Max Tuerk attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School, where he was a two-way lineman.
Tuerk was considered one of the top centers in college football at the beginning of his senior year, but his season was cut short after five games when he tore an anterior cruciate ligament.
Tuerk was unable to participate in the post-season draft combines because of his knee injury, except he was able to do the bench press test.
[9] On December 24, 2017, Tuerk made his only appearance in a regular-season NFL game on one play in Week 16,[10] as the Cardinals beat the New York Giants, 23–0.
[11] On June 20, 2020, Tuerk collapsed and died of an enlarged heart, an autopsy report revealed, while on a hike with his parents in the Cleveland National Forest.
His mother Valerie Tuerk told the Los Angeles Times that the family had arranged to have his brain tissue sent to Boston University's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center.
[15][16] A memorial service was held for Tuerk's friends and family on a beach near his home on Saturday, June 27, 2020, exactly one week after his death.