Malik Jefferson
Personal information | |||
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Born: | Mesquite, Texas, U.S. | November 15, 1996||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
Weight: | 235 lb (107 kg) | ||
Career information | |||
High school: | Mesquite (TX) Poteet | ||
College: | Texas | ||
Position: | Linebacker | ||
NFL draft: | 2018 / Round: 3 / Pick: 78 | ||
Career history | |||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Career NFL statistics | |||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Malik Terrell Jefferson (born November 15, 1996) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Texas. As a senior at Poteet High School in Mesquite, Texas, Jefferson won the 2014 Butkus Award given to the best linebacker in high school.[1] He has been a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, and Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL).
Early years
A native of
After participating in Nike's 2014 The Opening in Eugene, Oregon,[5] Jefferson started his senior season as preseason Defensive Player of the Year by Dave Campbell's Texas Football. He was credited with 81 tackles on the season, including six sacks and 16 tackles for loss, along with two forced fumbles and four blocked kicks, despite missing more than two games due to injury, along with three other second halves where the starters were removed. Poteet went undefeated 7–0 through its district schedule and finished the season 10–2, but was upset 27–24 in the 5A Division 2 area playoffs by The Colony.[6] Jefferson was named first-team All-American by Parade and USA Today, and also won the High School Butkus Award for the nation's top linebacker.[1] After season, he participated in the 2015 Under Armour All-America Game.
Regarded as a five-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com,[7][8] either recruiting service also ranked him the No. 1 outside linebacker prospect of his class.[9][10] With offers from every major program in the country, Jefferson narrowed his selection down to Baylor, Louisiana State, Texas, Texas A&M, and UCLA.[11] On December 19, 2014, he committed to play football at University of Texas at Austin, and was labelled as Charlie Strong's “signature recruit.”[12] He was an early enrollee arriving on campus in January 2015.
College career
Jefferson played as a
Professional career
Pre-draft
On December 31, 2017, Jefferson released a statement through
External videos | |
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Malik Jefferson's Combine Workout | |
Malik Jefferson's 40-yard dash |
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle |
Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 2+1⁄4 in (1.89 m) |
236 lb (107 kg) |
32 in (0.81 m) |
9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.52 s | 1.59 s | 2.67 s | 4.18 s | 7.12 s | 36 in (0.91 m) |
10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) |
27 reps | |
All values from NFL Combine[19]
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Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Jefferson in the third round (78th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. Jefferson was the 11th linebacker drafted in 2018.[20]
External videos | |
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Bengals draft Malik Jefferson 78th overall |
On June 21, 2018, the Bengals signed Jefferson to a four-year, $3.59 million contract that includes a
Jefferson was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.[23]
Cleveland Browns
Jefferson was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns on September 1, 2019.[24] On November 12, 2019, Jefferson was waived by the Browns.[25]
Los Angeles Chargers
On November 25, 2019, Jefferson was signed to the practice squad of the Los Angeles Chargers.[26] He signed a futures contract with the Chargers on December 30, 2019.[27]
On September 5, 2020, Jefferson was waived by the Chargers.[28]
Tennessee Titans
On September 9, 2020, Jefferson was signed to the Tennessee Titans practice squad,[29] but was released five days later.[30]
Los Angeles Chargers (second stint)
On September 16, 2020, Jefferson was signed to the Chargers practice squad.[31] He was promoted to the active roster on September 26, 2020.[32] On January 1, 2021, Jefferson was placed on injured reserve.[33] He was waived after the season on March 12, 2021.[34]
Indianapolis Colts
On May 5, 2021, Jefferson signed with the Indianapolis Colts.[35] He was waived on August 31, 2021 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[36][37] He was promoted to the active roster on December 15.[38] He was waived on January 4, 2022.[39] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 10, 2022.[40] He was released on May 10, 2022.[41]
Dallas Cowboys
On July 14, 2022, Jefferson signed with the Dallas Cowboys.[42] On August 30, he was waived and signed to the practice squad the next day.[43][44] On December 14, the Cowboys released him. On December 20, he was signed to the practice squad. On January 30, 2023, he was released.
On February 8, 2023, the Cowboys signed him to a reserve/future contract. He was waived on August 29, 2023 and re-signed to the practice squad.[45][46] He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent when his practice squad contract expired.[47]
References
- ^ a b "Mesquite Poteet linebacker Malik Jefferson receives Butkus Award, given to top high school linebacker in nation". Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
- ^ "Lancaster stops Mesquite Poteet 4 yards shy of the end zone on last play, advances to 4A-II state semis". Dallas Morning News. December 7, 2012.
- ^ "Frozen Out: Poteet's season comes to an end in regional finals for second straight year". Mesquite News. December 5, 2013.
- ^ "MaxPreps 2013 Football Junior All-American Teams". MaxPreps. January 3, 2014.
- YouTube
- ^ "Second-round Surprise: Late interception preserves The Colony upset of Poteet". Mesquite News. November 22, 2014.
- ^ "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
- ^ "Scout.com".
- ^ "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
- ^ "Scout.com outside linebackers 2015".
- ^ "Malik Jefferson Announcing Friday". Scout.com. December 18, 2014.
- ^ "Malik Jefferson gave Charlie Strong his biggest win so far as Texas coach". USA Today. August 13, 2015.
- ^ "Sporting News Freshman All-Americans: UCLA's Josh Rosen is nation's best". December 16, 2015. Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ "USA TODAY Sports Freshman All-America team". USA Today.
- ^ "Texas star LB Malik Jefferson declares for NFL draft". My San Antonio News. December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
- ^ Chiari, Mike (December 31, 2017). "Malik Jefferson Declares for 2018 NFL Draft Through The Players' Tribune". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ "NFL Malik Jefferson-ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ "The 2018 NFL Draft Big Board, Vol. 2". si.com. March 7, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ "NFL Draft Profile: Malik Jefferson". National Football League. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "Cincinnati selects Malik Jefferson in Round 3". CincyJungle.com. April 27, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ "Spotrac.com: Malik Jefferson contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "Bengals Make Three Player Moves". Bengals.com. December 18, 2018.
- ^ "Bengals Announce 53-Man Roster". Bengals.com. August 31, 2019. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- ^ "Browns claim 3 players via waivers". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 1, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ "Browns waive LB Malik Jefferson". Browns Wire. USA Today. November 12, 2019.
- ^ "Chargers Promote Tevaughn Campbell to Active Roster". Chargers.com. November 25, 2019.
- ^ "Chargers Sign Eight Players to Reserve/Future Contracts". Chargers.com. December 30, 2019.
- ^ "We've Trimmed Our Roster to 53". Chargers.com. September 5, 2020.
- ^ Wyatt, Jim. "Titans Add 16 Players to Practice Squad". TennesseeTitans.com. Tennessee Titans. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ Wyatt, Jim (September 14, 2020). "Titans Promote CB Tye Smith to Roster, Place CB Adoree' Jackson on Injured Reserve in a Flurry of Roster Moves". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ @Chargers (September 16, 2020). "We've signed Malik Jefferson to our practice squad" (Tweet). Retrieved October 4, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Announce Roster Moves". Chargers.com. September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Make Roster Moves Prior to Sunday's Game". Chargers.com. January 1, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Release Malik Jefferson and Trai Turner". Chargers.com. March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ "Colts Sign Free Agent Linebacker Malik Jefferson". Colts.com. May 5, 2021.
- ^ "Colts Announce Final 2021 Roster Cuts". Colts.com. August 31, 2021.
- ^ "Colts Sign 15 Players To Practice Squad". Colts.com. September 1, 2021.
- ^ "Colts Activate LB Malik Jefferson To 53-Man Roster From Practice Squad, Sign S Will Redmond To Practice Squad". Colts.com. December 15, 2021.
- ^ "Colts Waive LB Malik Jefferson". Colts.com. January 4, 2022.
- ^ "Colts Sign 14 Players To Reserve/Future Contracts". Colts.com. January 10, 2022.
- ^ "Colts Sign T Dennis Kelly; Release LB Malik Jefferson, T Shon Coleman; Waive TE Farrod Green, TE Eli Wolf". Colts.com. May 10, 2022.
- ^ "Cowboys Sign LB Malik Jefferson; Waive Backup RB". DallasCowboys.com. July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ Eatman, Nick (August 30, 2022). "Cowboys Make 28 Moves To Reach Roster Limit". DallasCowboys.com.
- ^ Eatman, Nick (August 31, 2022). "Rush, Grier & Maher Among Practice Squad Signees". DallasCowboys.com.
- ^ Harris, Nick (August 29, 2023). "Cowboys announce 36 roster moves ahead of regular season". DallasCowboys.com.
- ^ Walker, Patrik (August 30, 2023). "Cowboys move two to IR, reveal 2023 practice squad". DallasCowboys.com.
- ^ Fisher, Mike (January 15, 2024). "Cowboys Sign 8 New Contracts, Prepare for 14 Free Agents & 3 Superstar Deals". Sports Illustrated.
External links
- Malik Jefferson on Twitter
- Dallas Cowboys bio
- Texas Longhorns bio