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Jerome Jean-Marie Felton (born July 3, 1986) 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 ...
fullback. He previously played for the
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 ...
, where he had been a fundamental part of
Adrian Peterson Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football history. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he set the ...
's success, including Peterson's 2,097 rushing yards season in 2012. 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 ...
at Furman, and was drafted by 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 ...
in the fifth round of the
2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...
. He has also played for 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 ...
,
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
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
.


Early years

Felton is a 2004 graduate of Sequoyah High School,
Madisonville, Tennessee Madisonville is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,577 at the 2010 census and 5,132 at the 2020 census. Geography Madisonville is located at (35.520691, -84.362905). It is situated alon ...
, where he was a two-way starter at fullback and middle linebacker. He rushed for over 3,000 yards and compiled over 300 tackles in his three-year career. He was a three-time team offensive MVP, All-County, and All-Region selection, served as team captain, rushed for 1,300 yards, and finished second on his team with 104 tackles in 2003.


College career

Felton was all-conference as a senior, in 2007, and closed out his career as Furman's all-time record holder in scoring with 414 points. In 2006, he was named first-team All-SoCon and helped lead Furman to an 8–4 record, earn a playoff berth, and finish ranked No. 12 in The Sports Network national poll. In 2005, he helped Paladins to an 11–3 record, NCAA I-AA semifinal playoff finish, and No. 3 final national ranking. He led in rushing with 940 yards and scored a team leading 20 touchdowns and set a school single season scoring record with 124 points. In 2004, he began the season in a reserve role but by midseason took over the starting fullback job, beating out a pair of seniors in the process.


Professional career


Detroit Lions

He was drafted by the Lions in the fifth round of the
2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...
. He became the Lions starting fullback as a rookie, playing in 13 games, starting six and catching nine passes. On August 30, 2011, he was waived by the team.


Carolina Panthers

Felton was claimed off waivers by 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 ...
on September 1, 2011. After the Panthers waived
Tony Fiammetta Placido Anthony Fiammetta (born August 22, 1986) is a former American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and Chicago Bears. He was drafted by the Carolina Pan ...
, Felton was named starting fullback of the Panthers, just three days after being claimed off waivers. Felton was waived by the Panthers on November 25.


Indianapolis Colts

Felton was claimed off waivers by 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 ...
on November 28, 2011.


Minnesota Vikings

On March 20, 2012, Felton was signed as a free agent by the
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 ...
. On December 26, 2012, Felton was selected to his first NFL
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
. On March 12, 2013, Felton was re-signed by the Vikings with a three-year, $7.5 million contract. On August 14, 2013, Felton underwent an
appendectomy An appendectomy, also termed appendicectomy, is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedure to treat complicated acu ...
. On August 26, 2013, Felton was suspended for three games for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.


Buffalo Bills

On March 11, 2015, Felton signed with the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
. He was released on September 2, 2016, as part of final preseason roster cuts. On September 12, 2016, he re-signed with the Bills. On December 15, 2017, Felton announced his retirement from the NFL.


NFL statistics


References


External links


Detroit Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Felton, Jerome 1986 births Living people People from Madisonville, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee African-American players of American football American football fullbacks Furman Paladins football players Detroit Lions players Carolina Panthers players Indianapolis Colts players Minnesota Vikings players Buffalo Bills players National Conference Pro Bowl players People from Düren Sportspeople from Cologne (region) 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people