Corey Defians Coleman (born July 6, 1994) 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 ...

wide receiver for the Philadelphia Stars of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). 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 ...

at Baylor and was drafted by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in the first round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Early life

Coleman attended J. J. Pearce High School in

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the University of ...

, where he was a three-sport star in football, basketball and track. In

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, he excelled as a rusher, receiver and returner under head coach Randy Robertson and was named first-team 2011 All-Area by

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

SportsDay (as WR/RB/QB) and earned 2011 first-team Class 4A All-State and District 10-4A MVP honors as a wide receiver. As a sophomore, he totaled 707 yards and 10 touchdowns on 91 rushes as well as 19 receptions for 229 yards and one more score, earning second-team All-District 10-4A honors. He had 69 receptions for 1,003 yards and 11 touchdowns as well as 97 carries for 426 yards and 13 touchdowns as junior in 2010; he also made two interceptions at cornerback en route to 2010 All-District 10-4A honors. As a senior in 2011, he totaled 69 receptions for 932 yards and 11 touchdowns, 567 yards and 15 touchdowns on 84 rushes and threw for 106 yards on 5-of-6 passing. In his final three seasons, Coleman amassed 3,864 all-purpose yards and 61

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

. Following his senior season, he was selected to play for the 2012 U.S. Under-19 National Football Team in the February International Bowl (formerly known as Team USA vs. The World). Coleman also participated on the

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

team, where he was a standout sprinter and jumper. As a junior in 2011, he placed second at the District 10-4A meet in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

with a leap of 13.70 meters (44'11.5"). He posted a personal-best time of 10.83 seconds in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

at the 48th Annual Jesuit-Sheaner Relays, placing sixth in the finals. At the Region II-4A meet, he recorded a career-best time of 21.76 seconds in the 200-meter dash en route to an 8th-place finish; he was also a finalist in the jumping events, finishing second in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

(6.99m or 22'11") and third in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

(2.0m or 6'6.75"), while also running the third leg on the

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

squad, helping them earn a fourth-place finish with a time of 41.97 seconds. Before his senior year, he ran the fastest

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

(4.32 seconds) at a SPARQ Combine in Oregon, which featured some of the nation's top recruits. As senior in 2012, he finished eighth at Texas UIL 3A state meet in the

with a 1.93m (6'4") mark. Coleman was rated 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 ...

as a four-star recruit. He committed to

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

to play

College career

After redshirting in 2012, Coleman started 10 of 13 games as a redshirt freshman in 2013. For the season, he had 35 receptions for 527 yards and two touchdowns. Coleman missed the first three games of his sophomore season due to a hamstring injury. In his first game back he had 12 receptions for 154 yards and a touchdown. Overall, he appeared in 10 games and recorded 64 receptions for 1,119 yards and 11 touchdowns. During the second game of his junior year in 2015, Coleman set the school record with four touchdown receptions in a single game. Coleman finished the year with 74 catches, 1,363 yards an 18.4 yard average per catch, and 20 touchdowns. Coleman capped off the year by winning the 2015

Fred Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

for the nation's best wide receiver. On December 23, 2015, Coleman underwent a sports hernia surgery, causing him to miss the

Russell Athletic Bowl The Cheez-It Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Citrus Bowl and the Florida Clas ...

. A few days following his surgery, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the

College statistics

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Coleman was drafted 15th overall by the

in the

. On May 13, 2016, he signed a four-year, $11.65 million contract. Coleman did not play for most of the preseason due to injury, but the Browns expected to start him in the first several games of the season due to the suspension of starting wide receiver

Josh Gordon Joshua Caleb Gordon (born April 13, 1991) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He previously played for the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Tennessee Titans. Nicknamed ...

. In his first regular season game on September 11, 2016, Coleman recorded two receptions for 69 yards. In Week 2 against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

, Coleman made five receptions for 104 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Coleman broke his hand during practice on September 21, and was ruled out 4–6 weeks. In Week 1 of the 2017 season, against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, Coleman caught the first career touchdown pass from quarterback

DeShone Kizer DeShone Allen Kizer (born January 3, 1996) is an American football quarterback who has played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played college football at Notre Dame and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the secon ...

. He finished the game with five receptions for 53 yards. In Week 2 against the

, Coleman suffered another broken hand, the same hand that hindered him in the 2016 season. He had surgery on the hand on September 18, 2017 and was ruled out 6–8 weeks. He was placed on injured reserve the next day. He was activated off injured reserve to the active roster on November 16, 2017. On December 31, 2017, he dropped a pass late in the fourth quarter to seal the Browns' 0–16 season.

Buffalo Bills

During the HBO series '' Hard Knocks'', Coleman became frustrated with not getting any first team reps and demanded to be traded. On August 5, 2018, Coleman was traded to the

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

for a 2020 seventh-round pick. He was released by the Bills on September 1, 2018.

New England Patriots

On September 11, 2018, Coleman was signed by 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 ...

. Coleman was released on September 17, 2018, to create a roster spot for his former Browns teammate

. On September 20, 2018, Coleman was re-signed to the Patriots practice squad. On September 29, 2018, Coleman was released from the practice squad.

New York Giants

On October 19, 2018, the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

signed Coleman to their practice squad. On October 25, 2018, he was promoted to the active roster. Coleman, as a restricted free agent, had a $2.025 million tender placed on him by the Giants on March 7, 2019. On July 25, 2019, Coleman suffered a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

on the first day of training camp with the Giants and was ruled out for the season. On March 30, 2020, Coleman re-signed with the Giants on a one-year deal. On September 6, 2020, Coleman was released from the Giants. He was re-signed to their practice squad on October 27. On November 24, 2020, the Giants released Coleman from their practice squad. On January 19, 2021, Coleman was suspended for the first six games of the 2021 season by the NFL for violating the league's

performance-enhancing drug Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

policy.

Kansas City Chiefs

After not playing for the entire 2021 season, Coleman signed with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

on March 24, 2022. Coleman was cut from the team on August 30, 2022. He re-signed to the practice squad on September 13, 2022. He was released on October 4, 2022.

Philadelphia Stars

On February 17, 2023, Coleman signed with the Philadelphia Stars of the

(USFL).

NFL career statistics

References

External links

New York Giants profileNFL.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Corey 1994 births Living people African-American players of American football Players of American football from Dallas American football wide receivers Baylor Bears football players All-American college football players Cleveland Browns players Buffalo Bills players New England Patriots players New York Giants players 21st-century African-American sportspeople Kansas City Chiefs players Philadelphia Stars (2022) players