Darius Lamar Jennings (born June 28, 1992) 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 and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

who is a free agent. He was signed 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 ( ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2015 and 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 ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Jennings has also played for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

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

and

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 h ...

Early years

Darius Jennings was born on June 28, 1992, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at The

Gilman School Gilman School is an all-boys independent school located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. There are three school divisions: Lower School, grades pre-kindergarten through five; Middle School, grades six through eight; and Upp ...

College career

During his college career at Virginia, Jennings had 133 receptions for 1,667 yards with 11 touchdowns. He majored in sociology.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

2015 season: Rookie year

Jennings signed with the

as an

in May 2015. He started the season on the practice squad and was promoted to the active roster in early December. Jennings was waived by the Browns on December 16, 2015, but was re-signed on December 22. Jennings played in four games for the Browns in 2015, catching 14 passes for 117 yards.

2016 season

On April 4, 2016, the Browns re-signed Jennings. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Browns. The next day, he was signed to the Browns' practice squad. He was released on October 6, 2016.

Chicago Bears

On October 10, 2016, Jennings was signed to the

' practice squad. He was released by the Bears on November 22, 2016.

New York Jets

On December 6, 2016, Jennings was signed to the

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Jets on January 2, 2017. On April 26, 2017, Jennings was waived by the Jets.

Tennessee Titans

2017 season

On May 19, 2017, Jennings signed with the

. He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the Titans' practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 23, 2017. He was waived on November 25, 2017, and was re-signed back to the practice squad.

2018 season

Jennings signed a reserve/future contract with the Titans on January 15, 2018. In the season opener against 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 ...

, Jennings scored his first NFL touchdown after returning a 94-yard kickoff return during the fourth quarter as the Titans lost by a score of 27–20. During Week 9 against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, he caught a 36-yard pass despite three defenders around him in the second quarter. He finished the 28-14 road victory with 36 receiving yards and 23 return yards. In the next game against 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 ...

, Jennings returned the opening kickoff for 58 yards and recorded a 21-yard pass completion to quarterback

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted second overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota play ...

, the first of his career as the Titans won 34–10. Jennings finished the 2018 season with 22 kickoff returns for 698 yards and a touchdown. His 31.7 yards set a franchise record for average kickoff returns that also led the NFL. He also caught 11 receptions for 101 yards and rushed once for two yards.

2019 season

Jennings was released by the Titans on October 31, 2019. Prior to his release, he caught two passes for 17 yards and returned seven kicks for 147 yards. He was re-signed on December 23, 2019. In the postseason, Jennings returned three kicks for 60 yards before the Titans were defeated by 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 ...

in the AFC Championship Game.

Los Angeles Chargers

On March 30, 2020, Jennings was signed by the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

. He was released on September 5, 2020.

Detroit Lions

On August 9, 2021, Jennings signed 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 was released on August 23, 2021.

NFL statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

During the 2018 offseason, Jennings took part in the NFLPA’s Externship Program with Events DC and Under Armour. He helps out with "Next One Up," an organization helping inner-city high school athletes in Baltimore. He also worked as a camp counselor at his alma mater, The Gilman (Md.) School, helping middle schoolers with classwork and activities.

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bio

Tennessee Titans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Darius 1992 births Living people Players of American football from Baltimore American football wide receivers American football return specialists Gilman School alumni Virginia Cavaliers football players Cleveland Browns players Chicago Bears players New York Jets players Tennessee Titans players Los Angeles Chargers players Detroit Lions players