Jahleel Addae (born January 24, 1990) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

who is a free agent. 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 ...

for

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

where he was a captain and three-time All

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

player. He was signed by the Chargers 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 ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

College career

Coming out of Riverview High School, Addae only received three scholarship offers from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, and

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corre ...

. Addae committed to the

Central Michigan Chippewas The Central Michigan Chippewas are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Central Michigan University (CMU), located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The school fields sixteen men's and women's intercollegiate teams that compete at the N ...

as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He converted to wide receiver then to defensive back after a coaching change. Addae was named Third-team All-MAC in 2010, First-team in 2011, and Second-team in 2012. Addae finished his career at Central Michigan with 302 tackles, eight interceptions, and three forced fumbles.

Professional career

On December 17, 2012, it was announced that Addae had accepted an invitation to play in the 2013 East–West Shrine Game. On January 19, 2013, Addae recorded two solo tackles and helped Leeman Bennett's West team defeat the East 28-13. Unfortunately, Addae was not one of the 60 collegiate defensive backs to receive an invitation to attend the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. On March 11, 2013, he attended Central Michigan's annual pro day and was able to meet multiple team representatives and scouts from 26 NFL teams as his teammate Eric Fisher was a top ten draft pick. He completed all of the combine and positional drills and had an average performance. During the draft process, he had private workouts and meetings with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

and

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 ...

. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Addae was projected to be a seventh round pick or priority undrafted free agent. He was ranked the 20th best strong safety in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.

San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers

2013

On April 29, 2013, the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

signed Addae as an

after he went undrafted in the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. Throughout training camp, he competed against

Darrell Stuckey Darrell Stuckey, Jr. (born June 16, 1987) is a former American football safety. He played college football at the University of Kansas. Stuckey was an All-Big 12 First-team selection in 2008 and was considered one of the top safeties available ...

, Brandon Taylor, and

Sean Cattouse Sean Cattouse (born October 4, 1988) is a former American football free safety. He played college football at the University of California, Berkeley and attended Hubbard High School in Chicago, Illinois. He was also a member of the San Diego Char ...

for a backup safety role. After impressing the coaching staff, head coach Mike McCoy named him the backup free safety behind

Eric Weddle Eric Steven Weddle (born January 4, 1985) is an American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he was a consensus All-American, and was selected by t ...

to start the regular season. He became the Chargers' extra defensive back in nickel and dime packages as veteran Brandon Taylor was unable to play the first half of the season after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his knee during the offseason. He made his professional regular season debut in the San Diego Chargers' season-opener against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

and recorded four solo tackles in their 31-28 loss. On October 20, 2013, Addae collected a season-high five solo tackles and made his first career sack on Jacksonville Jaguars' quarterback

Chad Henne Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan. While there, Henne became only the second true freshman starti ...

during a 24-6 victory. On December 12, 2013, he earned his first career start and made two solo tackles during a 27-20 victory at the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. Addae finished the season with 38 combined tackles (34 solo), three pass deflections, and one sack in 16 games and two starts.

2014

Addae entered training camp competing against

Marcus Gilchrist Marcus Tyler Gilchrist (born December 8, 1988) is a former American football Safety (gridiron football position), safety. He played college football at Clemson Tigers football, Clemson. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second roun ...

for the starting strong safety position. Unfortunately, he suffered a hamstring injury during the Chargers' second preseason 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 ...

that caused him to miss the first two games of the regular season. Head coach Mike McCoy named him the backup strong safety behind Marcus Gilchrist to start the regular season. On September 21, 2014, he earned his first start of the season and recorded a seven combined tackles and sacked

E. J. Manuel Erik Rodriguez "EJ" Manuel Jr. (born March 19, 1990) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Florida State, leading the Seminoles to an ACC championship and Orange Bowl win in his senior year, and was drafted by ...

during a 33-14 win against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

. On October 23, 2014, Addae made four combined tackles during a 35-21 loss at the

. He suffered a possible concussion in the first quarter, but cleared a sideline concussion screening. The following day, Addae was officially diagnosed with a concussion that caused him to miss three games (Weeks 9-12). On December 14, 2014, Addae made a season-high nine combined tackles in a 22-10 loss to the

. He finished the season with 48 combined tackles (35 solo), one sack, and. one forced fumble in 11 games and five starts.

2015

Throughout training camp, Addae competed against Jimmy Wilson for the starting strong safety position after it was left vacant by the departure of

to the

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 ...

. Head coach Mike McCoy named Addae the starting strong safety, opposite

, to start the regular season. He started the San Diego Chargers' season-opener against 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 ...

and made four solo tackles in their 33-28 victory. Addae suffered a sprained ankle during the game and missed the next three contests (Weeks 2-4). On December 13, 2015, Addae collected a season-high seven solo tackles and deflected one pass in the Chargers' 10-3 loss at 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 December 24, 2015, he made four solo tackles and sacked Oakland Raiders' quarterback

Derek Carr Derek Dallas Carr (born March 28, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Fresno State, where he twice received first-team All- MWC honors, and wa ...

in their 23-20 overtime loss. Addae started 12 games and made 65 combined tackles (55 solo), four pass deflections, and a sack. The San Diego Chargers finished fourth in the

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...

with a 4-12 record.

