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 with ...

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 formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

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 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 ...

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 ( ...

in the fifth round of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

Early years

Avery attended

Grenada High School Grenada High School is a public high school located in Grenada, Mississippi, United States. It educates students in grades 9 through 12 and is the only high school in the Grenada School District. History The first public high school in Grenada w ...

, where he was named to the ''

Clarion-Ledger ''The Clarion Ledger'' is an American daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest company in the state of Mississippi, and is one of the few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating d ...

'' 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 Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

and six sacks and forced five

fumbles A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

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 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 ...

. 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 In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

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 } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

in December 2017, completing his degree in Organizational Leadership in years.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Avery was drafted by the

in the fifth round (150th overall) of the

. 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 Steven Bernard Wilks (born August 8, 1969) is an American football coach and former player who is the interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach for the Arizona Ca ...

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 plays ...

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, 2021 ...

. 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 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 ...

. 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

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. In week 4 of the 2020 season, Avery recorded 5 quarterback hits and a sack during the 25–20 win against 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 ...

. 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 The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, 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 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 ...

. 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) NFC South, South divisio ...

. 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

. He was placed on injured reserve on August 18, 2023. He re-signed with the team on March 13, 2024.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bioMemphis 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