Israel Idonije

Israel Idonije
	refer to caption Israel at training camp, 2008
Chicago Bears
Career information
College:	Manitoba
Undrafted:	2003
Career history
	Cleveland Browns (2003); Berlin Thunder (2004); Chicago Bears(2004); Chicago Bears (2004-present); *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
	* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
	Led NFL in blocked punts/fields goals in 2005, 2006, 2007;

Israel Idonije (born November 17, 1980 in Lagos, Nigeria, later immigrated with his family to Brandon, Manitoba) is a Nigerian-Canadian defensive tackle for the National Football League's Chicago Bears. He was signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Manitoba. A draft pick of the now defunct Ottawa Renegades of the Canadian Football League, for whom he never played, Idonije spent the start 2003 season on the Cleveland Browns' practice squad prior to his release in September. He was subsequently signed to the Bears' practice squad for the final six weeks of the season^[3]. According to Alex Brown, another defensive end for the Chicago Bears, Idonije is "280 pounds and has 9 percent body fat," and eats no fat whatsoever. He also has an older sister, Praise Okwumabua (married), and two younger brothers, Rhema Idonije, who was a member of the Winnipeg Rifles in the CJFL (Canadian Junior Football League), and Emmanuel Idonije, who was a member of the Grande Prairie Regional College Wolves Men's Basketball team in the A.C.A.C (Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference).

NFL Combine

Idonije was not invited to the NFL Combine, but appeared on his own to distribute tapes of his years at University of Manitoba. Nine NFL team scouts were originally scheduled to attend a subsequent workout in Manitoba, but only one team (TheCleveland Browns) ended up attending due to the fear of SARS. Idonije was eventually signed by the Browns as an undrafted free agent, and put on Cleveland's practice squad. ^[4]

Cleveland Browns

Idonije was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent, and put on Cleveland's practice squad. He was later waived by the Browns midway through the season.

Chicago Bears

He was obtained by the Chicago Bears as a practice squad player late in the 2003 season. On December 6, 2008 Idonije recorded a career high of 1.5 sacks. Israel Idonije is a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears and remains as the Bears pass-rushing specialist. He is getting much more playing time after Dusty Dvoracek went down with a season-ending hand injury.

References

External links

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[1] ttp://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/09/16/idonije.html

[2] *Idonije's Story

[3] ttp://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=5600

[4] ttp://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=5600

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