John Christian Gesek, Jr. (born February 18, 1963 in San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

) is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 offensive lineman who played nine seasons in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 for the Los Angeles Raiders

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

, and the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Sacramento State University and was drafted

NFL Draft

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

 in the tenth round of the 1987 NFL Draft

1987 NFL Draft

The 1987 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987...

.

In 1994, he became the starting center (American football)

Center (American football)

Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

 for the Redkins, replacing Jeff Bostic

Jeff Bostic

Jeffrey Lynn Bostic is a former American football offensive lineman who played for the Washington Redskins in the National Football League.-College career:...

, and stayed at that position the following year, when he started all 16 games, the first two years with Norv Turner

Norv Turner

Norval Eugene Turner is the head coach for the National Football League's San Diego Chargers. He also has served as head coach of the Washington Redskins and the Oakland Raiders, and as offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers...

 as head coach. In 1995, the Redskins had a won-lost record of 6-10 with an offensive line composed of Gesek, Ray Brown and Trey Johnson

Trey Johnson

Clinton "Trey" Johnson III is an American professional basketball player. Johnson played college basketball with the Alcorn State Braves and the Jackson State Tigers in the Southwestern Athletic Conference . During his senior year, he won the SWAC Player of the Year award...

 at guard, Joe Patton

Joe Patton

Joseph Cephus Patton IV is a former American football tackle in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Alabama A&M University and was drafted in the third round of the 1994 NFL Draft....

 and Vernice Smith

Vernice Smith

Vernice Carlton Smith is a former American football guard in the National Football League for the Phoenix Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, and the St. Louis Rams. He played college football at Florida A&M University....

 (with others) at tackle. In 1996, he was replaced by Jeff Uhlenhake

Jeff Uhlenhake

Jeffrey Alan Uhlenhake is a former American football center in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, and the Washington Redskins, and started 112 out of 119 games....

 and Cory Raymer

Cory Raymer

Cory Gene Raymer is a former American football center who played for the Washington Redskins and the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League.-High school career:...

.