2016

On March 25, 2016, the San Diego Chargers signed Addae to a second-round tender and agreed to a one-year, $2.55 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

. Addae entered training camp slated as the starting strong safety, ahead of rookie Adrian McDonald. Addae started the San Diego Chargers' season-opener at the

and made five combined tackles in the 33-27 loss. During the game he was penalized for a helmet-to-helmet hit on

Jeremy Maclin Jeremy Maclin (born May 11, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Missouri, where he was a two-time consensus All-American, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 2009 N ...

. On September 16, 2016, the NFL fined Addae $24,309 for the hit. The following week, Addae collected six solo tackles and deflected a pass during a 38-14 win against the

. Unfortunately, Addae left the game in the fourth quarter after suffering a broken

clavicle The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the rig ...

while making a tackle on

Denard Robinson Denard Xavier Robinson (born September 22, 1990) is currently the Assistant Director of Player Personnel for the University of Michigan football program. Robinson is also a former American football running back who played for four seasons in th ...

. He was sidelined for the next eight games (Weeks 3-10). Addae returned in Week 12 and collected eight combined tackles in the Chargers' 21-13 victory at the

. The following week, he recorded a season-high ten combined tackles in a 28-21 loss to 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 ...

. On January 1, 2017, Addae made four solo tackles, deflected a pass, and had his first career interception on a pass attempt by Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback

Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 20 ...

during a 37-27 loss. He made his interception off a pass attempt intended for running back

Knile Davis Knile Rashaad Davis (born October 5, 1991) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Arkansas and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also had brief stints with t ...

and returned it for a 90-yard touchdown to mark the first score of his career. He finished the season with 50 combined tackles (43 solo), four pass deflections, and an interception in eight games and eight starts. Addae earned an overall grade of 85.2 from Pro Football Focus and was ranked 12th among all qualified safeties in 2016.

2017

On January 2, 2017, head coach Mike McCoy was fired after the Chargers finished fourth in the AFC West with a 5-11 record and the Chargers organization announced they would be moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

before the start of the season. On March 8, 2017, the Los Angeles Chargers signed Addae to a four-year, $22.50 million

that includes $8 million guaranteed and a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $2 million. Head coach

Anthony Lynn Anthony Ray Lynn (born December 21, 1968) is an American football coach and former running back who is the assistant head coach and running backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in t ...

named Addae the starting strong safety to start the regular season. On October 1, 2017, Addae recorded a career-high 11 combined tackles in the Chargers' 26-24 loss 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 ...

. During a Week 13 matchup against 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 ( ...

, he collected six combined tackles and had a season-high two pass deflections in a 19-10 victory. Addae finished the season with a career-high 96 combined tackles (66 solo), seven pass deflections, and a half a sack in 16 games and 16 starts. It marked the first time he started all 16 games and first time since his rookie season he played in all 16 games.

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

gave Addae an overall grade of 83.4, which ranked 21st among all qualified safeties in 2017.

2018

In 2018, Addae started all 16 games, recording 75 combined tackles, one sack, three passes defensed, and an interception. On March 9, 2019, Addae was released by the Chargers after six seasons.

Houston Texans

On May 1, 2019, Addae signed with the

. Addae made his debut with the Texans in week 1 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 ...

. In the game, Addae made 2 tackles in the 30-28 loss. In week 9 against the

in London, Addae recorded his first interception of the season off

Gardner Minshew Gardner Flint Minshew II (born May 16, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He began his college football career at Northwest Mississippi, winning the NJCAA National Footba ...

in the 26–3 win.

Los Angeles Chargers (second stint)

On September 23, 2020, Addae was signed to the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on September 26 for the team's week 3 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 ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was promoted to the active roster on September 29, 2020.

Indianapolis Colts

On October 26, 2021, Addae was signed to the Indianapolis Colts practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 20.

Personal life

Addae was born to Parents of Ghanaian origin. Addae's older brother,

Jahmile Addae Jahmile Addae (born May 30, 1984) is an American football coach and former safety who is currently the secondary coach for the University of Miami. Playing career Addae played college football at West Virginia, where he was a four-year starter, ...

, played safety at

from 2002-2005 and had short stints with the

and

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 ...

. He was the running backs coach at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

from 2011-2012, was the operation coordinator at

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

for 5 years, and is now in his 2nd year as a defensive assistant back at his Alma Mater. Jahmile Addae also served as a defensive graduate assistant at

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

from 2008-2009. His cousin Alonzo Addae played college football for the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

before transferring to play at

. Alonzo is coached by Jahmile.

References

External links

Los Angeles Chargers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Addae, Jahleel 1990 births Living people People from Valrico, Florida People from Riverview, Hillsborough County, Florida Sportspeople from Hillsborough County, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football safeties Central Michigan Chippewas football players San Diego Chargers players Los Angeles Chargers players Houston Texans players Indianapolis Colts players Riverview High School (Riverview, Florida)