Jason Croom (born February 28, 1994) is an

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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

who is currently a free agent. 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

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

Early years

Croom 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 ...

Norcross High School Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school is also th ...

Norcross, Georgia Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 9,116, while in 2020 the population was 17,209. It is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metropolitan statistical area. History ...

. He committed to play college football at the University of Tennessee.

College career

Croom attended and played college football at the University of Tennessee from 2012–2016 under head coaches Derek Dooley and

Butch Jones Lyle Allen "Butch" Jones Jr. (born January 17, 1968) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Arkansas State University. Jones previously served as a special assistant to the head coach and offensive analyst at the Univ ...

. In the 2012 season, he made his collegiate debut in the 51–13 victory over

Georgia State Georgia state or ''variation'', may refer to: Primarily * Georgia State University ("State", "Georgia State"), a state university * Georgia (U.S. state) ("Georgia state"), a state of the United States of America Sports * sports teams of Georgia St ...

. However, he suffered a shoulder injury and was redshirted in the 5–7 season for the Volunteers. In the 2013 season, he had 18 receptions for 269 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. In the second game of the 2013 season, a 59–14 loss to #2

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, he scored his first collegiate touchdown, a four-yard pass from quarterback

Justin Worley Justin Scott Worley (born November 20, 1992) is a former American football quarterback. Worley played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers. Early years Worley attended Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he pl ...

, in the first quarter. In the regular season finale, a 27–14 victory over

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, he had two receptions for 74 receiving yards and one touchdown, which was a 43-yard reception. He finished fourth on the team in receptions, third in receiving yards, and tied for second in receiving touchdowns in the 5–7 season. In the 2014 season, he had 21 receptions for 305 receiving yards and finished tied for second on the team with four receiving touchdowns. He suffered a knee injury and was forced to miss the Vols'

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

victory over

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. Croom missed the entire 2015 season as a result of a scope on his knee. He returned to the lineup as a tight end in the 2016 season, where he had 21 receptions for 242 receiving yards in the Volunteers' 9–4 season.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Croom went undrafted in the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills. On August 20, he was cut. One day later, he was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury, but was removed four days later and was cut once more. On November 1, he was added to the practice squad. On January 8, 2018, he was signed back to the team. In the Buffalo Bills' 2018 season-opener against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

, Croom had two receptions for 18 receiving yards in his NFL debut. In Week 3, against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, he had a 26-yard receiving touchdown from

Josh Allen Josh or Joshua Allen may refer to: * Josh Allen (offensive lineman) (born 1991), former American football player * Josh Allen (quarterback) (born 1996), American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills since 2018 * Josh Allen (defensi ...

for the first of his professional career. On September 1, 2019, Croom was placed on injured reserve. On September 5, 2020, Croom was waived by the Bills and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on September 22.

Philadelphia Eagles

On September 29, 2020, Croom was signed 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 ...

practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on October 10 and 17 for the team's weeks 5 and 6 games 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 ...

and

, and reverted to the practice squad following each game. Against the Ravens, he caught a three-yard touchdown pass from

Carson Wentz Carson James Wentz (born December 30, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Wentz played college football at North Dakota State, where he won two consecutive NCAA FCS nat ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on October 21. He was waived by the Eagles on November 3, but was re-signed to the practice squad the following day. On January 1, 2021, Croom was promoted to the active roster. Croom suffered a significant knee injury in the preseason and was placed on season-ending injured reserve on August 21, 2021.

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croom, Jason 1994 births Living people People from Norcross, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football tight ends Tennessee Volunteers football players Buffalo Bills players Philadelphia Eagles players