Malik Jefferson

Malik Terrell Jefferson (born November 15, 1996) is an American football linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). 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]

Malik Jefferson
No. 46 – Los Angeles Chargers
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1996-11-15) November 15, 1996
Mesquite, Texas
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school:Mesquite (TX) Poteet
College:Texas
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 3 / Pick: 78
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2020
Total tackles:16
Forced fumbles:0
Fumble recoveries:0
Interceptions:0
Player stats at NFL.com

High school career

A native of Mesquite, Texas, Jefferson attended Poteet High School where he played football and baseball and competed in track and field. Playing defensive back as a sophomore in 2012, Jefferson registered 105 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, seven sacks, five forced fumbles, and four blocked kicks. Helping Poteet to an 11–3 record, including a 5–2 district mark and a UIL playoff berth, Jefferson was named Sophomore of the Year in District 10–4A and earned first-team All-Area honors by the Dallas Morning News. Poteet advanced to the 4A Division 2 quarterfinals, where they lost 21–13 to Daeshon Hall's Lancaster.[2] In his junior year, Jefferson mostly played linebacker and was part of a defense that held nine opponents to 20 points or fewer. He tallied 93 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries, and was chosen Defensive MVP and first-team All-District 10–4A. Jefferson was also an honorable mention on the 4A All-State team by the Associated Press and Texas Sports Writers Association. Poteet finished the season with a 12–2 record, including a 6–1 district mark and an appearance in the 4A Division 2 quarterfinals, where they lost 43–14 to Terence Williams' Ennis.[3] MaxPreps named Jefferson to their 2013 Junior All-American team.[4]

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 true freshman at Texas, and was named a Freshman All-American by Sporting News,[13] and USA Today.[14] Jefferson was also awarded as The Big 12 Conference Freshman Defensive Player of the Year for the 2015 season. On December 31, 2017, Jefferson declared his intentions to enter the 2018 NFL Draft.[15]

Professional career

On December 31, 2017, Jefferson released a statement through The Player's Tribune announcing his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL Draft.[16] Jefferson ignored recommendations from the College Advisory Board to return to college and chose to enter the draft instead. He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of drills, but opted to skip the three-cone drill and short shuttle. On March 28, 2018, he participated at Texas' pro day and performed the vertical jump (37"), short shuttle, and three-cone drill. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Jefferson was projected to be a second-round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the second-best inside linebacker prospect in the draft by DraftScouts.com and was ranked the eighth-best linebacker by Scouts Inc. and Sports Illustrated.[17][18]

External video
Malik Jefferson's Combine Workout
Malik Jefferson's 40-yard dash
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand size40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench 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 s1.59 s2.67 s4.18 s7.12 s36 in
(0.91 m)		10 ft 5 in
(3.18 m)		27 reps
All values from NFL Combine[19]

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 video
Bengals draft Malik Jefferson 78th overall

On June 21, 2018, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Jefferson to a four-year, $3.59 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $923,728.[21] He played in 10 games before being placed on injured reserve on December 18, 2018 with a foot injury.[22]

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 Los Angeles Chargers practice squad.[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 Los Angeles 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.

References
  1. "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.
  2. "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.
  3. "Frozen Out: Poteet's season comes to an end in regional finals for second straight year". Mesquite News. December 5, 2013.
  4. "MaxPreps 2013 Football Junior All-American Teams". MaxPreps. January 3, 2014.
  5. LB Malik Jefferson – Poteet (TX) – 2014 Nike The Opening on YouTube
  6. "Second-round Surprise: Late interception preserves The Colony upset of Poteet". Mesquite News. November 22, 2014.
  7. "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
  8. "Scout.com".
  9. "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
  10. "Scout.com outside linebackers 2015".
  11. "Malik Jefferson Announcing Friday". Scout.com. December 18, 2014.
  12. "Malik Jefferson gave Charlie Strong his biggest win so far as Texas coach". USA Today. August 13, 2015.
  13. "Sporting News Freshman All-Americans: UCLA's Josh Rosen is nation's best". December 16, 2015.
  14. "USA TODAY Sports Freshman All-America team".
  15. "Texas star LB Malik Jefferson declares for NFL draft". My San Antonio News. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  16. Chiari, Mike (December 31, 2017). "Malik Jefferson Declares for 2018 NFL Draft Through The Players' Tribune". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  17. "NFL Malik Jefferson-ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  18. "The 2018 NFL Draft Big Board, Vol. 2". si.com. March 7, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  19. "NFL Draft Profile: Malik Jefferson". National Football League. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  20. "Cincinnati selects Malik Jefferson in Round 3". CincyJungle.com. April 27, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  21. "Spotrac.com: Malik Jefferson contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  22. "Bengals Make Three Player Moves". Bengals.com. December 18, 2018.
  23. "Bengals Announce 53-Man Roster". Bengals.com. August 31, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  24. "Browns claim 3 players via waivers". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 1, 2019.
  25. "Browns waive LB Malik Jefferson". Browns Wire. USA Today. November 12, 2019.
  26. "Chargers Promote Tevaughn Campbell to Active Roster". Chargers.com. November 25, 2019.
  27. "Chargers Sign Eight Players to Reserve/Future Contracts". Chargers.com. December 30, 2019.
  28. "We've Trimmed Our Roster to 53". Chargers.com. September 5, 2020.
  29. Wyatt, Jim. "Titans Add 16 Players to Practice Squad". TennesseeTitans.com. Tennessee Titans. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  30. 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.
  31. @Chargers (September 16, 2020). "We've signed Malik Jefferson to our practice squad" (Tweet). Retrieved October 4, 2020 – via Twitter.
  32. "Los Angeles Chargers Announce Roster Moves". Chargers.com. September 26, 2020.
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