Justin Morgan McCareins (born December 1, 1978) 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 in 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 ...

. He was drafted 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 ...

in the fourth round of the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

. He also played for the

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 ...

. 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 ...

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by th ...

Early years

McCareins attended Peacock Middle School located in Itasca, Illinois. He would first attended

Benet Academy Benet Academy ( ) is a co-educational, college-preparatory, Benedictine high school in Lisle, Illinois, United States, overseen by the Diocese of Joliet. Founded in 1886, the school was initially established in Chicago as the all-boys St. Procopiu ...

Lisle, Illinois Lisle ( ) is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,390 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the population was recorded to be 23,270. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Resea ...

for one semester before transferring to

Naperville North High School Naperville North High School is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Ogden Avenue and Mill Street in the northern-central part of Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the coun ...

where he was a teammate of future NFL

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

. McCareins played college football at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

. He is the school's all-time leader in receiving yards, and has the longest reception in school history on a 99-yard touchdown catch vs Ball State. He was inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame during the Huskies game against Kent State on October 8, 2011.

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

McCareins was drafted in the 4th round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Titans. In 2003, McCareins had a career year with the

compiling 813 yards receiving along with 7 touchdowns and 47 receptions, adding one rush for 13 yards. He played an important role for the Titans, especially in their 2002-2003 playoff campaign, setting up the game-winning field goal in overtime against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

by catching 31-yard and 22-yard passes from quarterback

Steve McNair Stephen LaTreal McNair (February 14, 1973 – July 4, 2009),Steve McNair Found Dead
...

to set up Joe Nedney's game-winning field goal. He is also one of only five players since the franchise moved to Tennessee to return a punt for a touchdown. After the 2003 season, he was traded to the

New York Jets

McCareins signed a 7-year, $30 million contract with the

after the 2003 season. McCareins had a successful first year with the Jets in 2004, catching 56 passes for 770 yards and 4 touchdowns, which placed him second on the team in receiving. McCareins also had 13 catches for 169 yards in the 2004 playoffs for the Jets. Despite catching only 43 passes in 2005, he still racked up 713 yards for the Jets, his third straight 700+ yard season. The Jets released him after the 2007 season, the 4th year on his 7-year contract. McCareins finished 26th on the Jets all-time receiving list.

Tennessee Titans (second stint)

On March 12, 2008, McCareins re-joined the Titans on a one-year, $1 million contract after four seasons with the Jets. On September 21, 2008, McCareins caught a 17-yard pass from quarterback

Kerry Collins Kerry Michael Collins (born December 30, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Collins was a member of six NFL teams, most notably the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, ...

, making Collins only the 15th player in NFL history to pass for over 30,000 yards. McCareins has the 35th most receiving yards in Titans franchise history with 1614 yards and has the 8th highest yards per catch average (minimum 50 catches) in Titans franchise history, averaging 16.4 yards per catch. He would fumble just four times in his four years in Tennessee, and his 10.9 yards per punt return places his 5th in franchise history (minimum 35 returns).

Post NFL

McCareins now lives with his family in

Whitewright, Texas Whitewright is a town in Fannin and Grayson Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 1,604 at the 2010 census, down from 1,740 at the 2000 census. The Grayson County portion of Whitewright is part of the Sherman– Denison ...

, following a brief career in law-enforcement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCareins, Justin 1978 births Living people Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois Sportspeople from Naperville, Illinois American football wide receivers Northern Illinois Huskies football players Tennessee Titans players New York Jets players Sportspeople from the Chicago metropolitan area Players of American football from Illinois