Micah Alexander Abernathy (born February 10, 1997) 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 ...

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

for 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 ...

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). 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 ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and originally signed with 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 ...

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 ...

in 2019. He has also played for 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 ...

and

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 ...

of the NFL, the

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

, and the

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducing ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL).

Personal life and high school

Micah Abernathy was born on February 10, 1997. He was a four-star recruit of the Class of 2015, as the 233rd prospect and the 25th best cornerback prospect nationally on 247Sports. He committed to the University of Tennessee on October 10, 2014.

College career

Abernathy played at the University of Tennessee from 2015 to 2018. During his freshman year, he played in all 12 games, playing the nickel position and kick returner. He switched to safety in 2016, starting 10 games for the Volunteers. He tied the team lead for interceptions (2) and passes defended (6), ranked second in tackles (69) and led the team in fumbles recovered (3). In 2017, he started all 12 games at safety and ranked third on the team in tackles (81) but had no interceptions and only 2 passes defensed. The following year, in his final season, he started 8 games at safety, missing 4 with an injury, and again recording no interceptions (and only 1 pass defensed).

Professional career

Abernathy was graded by NFL analyst Lance Zierlein as a "priority free agent" prior to the draft, remarking that he had the requisite size, speed and athleticism acorss multiple secondary positions, but noted that he lacked awareness, instincts, and tackling ability expected.

First NFL stint

After going undrafted in the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

, Abernathy signed as an undrafted free agent for the

. Abernathy was released by the Vikings on July 24, 2019. On August 11, 2019, Abernathy signed with the

. The Buccaneers waived Abernathy on August 14, 2019. On August 26, 2019, the

signed Abernathy. He was released on August 31, 2019.

XFL

Abernathy played for the

of the

during the 2020 season.

USFL

Abernathy played for the

of the

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

during the 2022 season.

Green Bay Packers

On August 10, 2022, the Green Bay Packers signed Abernathy following injuries to safeties

Darnell Savage Darnell Henry Savage Jr. (born July 30, 1997) is an American football free safety for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland, and was drafted by the Packers in the first round of the ...

Vernon Scott Vernon Keith Scott II (born September 11, 1997) is an American football free safety who is a free agent. He played college football at TCU. He has played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Green Bay Packers. College career Scott p ...

and

Dallin Leavitt Dallin Leavitt (born August 8, 1994) is an American football strong safety who is a free agent. He played college football at BYU and Utah State. Early life and high school Leavitt grew up in Portland, Oregon and initially attended Westview H ...

. Abernathy played well in his first pre-season appearance against 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 ...

, recording an interception and a tackle for loss on a screen pass. He was named to the 53-man roster by the Packers on August 30, 2022, as the fifth safety on the depth chart. On August 31, 2022, he was released. He was signed to the practice squad two days later. He was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster and made his NFL debut in week one of the regular season, playing on six special teams snaps in the 7–23 loss to the

. On December 3, 2022, he was once again elevated for gameday.

References

External links

*
Green Bay Packers bioTennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abernathy, Micah 1997 births Living people American football safeties Tennessee Volunteers football players Minnesota Vikings players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Indianapolis Colts players Dallas Renegades players Houston Gamblers (2022) players Green Bay Packers players