The New York Jets selected Aboushi in the fifth round, with the 141st overall pick, of the 2013 NFL Draft.[6] The Jets signed him to a four-year rookie contract on May 10, 2013; financial terms were not disclosed.[7]
Aboushi was inactive in 2013 for all 16 regular season games with the Jets. In 2014, he started 10 games after the starter was injured.[8]
Aboushi was suspended without pay (about $34,400) for the first game of the 2015 season for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse, in August 2015.[9][10][11] Aboushi was released by the Jets on September 15, 2015, one day after his suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy ended.[8]
On March 17, 2017, Aboushi signed with the Seattle Seahawks.[13] He started eight games at right guard before suffering a dislocated shoulder injury in Week 15. He was placed on injured reserve on December 13, 2017.[14]
On July 28, 2018, Aboushi signed with the Oakland Raiders reuniting him with his previous year offensive line coach Tom Cable.[15] He was released on September 1, 2018.[16]
On March 14, 2019, Aboushi signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Detroit Lions.[18] On March 27, 2020, he re-signed with the Lions.[19] He was released during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020,[20] but re-signed with the team the next day.[21] He was fined $5,221 by the NFL for unnecessary roughness in Week 2.[22]
On March 20, 2021, Aboushi signed with the Los Angeles Chargers.[23] He was named the Chargers starting right guard for the 2021 season. However, he suffered a torn ACL in Week 5 and was placed on season-ending injured reserve on October 12, 2021.[24]
On September 14, 2022, Aboushi signed with the practice squad of the Los Angeles Rams.[25] He was promoted to the active roster six days later.[26] He was suspended for one game on December 26, following a post–game fight with Randy Gregory.[27] His suspension was overturned a day later.[28]
Aboushi is the ninth of ten children born to Palestinian parents who immigrated to New York from Beit Hanina,[29] a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. He is the brother of civil rights lawyer and Democratic candidate for Manhattan District Attorney Tahanie Aboushi. He speaks English and Arabic.[29]
He is a practicing Muslim, one of few in the NFL. During Ramadan, which fell during training camp season at Virginia, he fasted from dawn to sunset most days.[29] He was one of about a dozen Muslim athletes honored by the U.S. Department of State for contributions in 2011.[29] He is one of the first Palestinian players in the NFL.[30][31]
On July 12, 2013, the Jewish NGO the Anti-Defamation League issued a press release defending Aboushi after an article circulating online claimed he was a 'Muslim extremist'. The ADL defended Aboushi's right to take 'pride in his Palestinian heritage' and emphatically stated that being pro-Palestinian is in no way equivalent to being anti-Semitic or a Muslim extremist.[32]
^Elwood, Hayley (March 20, 2021). "10 Insights: Oday Aboushi Bolsters Chargers Offensive Line". Chargers.com. Retrieved November 20, 2023. Aboushi was born and raised in Brooklyn and attended Xaverian High School playing football for the Xaverian Clippers.
^"Oday Aboushi". Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site. April 28, 2020. Good size lineman who played on both sides of the ball for coach Joe DeSiena at Xaverian HS … starter since his freshman year
^"The Palestinian NFL Player: Oday Aboushi". Arab America. June 9, 2021. Oday Aboushi was drafted by the New York Jets in the fifth round with the 141st pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. This event made him one of the first Palestinian-American NFL players in history.
^"Jets' Oday Aboushi A Rare Palestinian-American In NFL". May 11, 2013. People weren't just talking about me being a New York Jet, but being one of the first Arab-Americans, a Palestinian-American, to be drafted. It's settling in now. It's a different feeling, one that I'm embracing and really loving.
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