Joshua Joevan Bellamy (born May 18, 1989) 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 ...

wide receiver. 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 ...

Butte Community College Butte College is a public community college in the Butte-Glenn Community College District in Chico and Orland, California. History After the passage of the 1960 Donahoe Act, the voters of Butte County created a local community college d ...

before transferring to

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, and signed with 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 ...

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) as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He has also played for

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

Early years

Bellamy attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Boca Ciega High School Boca Ciega High School (BCHS), commonly referred to as Bogie by students, staff, and county residents, is an American four-year public high school in Gulfport, Florida, just south of the St. Petersburg city line, and is part of the Pinellas County ...

College career

Bellamy played

under head coach Charlie Strong. He finished his senior season with 24 receptions, 280 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. Before transferring to Louisville, he played for

Oroville, California Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. The population of the city was 15,506 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 200 ...

and led them to an undefeated JUCO national championship.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

On April 30, 2012, Bellamy signed with the

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 ...

. On August 31, 2012, he was released from the roster. On September 1, 2012, he was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. On December 8, 2012, he was promoted to the active roster. He was released by the team on August 31, 2013.

San Diego Chargers

On September 10, 2013, Bellamy was signed by 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 ...

to their practice squad. On November 19, 2013, he was released by the Chargers.

Washington Redskins

On November 21, 2013, two days after his release from the Chargers, Bellamy was signed by the

to their practice squad. On November 26, 2013, Bellamy was promoted to the 53-man roster. He was released by the team on April 5, 2014.

Chicago Bears

Bellamy was acquired off waivers by the

on April 8, 2014. The Bears signed him to the team's practice squad on September 1, 2014, after waiving him earlier for final roster cuts. He was activated on September 13, 2014. Josh bellamy 2015

On September 20, 2015, Bellamy caught his first career touchdown against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. On October 11, 2015, Bellamy caught a career-high 6 receptions against the

. On November 22, 2015, Bellamy caught 4 passes for a then career-high 57 yards against 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 ...

. On December 6, 2015, Bellamy had his first start, 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 ...

, catching a pass for 16 yards. On April 18, 2016, Bellamy signed his exclusive rights tender offer. He re-signed with Chicago on a one-year deal worth $760,000. On November 27, 2016, Bellamy caught four passes for 41 yards against 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 ...

, but struggled with drops as the Bears lost 27–21. On December 4, 2016, Bellamy caught four passes for a career-high 93 yards against the

. On March 6, 2017, Bellamy re-signed with the Bears. He caught a 46-yard touchdown against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

on November 12, his second-longest touchdown of his career. On December 16, Bellamy caught five passes for a season-high 70 yards 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 ...

. He played 15 games with seven starts, finishing with a career-high 24 receptions for 376 yards, good for second on the team behind

Kendall Wright Kendall Thomas Wright (born November 12, 1989) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Baylor, where he is the career leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Wright ...

. He re-signed with the Chicago Bears for the 2018 season on a one-year contract worth $1,906,000. On September 30, 2018, Bellamy caught his first touchdown of the season in the 48–10 victory over 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 December 15, Bellamy was fined $10,026 for a chop-block on

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

lineman

Aaron Donald Aaron Charles Donald (born May 23, 1991) is an American football defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh, where he received unanimous All-American honors, and ...

. In Week 16 against the

, Bellamy was ejected after fighting cornerback Richard Sherman. They started fighting after 49ers safety Marcell Harris made a late hit on quarterback

Mitchell Trubisky Mitchell David Trubisky (born August 20, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina and was drafted second overall by the Chicago ...

and wide receiver Anthony Miller joined the effort. In addition, Sherman and Miller were also ejected from the game. Before Bellamy was ejected, he had just one reception for 6 receiving yards. The Bears would go on to win 14-9. Bellamy ended the year with 14 receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. In the Bears' playoff defeat 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 ...

, he recorded a 34-yard catch that set up the Bears' lone offensive touchdown of the game.

New York Jets

On March 15, 2019, Bellamy signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the

. He was placed on injured reserve on November 5 due to a shoulder injuries; he had two catches for 20 yards on the season. Bellamy was placed on the reserve/

physically unable to perform list Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...

on May 5, 2020, ending his 2020 season. He was released on September 8, 2020.

Fraud charges

On September 10, 2020, Bellamy was arrested and charged for his alleged participation in a scheme to file fraudulent loan applications worth over $24 million via the

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the Donald Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES A ...

. He was convicted and sentenced to 37 months in federal prison on December 10, 2021.

References

External links

Chicago Bears biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellamy, Josh 1989 births Living people Players of American football from St. Petersburg, Florida American football wide receivers American football cornerbacks Butte Roadrunners football players Louisville Cardinals football players Kansas City Chiefs players San Diego Chargers players Washington Redskins players Chicago Bears players New York Jets players