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In 2013, Austrian teenager Bernhard Raimann watched the Minnesota Vikings play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Wembley and thought the NFL players looked like “superheroes.” Ahead of the Colts’ scheduled return to London in 2026, Raimann is no longer watching from the stands: he is Indianapolis’s starting left tackle. His route ran from Austria through several positions and a college exchange year in Michigan to the NFL—and back to the stadium where the dream first felt real.

Wembley was where the NFL first felt within reach

Raimann had only recently begun playing American football when he attended the Vikings-Steelers game at Wembley in 2013. The scale of the players made an impression. He later described them as “superheroes.”

More than a decade later, speaking to reporters in England on October 2, 2026, Raimann reflected on what it meant to return to London as a player. “So now being back here and getting to play and knowing what it means to the people here, it’s extremely special for me,” he said.

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His route from Austria to the NFL crossed positions and continents

From Vienna Vikings wide receiver to Central Michigan tight end

Raimann started playing with Austria’s Vienna Vikings as a wide receiver. A foreign-exchange year in Michigan helped put him on a path to American college football, where he played tight end at Central Michigan.

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A move to the offensive line opened the NFL route

Raimann eventually switched from tight end to the offensive line. The position change became the next major turn in a career that began far from the NFL’s usual pipeline.

Indianapolis drafted him in 2022

The Colts selected Raimann 77th overall in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. By the time Indianapolis was preparing for its 2026 London game, NFL.com identified him as the team’s starting left tackle.

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The Colts’ 2025 media guide records 45 games played and 40 starts through the 2024 season. Those figures describe his first three NFL seasons through 2024, not his career total as of 2026.

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The London return could make his story visible to another young fan

Indianapolis was scheduled to play Washington on Sunday, October 4, 2026, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. For Raimann, the trip brought his professional career back to the city where he had once watched from the stands.

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He hopes the sight of a player who began in Austria might encourage a young person to keep pursuing an unlikely ambition. “I really hope that some kid can see me and listen to my story or see what’s possible and hopefully they can embrace their dreams and keep working every day and shoot, see what happens,” Raimann said.

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