Jerrell Alexander Freeman (born May 1, 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. 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 the

Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

under

Pete Fredenburg Pete Fredenburg (born September 15, 1949) is a former American football coach. He was most recently the head coach at the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor in Belton, Texas, a position he had held since 1997; the program began play in 1998. Frede ...

and was signed 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 ...

by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

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) in 2008. He then played three seasons in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

, where he led the league in tackles

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. In 2012, he signed with 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 NFL, and spent two seasons with 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 ...

College career

Freeman played four seasons of collegiate football for the

. He was twice named a D3football.com All-American, including being honored as the 2007 D3football.com Defensive Player of the Year. When he left, he was the school's all-time leading tackler. As a senior, he had 59 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss, and six quarterback sacks.

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

Although Freeman was not selected in 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 was signed by the

immediately following the conclusion of the draft. He became the first Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusader to reach the NFL. Jerrell Freeman was released by the Titans prior to the start of the

2008 NFL season The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now." Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 1, 2009, w ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders

In March 2009, Freeman signed with the

of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. In the

2009 CFL season The 2009 CFL season was the 56th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 52nd season of the Canadian Football League. The Montreal Alouettes won the 97th Grey Cup on November 29 with a last second 28–27 win over the Saska ...

, Freeman was used primarily as a special teams tackler, recording a team high 25 special teams tackles. He was nominated as the team's Most Outstanding Rookie. In his second season with the Riders, Freeman saw more time as a regular linebacker. He made the starting lineup for one game in the regular season and started in two playoff games and the Grey Cup. Jerrell Freeman won CFL Defensive Player of the Week honors in week 7 after recording three sacks against the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

. He led the team in sacks by the end of the season with seven. The 2011 season was a breakout year for Freeman. Freeman lead the CFL in tackles with 106. Freeman won CFL Defensive Player of the Week in week 10 and earned CFL Defensive Player of the Month for the month of September.

Indianapolis Colts

In January 2012, Freeman signed with the

of the NFL. In Week 1 against the

, Freeman returned a

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Van ...

interception for a touchdown in the first quarter. Freeman had an outstanding first season with the Colts finishing with 145 tackles (90 solo and 55 assisted) and two sacks. His 145 tackles was the fifth highest total in the league. Freeman won the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award for his performance in a 23–7 win over 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 22, 2013. He finished the game with seven tackles, one quarterback sack, one forced fumble, one interception, and three passes defended. He was also initially credited with two interceptions, but one was later adjusted to a strip/sack for teammate

Robert Mathis Robert Nathan Mathis (born February 26, 1981) is a former American football defensive end and outside linebacker who played his entire 14-year career with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footbal ...

and a fumble recovery for Freeman. In the 2013 season, he had 5.5 sacks, 126 total tackles, two interceptions, six passes defended, six forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. In 2014, he recorded 95 combined tackles, six pass deflections, and one forced fumble in 12 games played. On March 5, 2015, the Colts made a qualifying offer to Freeman, which he signed on April 27. In Week 17 of the 2015 season, Freeman had a 23-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 30–24 victory over the

. In the 2015 season, he finished with three sacks, 112 total tackles, one interception, two passes defended, and one fumble recovery in 13 games and starts.

Chicago Bears

On March 12, 2016, Freeman signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the

. He was suspended four games on November 21, 2016, for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. In the 2016 season, he appeared in 12 games an finished with 110 total tackles (86 solo) and five passes defended. On September 12, 2017, Freeman was placed on injured reserve after sustaining a pectoral injury and a concussion in Week 1 against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. On October 30, the Chicago Bears announced that Freeman had been suspended for 10 games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy for a second time. Freeman apologized for the suspension, adding that his playing career might be in jeopardy due to a head injury and memory loss. On May 2, 2018, Freeman announced his retirement from the NFL. He was suspended an additional two years by the NFL on May 11, 2018, after failing a third drug test.

Career stats

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Jerrell 1986 births Living people African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football American football linebackers Canadian football linebackers Sportspeople from Waco, Texas Saskatchewan Roughriders players Tennessee Titans players Indianapolis Colts players Chicago Bears players University of Mary Hardin–Baylor alumni Players of American football from Texas 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people