Corey Andrew Wootton (born June 22, 1987) is a former

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 wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. As a junior, he garnered first-team All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

honors. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He has also played for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

and Detroit Lions.

Early years

Born in

Rutherford, New Jersey Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 18,834. Rutherford was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 21, 1881, fr ...

, Wootton played high school football at

Don Bosco Preparatory High School , motto_translation = To Increase in Knowledge and Grace , accreditation = Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools , rival = Bergen Catholic High SchoolSaint Joseph Regional High School , mascot = , ma ...

Ramsey, New Jersey Ramsey is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located northwest of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 14,473,Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

and N.C. State. During his Freshman season, Wootton got a medical hardship year for 2005 and only played in three of first four games before being sidelined the remainder of the year with a neck injury. In 2006, he was the first Northwestern player since Hudhaifa Ismaeli (1995) to accomplish every major defensive statistic in a single season and the team's seventh-leading tackler and leader in sacks and leader in Tackles for loss. At the end of the season, Wootton earned a Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Freshman All-American selection and was named to the '' Sporting News'' Freshman All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

team. In 2007, Wootton finished second on the team with 7.0 Tackles for loss and five pass deflections and second among defensive linemen with 39 tackles.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Wootton entered the 2010 NFL Draft and was selected 109th overall in the 4th round by the Chicago Bears. During a game against the

on December 20, 2010, Wootton recorded his first career sack where he brought down quarterback

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 201 ...

. The sack forced Favre to leave the game due to a concussion. The concussion eventually sidelined Favre for the remaining two games of his final season in the NFL. In Week 9 of 2012 against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

, Wootton scored his first career touchdown off a blocked punt, which had been blocked by former Northwestern teammate Sherrick McManis. Wootton ended the 2012 season appearing in all 16 games with seven starts and seven sacks. In 2013, after injuries sustained to

Henry Melton Henry James Melton (born October 11, 1986) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football for the University of Texas, where he was a running back for the 2005 National Championship team, and also played on special te ...

and

Nate Collins Nathaniel Allen Collins (born December 14, 1987) is a former American football defensive tackle. He has played for the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars, after originally signing as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants. He p ...

, Wootton was shifted to defensive tackle in week five against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Minnesota Vikings

On March 20, 2014, it was reported Wootton had signed a one-year deal with the

Detroit Lions

On May 14, 2015, Wootton signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions.

Retirement

On July 26, 2016, Wootton announced on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that he was retiring from the NFL after playing six seasons. Following his retirement, Wootton provides football coverage for Fox Chicago and the Big Ten Network.

References

External links

Northwestern Wildcats bioChicago Bears bioMinnesota Vikings bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wootton, Corey 1987 births American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Chicago Bears players Detroit Lions players Don Bosco Preparatory High School alumni Living people Minnesota Vikings players Northwestern Wildcats football players People from Rutherford, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey