Justin Ikeem Staples (born December 10, 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 ...
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
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
. He has been a member of the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
and
Tennessee Titans.
Early life
Staples 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 ...
at
St. Edward High School in
Lakewood, Ohio
Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Greater Clevelan ...
. He was named to the Cleveland
Plain Dealer All-State team as a linebacker his senior year, recording 92 tackles, seven sacks, one interception, 11 pass break-ups, six forced fumbles and two recovered fumbles. He was also picked for the
Big 33 Football Classic, which at the time featured the best Pennsylvania and Ohio seniors.
College career
Staples played for the
Illinois Fighting Illini
The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports.
The University operates a number of athletic faci ...
from 2009 to 2012. He was
redshirted
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
in 2008.
He played 48 games as a
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
for the Illini, recording 62 career tackles, 2.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He is also a member of the
Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...
fraternity
Professional career
Staples was rated the 79th best defensive end in the
2013 NFL draft
The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
by NFLDraftScout.com.
Cleveland Browns
Staples signed with the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
in April 2013 after going undrafted in the 2013 NFL draft. He was released by the Browns on August 31 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 25, 2013. He signed a futures contract with the Browns on December 30, 2103. He was released by the Browns on September 9, 2014.
Tennessee Titans
Staples was signed to the
Tennessee Titans' practice squad on September 16, 2014. He was promoted to the active roster on November 20 and made his NFL debut on November 23, 2014 against 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 ...
, recording one tackle.
He was released by the Titans on September 6, 2015 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 8, 2015.
Staples was promoted to the active roster on October 17, 2015.
On September 2, 2016, Staples was released by the Titans as part of final roster cuts and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 5, 2016.
On September 2, 2017, Staples was released by the Titans.
References
External links
College stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staples, Justin
Living people
1989 births
American football linebackers
American football defensive ends
St. Edward High School (Lakewood, Ohio) alumni
Illinois Fighting Illini football players
Cleveland Browns players
Tennessee Titans players
Sportspeople from Lakewood, Ohio
Players of American football from Cuyahoga County, Ohio
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople