed to the
Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad.[51] He was elevated to the active roster on January 2, 2021, for the team's Week 17 game against the
Los Angeles Chargers, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.[52] The
Chiefs lost
Super Bowl LV to
Tampa Bay.[53] His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on February 16.[54] On May 24, Omameh signed with the
Las Vegas Raiders.[55] He was released on August 31.[56] On November 10, 2021, Omameh was signed to the
Carolina Panthers practice squad.[57] He was released on January 4, 2022.[58]
Personal life
Omameh's parents, Phyllis and Patrick Sr., moved to
Columbus, Ohio from
Nigeria in the early 1980s.[1] His father is 5 foot 10 inches (1.78 m) and his mother is 5 foot 6 inches (1.68 m).[1] Omameh also two siblings, a sister and a brother.