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Jerrell Freeman

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Jerrell Freeman
refer to caption
Freeman with the Roughriders in 2010
No. 50
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1986-05-01) May 1, 1986 (age 38)
Waco, Texas
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:236 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school:Waco (TX) University
College:Mary Hardin-Baylor
Undrafted:2008
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:597
Sacks:12.0
Interceptions:4
Forced fumbles:8
Fumble recoveries:3
Defensive touchdowns:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Career CFL statistics
Tackles:144
Sacks:13
Interceptions:3
Stats at CFL.ca profile (archived)

Jerrell Alexander Freeman[1] (born May 1, 1986) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football for the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders under Pete Fredenburg and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL) in 2008. He then played three seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, where he led the league in tackles 2011. In 2012, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL, and spent two seasons with the Chicago Bears.

College career

Freeman played four seasons of collegiate football for the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders and was twice named a D3football.com All-American, including being honored as the 2007 D3football.com Defensive Player of the Year. When he left, he was the school's all-time leading tackler. In his senior year he had 59 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss, and six quarterback sacks.

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

Although Freeman was not selected in the 2008 NFL Draft he was signed by the Tennessee Titans immediately following the conclusion of the draft. He became the first Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusader to be offered an NFL contract. Jerrell Freeman was released by the Titans prior to the start of the 2008 NFL season.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

In March 2009 Freeman signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL. In the 2009 CFL season Jerrell Freeman was used primarily as a special teams tackler, recording a team high 25 special teams tackles. He was nominated as the team's Most Outstanding Rookie. In his second season with the Riders Freeman saw more time as a regular linebacker. He made the starting lineup for one game in the regular season and started in two playoff games and the Grey Cup. Jerrell Freeman won CFL Defensive Player of the Week honors in week 7 after recording 3 sacks against the BC Lions. He led the team in sacks by the end of the season with 7.

The 2011 season was a breakout year for Freeman. Freeman lead the CFL in tackles with 105. Freeman won CFL Defensive Player of the Week in week 10 and earned CFL Defensive Player of the Month for the month of September.

Indianapolis Colts

On January 16, 2012, Freeman announced that he had signed a contract with the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. In Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, Freeman returned a Jay Cutler interception for a touchdown in the first quarter.[2] Freeman had an outstanding first season with the Colts finishing with 145 tackles (90 solo and 55 assisted) and 2 sacks. His 145 tackles was the fifth highest total in the league. Freeman won the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award for his performance in a 23–7 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on December 22, 2013. He finished the game with 7 tackles, 1 quarterback sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, and 3 passes defended.[3] He was also initially credited with 2 interceptions, but one was later adjusted to a strip/sack for teammate Robert Mathis and a fumble recovery for Freeman.[4] In 2014, he recorded 95 combined tackles, 6 pass deflections, and 1 forced fumble in 12 games played. On March 5, 2015, the Colts made a qualifying offer to Freeman,[5] which he signed on April 27.[6]

Chicago Bears

On March 12, 2016, Freeman signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Chicago Bears.[7] He was suspended four games on November 21, 2016 for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.[8]

On September 12, 2017, Freeman was placed on injured reserve after sustaining a pectoral injury and a concussion in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons.[9]

On October 30, the Chicago Bears announced that Freeman had been suspended for 10 games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy for a second time.[10] Freeman apologized for the suspension, adding that his playing career might be in jeopardy due to a head injury and memory loss.[10]

On May 2, 2018, Freeman announced his retirement from the NFL.[11][12] He was suspended an additional two years by the NFL on May 11, 2018, after failing a third drug test.[13]

Career stats

Regular season

Season Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Comb Total Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int Yds Avg Lng TDs FF
2012 Indianapolis Colts 16 16 145 90 55 2.0 – 2 1 4 4.0 4T 1 1
2013 Indianapolis Colts 16 16 126 83 43 5.5 – 6 2 13 6.5 13 0 6
2014 Indianapolis Colts 12 12 95 58 37 1.5 – 6 – – – – – 1
2015 Indianapolis Colts 13 13 112 66 46 3.0 – 2 1 23 23.0 23T 1 0
2016 Chicago Bears 12 12 110 86 24 0.0 – 4 – – – – – –
2017 Chicago Bears 1 1 10 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 70 70 598 390 208 12.0 0 20 4 40 10.0 23 2 8

Postseason

Season Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Comb Total Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int Yds Avg Lng TDs FF
2012 Indianapolis Colts 1 1 4 3 1 – – – – – – – – –
2013 Indianapolis Colts 2 1 18 10 8 – – 1 – – – – – –
2014 Indianapolis Colts 2 2 22 10 12 1.5 – – – – – – – 1
Total 5 4 44 23 21 1.5 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 1

References

  1. ^ "ESPN Profile". ESPN.com.
  2. ^ Halftime: Bears 24, Colts 14
  3. ^ "Colts ILB-Jerrell Freeman named AFC Defensive Player of the Week". blogs.colts.com. December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  4. ^ Chappell, Mike (December 24, 2013). "Colts Jerrell Freeman loses interception but wins weekly NFL defensive honor". thestarpress.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  5. ^ Wilson, Josh (March 5, 2015). "Colts Make Qualifying Offer to Jerrell Freeman, Tender Boom Herron, Daniel Adongo, and Cam Johnson". stampedeblue.com. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  6. ^ "Indianapolis Colts restricted free agent ILB-Jerrell Freeman signs qualifying offer". blogs.colts.com. April 27, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  7. ^ Wesseling, Chris (March 12, 2016). "Jerrell Freeman signs three-year deal with Bears". NFL.com. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  8. ^ Mayer, Larry (November 21, 2016). "Freeman suspended for PED violation". ChicagoBears.com.
  9. ^ Mayer, Larry (September 12, 2017). "Freeman joins White on injured reserve". ChicagoBears.com.
  10. ^ a b Finley, Patrick (October 30, 2017). "Bears ILB Jerrell Freeman suspended 10 games for PED use". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  11. ^ "Jerrell Freeman on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  12. ^ Teope, Herbie (May 2, 2018). "Bears LB Jerrell Freeman announces retirement". NFL.com.
  13. ^ Finley, Patrick (May 15, 2018). "Former Bears LB Jerrell Freeman was facing 2-year suspension when he retired". The Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
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