Genard Avery (born April 26, 1995) 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 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 ...
for the
Indianapolis Colts of 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). After playing
college football for
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
, he 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 (A ...
in the fifth round of the
2018 NFL Draft.
High school career
Avery attended
Grenada High School, where he was named to the Clarion-Ledger 2013 All-State Team and was the Most Valuable Player of Mississippi 6A Region. He played in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game, and was a member of The Clarion-Ledger's Targeted 22.
H registered 111 tackles and six sacks and forced five fumbles as a junior to earn Class 6A All-State honors.
As a senior, Avery tallied 75 total tackles, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He also saw playing time on offense, accounting for 72 rushing yards on 18 carries and five offensive touchdowns. During senior year, recorded a season-high 10 tackles (9 solo stops) in a 51–14 win over DeSoto Central.
Avery was also a Class 6A state champion powerlifter and four-year track and field letter-winner.
College career
As a freshman at Memphis, Avery had five tackles. As a junior, he had 81 tackles including 11 for loss and two interceptions returned for touchdowns. Avery followed that up with 80 tackles including 22 tackles for loss.
Avery played in 50 career games with 34 starts, including every game of his final two seasons. His 45.5 career tackles for loss ranks second in the Memphis record book behind Tim Harris (49). His 21.5 sacks ranks third in program history behind Martin Ifedi (22.5) and Tramont Lawless (22). His 22.0 tackles for loss as a senior is a new Memphis single season record.
Avery had 232 career tackles, which is fifth all-time at Memphis, adding four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, seven passes defended and two interceptions, both returned for touchdowns in 2016.
He graduated from the University of Memphis in December 2017, completing his degree in Organizational Leadership in years.
Professional career
Cleveland Browns
Avery 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 (A ...
in the fifth round (150th overall) of the
2018 NFL Draft.
On May 13, 2018, Avery signed a rookie contract worth just under $2.7 million. It includes a signing bonus worth $280,000. In the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Avery recorded one strip sack and four total tackles in his NFL debut. He finished his rookie season with 40 tackles and 4.5 sacks after playing in every game, while starting in 5 of them.
During his second year, Avery fell into disfavor under the new defensive scheme of
Steve Wilks and through the first 7 games of the season, he was only active during two games and was on the field for only 5 snaps.
Philadelphia Eagles
On October 28, 2019, one day before the trade deadline, Avery was traded to 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 play ...
for a fourth-round pick in the
2021 NFL Draft
The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 202 ...
.
In week 9, during his debut game with the Eagles, Avery recorded two tackles and half of a sack during the 22–14 win against the Chicago Bears. Avery remained active for the last 7 games, but he didn't record any more statistics for the rest of the season. He was inactive for the Eagles' wild card game against the Seahawks.
In week 4 of the 2020 season, Avery recorded 5 QB-hits and a sack during the 25–20 win against the San Francisco 49ers. On October 30, 2020, Avery was placed on injured reserve with an elbow injury. He was activated on November 30, 2020. He finished his season with 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Entering the 2021 season, Avery was given a more prominent role as a starting outside linebacker. During the week 5 game against the Carolina Panthers, Avery recorded 8 tackles in the 21–18 win; the most tackles he had ever recorded in a single game up to that point. On January 3, 2022, Avery was placed on the COVID list. He was activated one week later on January 10. He finished the season with 43 tackles and 1 sack, while playing in 16 games and starting 12 of them, missing just one game where the Eagles did not play their starters.
Pittsburgh Steelers
On March 28, 2022, Avery signed a one-year deal with the
Pittsburgh Steelers. He was released on August 23, 2022.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On August 25, 2022, Avery was signed 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) South division. The cl ...
. 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 11. On December 23, Avery was placed on season–ending injured reserve with an abdomen injury he had suffered in Week 14.
Indianapolis Colts
On June 1, 2023, Avery signed with the
Indianapolis Colts. He was placed on injured reserve on August 18, 2023.
NFL career statistics
References
External links
Memphis Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avery, Genard
1995 births
Living people
American football defensive ends
American football linebackers
Memphis Tigers football players
People from Grenada, Mississippi
Players of American football from Mississippi
Cleveland Browns players
Philadelphia Eagles players
Pittsburgh Steelers players
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Indianapolis Colts players