BIOGRAPHY
A. J. Cann was born on October 3, 1991, in Bamberg, South Carolina. He is an offensive guard in the NFL.
Cann attended Bamberg-Ehrhardt where he graded out at 96 percent with 60 knockdown blocks as an offensive tackle and not giving up a sack. He also logged 95 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and six sacks as a defensive lineman for the Red Raiders. As a senior, Cann helped B-E reach the state 1-A quarterfinals and was selected to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and in the Under Armour All-American game. He earned all-state honors by The State and was named the Orangeburg Times and Democrat Player of the Year, first-team all-area and was an Elite 11 selection. He was considered a four-star prospect, rated as the nation's second-best center, the state's ninth-best player and ranked 182nd on the Rivals250 by Rivals.com and was ranked as the 24th-best offensive lineman in the country by SuperPrep.
After he finished high school, Cann committed to the University of South Carolina where as a redshirted freshman in 2011, he started every game at left guard. He was one of seven Gamecocks to earn a start in every contest and first-team Freshman All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com, CBSSports.com, FOXSportsNext.com, and Phil Steele. Cann also was on the Coaches' and Rivals.com SEC All-Freshman team and was a member of the Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll. As a redshirted sophomore in 2012, he was an offensive lineman, starting 12 of 13 games at left guard. He earned a spot on Phil Steele's third-team Midseason All-SEC squad and was a member of the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. As a junior in 2013, Cann was voted as the permanent team captain. He started every game and was a first-team midseason and third-team postseason All-SEC selection by Phil Steele. He was a member of the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll and was presented with the Everyday Hustle Award for the offense at the spring game. In his senior year in 2014, Cann was named first-team All-America by Sporting News, ESPN.com and CBSSportsline.com, was a second-team All-American by Walter Camp, Associated Press, and Sports Illustrated, and was a third-team selection by College Sports Madness. He earned first-team All-SEC honors by the coaches and ESPN.com and was a second-team pick by the AP. Cann was also named team captain for the second-straight year and he is a four-year starter at left guard, making 51 starts, which is the second-most in school history behind only T.J. Johnson with 53.
Cann entered the 2015 NFL Draft where he was selected in the third round (67th pick) by the Jacksonville Jaguars. During his rookie season in 2015, Cann started 13 games at right guard while playing a total of 14 games. In 2016, Cann saw a full-time role on the offensive line, starting all 16 games at the right guard position for the Jaguars. Cann maintained his starting job at right guard in 2017 and 2018, starting 15 games both seasons and on March 13, 2019, Cann signed a three-year contract extension with the Jaguars.
On March 23, 2022, Cann signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract with the Houston Texans.
