Elijah Ponder

Elijah Coltrane Ponder (born August 24, 2002) is an American professional football outside linebacker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Cal Poly Mustangs.

Early life Ponder graduated from Bishop Amat High in La Puente, California.

College career Ponder played for Cal Poly, collecting 27 sacks and blocking a field goal attempt and an extra point try while a Mustang. He scored one touchdown, a 75-yard interception return versus San Diego in 2021. He earned two first-team All-Big Sky selections in his career, in 2023 and 2024. Ponder was additionally named a 2023 Walter Camp FCS All-American.

He recorded a sack and two passes defensed in the 2025 East–West Shrine Bowl.

Professional career

At his pro day, Ponder compiled a relative athletic score of 9.70, featuring a vertical jump of 41 inches, a broad jump of 11 feet, and a 10-yard split time of 1.56 seconds.

Ponder signed as an undrafted free agent with New England in April 2025.

NFL career statistics

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2025 NE 15 0 24 14 10 4.0 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 18 0Career 15 0 24 14 10 4.0 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 18 0

Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2025 NE 4 0 4 2 2 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0Career 4 0 4 2 2 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0