Michael Joseph (born March 19, 1995) 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The ...

of the United Football League (UFL). 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 ...

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

and has also played for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

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 signed with the Bears 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 ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Early life and high school career

Joseph grew up in

Oswego, Illinois Oswego is a village in Kendall and Will Counties, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 34,485. Oswego is the largest municipality in Kendall County. It is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. History In 1833, William Sm ...

, a suburb of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Joseph barely played at Oswego High School in his hometown, never making a start and barely recording any stats in four years.

College career

Some small schools were interested, and Joseph committed to play

, a

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

school located about five miles away from the

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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

border and only has about 2,200 students. Joseph had family ties to the Spartans as his cousin Bridget Hosley ran track there. He was only about 5'11' and 150 pounds as a freshman, so the Spartans put Joseph on the program's developmental squad before being called up to the roster later in the year. Starting as a sophomore in 2015, Joseph would make three straight All- Iowa Conference teams. In 2017, Joseph won the

Cliff Harris Clifford Allen Harris (born November 12, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. A Pro Football Hall of Famer, he appeared in five Sup ...

Award as the best small-college defender. He was the only D-III player at the

2018 Senior Bowl The 2018 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and prospects for the 2018 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game was the last ...

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Joseph went undrafted in the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

and signed with his hometown

on May 11, 2018. He was released during final roster cuts be re-signed to the practice squad on September 3, 2018. Joseph was released again on September 1, 2019, but re-signed to the practice squad. On August 3, 2020, Joseph was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on November 9, 2020. On April 9, 2021, Joseph was re-signed by the Bears. He was released on August 26, 2021. On December 20, 2021, he appeared in his first NFL game 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 ...

, playing three snaps on defense and six on special teams. Joseph was reverted to the practice squad after that game. On August 16, 2022, Joseph was waived by the Bears and reverted to injured reserve. He was released on October 1, 2022.

DC Defenders

On January 13, 2023, Joseph signed with the

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 ...

. He started all nine games for the Defenders in 2023, grabbing four interceptions to go along with forty total tackles. Joseph was named to the 2023 All-XFL Team along with DC teammates

Jordan Ta'amu Jordan Taalolo Ta'amu-Perifanos (born December 10, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the DC Defenders of the XFL. He played college football for Ole Miss. Ta'amu has been a member of several National Football League (NFL) teams and ...

, Abram Smith, Liam Fornadel,

Davin Bellamy Davin Jamaurie Bellamy (born December 27, 1994) is an American football defensive end for the DC Defenders of the XFL. He played college football at Georgia. He signed with the Houston Texans after going undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft. Profes ...

, Lucky Jackson and

Daniel Whelan Daniel Whelan (born February 10, 1999) is an Irish professional American football punter for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UC Davis and was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undraf ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Michael 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Illinois People from Oswego, Illinois American football cornerbacks Dubuque Spartans football players Chicago Bears players DC Defenders players