Akeem Spence (born November 29, 1991) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

who is a free agent. He was drafted by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

in the fourth round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Early years

Spence was born in

Navarre, Florida Navarre is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Santa Rosa County, Florida, Santa Rosa County in the northwest Florida Panhandle. It is a major commuter town, bedroom community for mostly United States Armed Forces, U.S. m ...

. He attended Fort Walton Beach High School, and played for the Fort Walton Beach Vikings high school football team. He recorded 80 tackles and five sacks as a senior and helped lead team to a 10-2 record and district championship. Posted 67 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and two sacks in 2007 as a junior. Rated as a three-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, he accepted an athletic scholarship from the University of Illinois over offers from Iowa State and

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

College career

While attending the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

, Spence played for the

Illinois Fighting Illini football The Illinois Fighting Illini football program represents the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level. The Fighting Illini are a founding member of ...

team from 2009 to 2012. After redshirting in 2009, he started all 13 games at

alongside All-American

Corey Liuget Corey Devon Liuget (born March 18, 1990) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football at Illinois Fighting Illini football, Illinois, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draf ...

. He had 45 tackles, four tackles for a loss, one quarterback sacks, two hurries and one fumble recovery on the season. In 2011, he started all 13 games on the season, he finished ranked fourth on the team with 69 tackles on the season, including 5.5 tackles for a loess and 1.5 sacks. As a redshirt junior, he started all 12 games in 2012 and started all 38 games of his college career at defensive tackle. He ranked third on the team in tackles with 72 and tied for second on team with 7.0 tackles for a loss and had one sack. Spence announced on December 19, 2012 that he would forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On April 27, 2013, Spence was drafted by the

in the fourth round (100th overall pick) of the

. The Buccaneers signed him to a rookie contract on May 15, 2013. Spence signed his contract on May 15, 2013, a four-year deal that's worth $2,644,424. Spence collected a $484,424 signing bonus. On December 26, 2015, the

placed Spence on injured reserve.

Detroit Lions

On March 10, 2017, Spence signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. He started 11 games during the 2017 season, recording 39 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble. Spence was named the 2017 recipient of the Detroit Lions Media-Friendly Good Guy Award by the Detroit chapter of the PFWA and Detroit Sports Media Association.

Miami Dolphins

On May 3, 2018, Spence was traded to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

for a conditional 2019 seventh round pick, previously acquired from the Browns in a trade for

Jarvis Landry Jarvis Charles Landry (born November 28, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the second round o ...

. On August 27, 2019, Spence was released from the

Philadelphia Eagles

Spence signed a one-year contract with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

on September 10, 2019. He was released after playing in six games on October 21, 2019.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On October 25, 2019, Spence was signed by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

New England Patriots

On November 21, 2020, the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

signed Spence to their practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 28 for the team's week 12 game against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. On December 5, 2020, Spence was promoted to the active roster. On August 31, 2021, Spence was released by the Patriots.

Washington Football Team

On December 16, 2021, Spence signed with the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

. He was waived on December 24.

Denver Broncos

On December 28, 2021, Spence was signed to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

practice squad. His contract expired when the teams season ended on January 8, 2022.

San Francisco 49ers

On August 1, 2022, Spence was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. He was released on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 8. He was released on November 1, 2022. He signed back to the practice squad the next day. He was signed to the active roster on December 15, 2022. He was released on January 3, 2023. Spence was re-signed to the 49ers’ practice squad on January 6, 2023. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 29, 2023.

Personal life

On January 14, 2014, Spence was arrested in

Flomaton, Alabama Flomaton is a town in Escambia County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the town's population was 1,440. It is located next to the Alabama / Florida state line. History Flomaton was incorporated as a town in 1908, having been settled ...

on charges of misdemeanor

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

possession. He was later suspended one game by the NFL for the incident. During the 2017 NFL season, Spence participated in a protest during the national anthem. Following this, he reported that his father, a contractor, was denied work due to his protest.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Akeem 1991 births Living people Navarre, Florida American football defensive tackles Illinois Fighting Illini football players People from Fort Walton Beach, Florida Players of American football from Florida Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Detroit Lions players Miami Dolphins players Philadelphia Eagles players Jacksonville Jaguars players New England Patriots players Washington Football Team players Denver Broncos players San Francisco 49ers players