Joshua Perry (born April 26, 1994) 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 ...
at
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
, where he was part of the 2014 National Championship team.
Early years
Perry attended
Olentangy High School
Olentangy High School is a public comprehensive secondary school located in Lewis Center, Ohio, operated by the Olentangy Local School District.
In 2007, the school was ranked as the 97th best high school in the U.S. by ''Newsweek''. Then, in ...
in
Lewis Center, Ohio
Lewis Center (also Lewis Centre) is an unincorporated community in northwestern Orange Township, Delaware County, Ohio, United States, in the Columbus, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Its ZIP code is 43035. Although Lewis Center is a small ...
. He was rated by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
as a four-star recruit and was ranked among the top outside linebackers in his class. He committed to
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
to play
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 ...
.
College career
Perry played in 10 games as a true freshman at Ohio State in 2012 and had five tackles. As a sophomore in 2013, he played in all 13 games and made 10 starts. For the season, he had 64 tackles and one
sack, which was a
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 ...
. As a junior, Perry played in all 15 games and started 14, leading the team in tackles with 124. He also had three sacks. During the
2015 College Football Playoff National Championship
The 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship was a bowl game that determined a national champion of NCAA Division I FBS college football for the 2014 season, which took place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on January 12, 2015. ...
, he recorded six tackles.
Professional career
Coming out of Ohio State, Perry was projected by the majority of analysts to be a second to fourth round draft selection. He was rated the seventh best outside linebacker out of the 203 available by NFLDraftScout.com.
Perry received positive reviews from scouts and analysts for his leadership, strength, productive tackling, conditioning, instincts, and anticipation. He was thought to be a limited playmaker who loses focus during blocks, with minimal man to man coverage skills, and below average sideline to sideline chase ability.
San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers
Perry was drafted 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 ...
in the fourth round (102nd overall) in the
2016 NFL Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...
. On May 9, 2016, the Chargers signed Perry to a four-year, $2.95 million contract with a signing bonus of $614,084. Perry entered training camp competing with
Nick Dzubnar
Nicholas David Dzubnar (born August 15, 1991) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Cal Poly. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Diego Chargers in 2015 and also played for the T ...
to be the backup right inside linebacker. Perry was named the third right inside linebacker behind veteran
Denzel Perryman
Denzel Perryman (born December 5, 1992) is an American football middle linebacker for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Miami.
High school career
Perryman attended Coral Gables Senior Hig ...
and Dzubnar to begin the regular season.
Perry made his professional regular season debut in the Chargers' season opener against 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 ...
. The following week, Perry made his first career solo tackle in a 38–14 victory over 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 2, 2016, he recorded three solo tackles in the Chargers' 35–34 loss to 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 ...
. On January 1, 2017, Perry received his first career start against the Kansas City Chiefs and recorded a season-high six combined tackles in a 37–27 loss.
He finished his rookie season with a total of 22 combined tackles in 15 games and one start.
On September 2, 2017, Perry was waived/injured by the Chargers and placed on injured reserve. He was released on September 9, 2017.
Indianapolis Colts
On September 18, 2017, Perry was signed to 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 ...
' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 27, 2017. He was waived by the Colts on November 14, 2017, and was re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Colts on January 1, 2018. He was waived on May 11, 2018.
Seattle Seahawks
On June 11, 2018, Perry signed with
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 ...
.
On July 30, 2018, Perry announced his retirement from the NFL due to concerns about concussions.
Post-playing career
Perry has started working for "The Fan" 97.1 FM, a sports radio station in Columbus, Ohio, co-hosting "The NFL Hour" with Matt Hayes. He has also made appearances on the Big Ten Network.
References
External links
Ohio State Buckeyes bioLos Angeles Chargers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Joshua
1994 births
Living people
People from Delaware County, Ohio
Players of American football from Ohio
American football linebackers
Ohio State Buckeyes football players
San Diego Chargers players
Los Angeles Chargers players
Indianapolis Colts players
Seattle Seahawks players
Sportspeople from Franklin, Tennessee