Jeremiah Ratliff

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Jeremiah Ratliff
Nose tackle
Personal information
Born: (1981-08-29) August 29, 1981 (age 42)
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:303 lb (137 kg)
Career information
High school:Lowndes (Valdosta, Georgia)
College:Auburn (2000–2004)
NFL draft:2005 / Round: 7 / Pick: 224
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Tackles:285
Sacks:35.0
Forced fumbles:4
Player stats at PFR

Jeremiah Jerome Ratliff (born August 29, 1981), formerly known as Jay Ratliff,

nose tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and was selected by the Cowboys in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft
.

Early life

Ratliff attended Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia and was a letterman in football and basketball. He earned All-State and honorable-mention All-USA Today honors after catching 44 passes for 701 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior.

College career

While attending Auburn University, Ratliff played for the Auburn Tigers football team from 2000 to 2004. As a freshman tight end he recorded 3 receptions for 38 yards, playing in 12 games (1 start).

He was converted to defensive end as a sophomore, starting eight of 12 games and tying a career-highs with 37 tackles (10 for loss), two forced fumbles and a sack. Ratliff played in nine games as a junior reserve defensive end, making seven tackles, including one for a loss.

After moving from

Southeastern conference (SEC) Championship and finish 13–0 by defeating Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, in which he made three tackles. Auburn finished in 2004 second behind USC in the final Associated Press
poll.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Ratliff at a Cowboys practice in 2010.

Regarded as an undersized defensive tackle,[2] he dropped in the 2005 NFL draft until he was selected in the seventh round (224th overall pick) by the Dallas Cowboys, who were looking to play him at defensive end in their new 3–4 defense.[3]

Ratliff played his first

NFL
.

He became the starting

offensive linemen.[5] He was signed to a $20.5 million, five-year contract extension on December 14, 2007, to stay with the Cowboys through the 2012 season. The deal included an $8 million signing bonus.[6] That year, he received the team's Ed Block Courage Award
recipient.

In

Pro Football Writers Association's All-NFC Team. The next year, he was considered one of the dominant players in the league, earning All-Pro
honors, after registering 40 tackles (29 solo) and 6 sacks.

By 2011 he signed a new contract extension worth $40 million to play through the 2017 season, but there were already worries that his size and style of play could shorten his career. Discussions about moving him to defensive end never materialized, and his production and health started to decline. At the end of the season, he was selected to his fourth straight Pro Bowl appearance. In 2012 he missed his first game in five years. He missed four games with a high ankle sprain and also suffered a groin injury that put him on the injured reserve list. He finished the season with only 16 tackles.

During his rehabilitation process, Ratliff relationship with the team's medical staff and even with owner Jerry Jones became tense.[7] After his trust towards the Cowboys organization deteriorated, he hired an independent physician and started to rehab on his own.

The Cowboys still saw him as key player in the new

Physically Unable to Perform) on October 16, 2013.[8]
He finished his Cowboys career with 27 sacks, 16 passes defensed and 317 total tackles.

An already acrimonious release escalated after Ratliff’s agent (Mark Slough) held a conference call on October 16, where he publicly stated that it was a serious pelvic injury that would likely take at least a year to heal.

NFL teams, only a week after being released.[7]

Chicago Bears

On November 2, 2013, Ratliff signed a 1-year-deal with the Chicago Bears and stated that he wanted to be called Jeremiah.[10][1] He made his Bears debut against the Minnesota Vikings in week thirteen,[11] recording a tackle in a 23–20 loss.[12] He finished with 4 starts, 14.5 tackles (1 for loss) and 1.5 sacks.

On March 5, 2014, he re-signed with the Bears on a two-year contract.[13] His best game came in week seven against the Miami Dolphins, recording a career-high 3.5 sacks in a game.[14] He missed five games due to injuries, but was still considered the best player on the defense, finishing with 6.5 sacks (second on the team) and 33 quarterback pressures.

Ratliff was suspended by the NFL for the first three weeks of the 2015 regular season for violating the league’s Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.[15] The suspension was a result of an incident that occurred in 2013, where Ratliff was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.[15]

On October 22, 2015, he was released after what was reported as a heated exchange with general manager Ryan Pace.[16]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2005 DAL 4 1 4 3 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2006 DAL 15 0 21 12 9 4.0 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 0
2007 DAL 15 14 30 21 9 3.0 7 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 0
2008 DAL 16 16 51 33 18 7.5 12 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 0
2009 DAL 16 16 40 29 11 6.0 11 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0
2010 DAL 16 16 31 23 8 3.5 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 0
2011 DAL 16 16 38 29 9 2.0 8 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0
2012 DAL 6 6 16 10 6 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2013 CHI 5 4 9 7 2 1.5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014 CHI 11 11 37 21 16 6.5 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2015 CHI 2 2 8 7 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
122 102 285 195 90 35.0 58 0 0 0 0 15 4 13 0 0

Playoffs

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2006 DAL 1 0 1 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007 DAL 1 1 2 0 2 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009 DAL 2 2 5 2 3 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
4 3 8 2 6 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

Personal life

Ratliff was arrested the evening of January 22, 2013, on suspicion of drunk driving.[17] He was arrested 20 miles northwest of Dallas after he sideswiped a semi-truck. No one was injured. However; Ratliff failed the field sobriety test and spent the night in jail. He was released the following morning on bond.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Sanchez, Josh (November 9, 2013). "Jay Ratliff wants Bears to call him 'Jeremiah'". fansided.com. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "Jay Ratliff NFL Profile". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  3. ^ "2005 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  4. ^ "Auburn in the NFL - Week 5". AuburnTigers.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  5. ^ Pasquarelli, Len (September 10, 2007). "Cowboys' Ferguson out for season". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  6. ^ "Cowboys sign Ratliff to five-year, $20.5 million extension". ESPN.com. December 15, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
  7. ^ a b "DT Jay Ratliff medically cleared". October 23, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  8. ^ "Cowboys release Jay Ratliff". October 16, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  9. ^ "Cowboys Decide To Part Ways With Veteran DT Jay Ratliff". Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  10. Profootballtalk.com
    . Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  11. ^ Patra, Kevin (December 1, 2013). "Jay Ratliff, Stephen Paea to play for Chicago Bears". National Football League. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  12. ^ Mayer, Larry (December 3, 2013). "Ratliff expected to see expanded playing time Monday". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  13. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg. "Jeremiah Ratliff re-signs with Chicago Bears". NFL.com. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  14. ^ Duarte, Michael (October 19, 2014). "Dolphins Vs. Bears (27-14) Recap: Watch Ryan Tannehill Do His Best Impression Of A Running Back [VIDEO]". Latin Times. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  15. ^ a b Mayer, Larry (August 24, 2015). "Ratliff suspended for first three games". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  16. ^ Dickerson, Jeff (October 22, 2015). "Jeremiah Ratliff's release in 'best interest of our team,' Bears GM says". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  17. ^ Mervosh, Sarah; Tsiaperas, Tasha (January 22, 2013). "Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Jay Ratliff arrested on DWI charge". Dallas News.
  18. ^ Matuszewski, Erik (January 23, 2013). "Cowboys' Ratliff Is Arrested on Suspected DWI After Crash". Bloomberg.

External links

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