Jeffrey David Charleston (born January 19, 1983) 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 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 ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

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 2006. 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 ...

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

. Charleston has also been a member of 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 expansion ...

. Charleston was part of the Super Bowl champion Saints during the 2009-2010 season.

Early years

Charleston attended Central High School in

Independence, Oregon Independence is a city in Polk County, Oregon, United States, on the west bank of the Willamette River along Oregon Route 51, and east of nearby Monmouth. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thirty square blocks of the oldest ...

.Aaron Fentress
"New Orleans Saints defensive end Jeff Charleston enjoying undefeated season after long trek to the NFL"
''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', December 10, 2009. He lettered three years in football and basketball and was first-team all-Oregon pick at tight end and second-team all-state at linebacker.

College career

Charleston played for three seasons at Division II

Western Oregon Western Oregon is a geographical term that is generally taken to mean the part of the U.S. state of Oregon within of the Oregon Coast, on the west side of the crest of the Cascade Range. The term is applied somewhat loosely, however, and is somet ...

. He was a two-time All-

Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but al ...

pick; as a sophomore, he led the team in sacks (4.5), tackles for losses (10.5) and FR (4) and ranked 3rd on team with 69 tackles. He then decided to transfer to

for both athletic and academic reasons. He sat out the 2004 season per NCAA transfer regulations, then played one season for Idaho State. As a senior, he registered 12 sacks, and had 56 tackles, five passes defended, two FF and 19 tackles for losses. He was voted Defensive and Newcomer Player-of-the-Year in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by Houston on May 4, 2006, he was waived on September 1, 2006. The Colts signed him on January 4, 2007. In 2007, he started three of 13 games at RDE (starting the final three games for injured DE-Robert Mathis) and totaled 42 tackles, 22 solo, one sack, four pressures, one FF and two passes batted. The Colts waived him in August 2008.

New Orleans Saints

Charleston was signed by the Saints for the 2008 season. He played in 10 games in 2008. In the 2009 season, Charleson played in 19 games, tallying 23 tackles. On January 2, 2011, Charleston recovered a fumble of Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman when he was hit by Charleston.

Minnesota Vikings

On June 28, 2012, Charleston was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. On August 31, as the Vikings reduced their roster down to league maximum of 53 players, he was released.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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 ...

signed him on September 26, 2012. On October 2, 2012, he was released.

Personal life

Charleston married Reagan Charleston (née Tucker) in 2012. In 2018, the couple appeared together on

Southern Charm New Orleans ''Southern Charm New Orleans'' (abbreviated as ''Southern Charm NOLA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on April 15, 2018. Developed as the second spin-off of ''Southern Charm'', it aired two seasons. The series ...

. In May 2018, the couple announced they were separating and they divorced later that year. In October 2020, Charleston married his girlfriend Maddie.

References

External links

Idaho State Bengals bioNew Orleans Saints bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charleston, Jeff Living people 1983 births Sportspeople from Oregon City, Oregon Players of American football from Oregon American football defensive ends Western Oregon Wolves football players Idaho State Bengals football players Houston Texans players Indianapolis Colts players New Orleans Saints players Minnesota Vikings players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players People from Independence, Oregon Idaho State University alumni