Jeremiah Ledbetter (born May 29, 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 ...

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

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

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 ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

High school career

Ledbetter began his career at Olympia High School before transferring to Gainesville High School.

College career

Ledbetter began his collegiate career at

Hutchinson Community College Hutchinson Community College (HutchCC or HCC) is a public community college in Hutchinson, Kansas, United States. It serves nearly 5,000 credit students every semester. History The college was established in the spring of 1928 as Hutchinson Ju ...

in 2013, finishing there as an All-American in 2014, with 24.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks. He transferred to Arkansas and stepped in right away, making 55 tackles, 7.5 for loss, and two sacks as a junior in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. He topped those marks as a senior in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, with 5.5 sacks, and was credited with 49 total tackles, 7.5 for loss.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

The

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

selected Ledbetter in the sixth round with the 205th overall pick 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 ...

. On May 12, 2017, the Lions signed Ledbetter to a four-year, $2.54 million contract with a signing bonus of $144,160. On September 1, 2018, Ledbetter was waived by the Lions.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On September 3, 2018, Ledbetter was signed to 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 ...

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 19, 2018. Ledbetter was waived/injured during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019, and reverted to the team's

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

list the next day. He was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 11.

Baltimore Ravens

On October 2, 2019, Ledbetter was signed to 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 ...

practice squad. He was released on October 21, 2019.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (second stint)

On October 22, 2019, Ledbetter was re-signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad. Ledbetter signed a reserve/future contract with the Buccaneers on December 30, 2019. Ledbetter was waived by the Buccaneers during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, and was signed to the practice squad the following day. He was elevated to the active roster on October 17 for the team's week 6 game against 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 ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was signed to the active roster on December 2, 2020. In Week 16 against the

, Ledbetter recorded his first career sack on Chase Daniel during the 47–7 win. Ledbetter earned a Super Bowl championship when the Buccaneers won

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

. Ledbetter was given an

exclusive-rights 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 ...

tender by the Buccaneers on March 9, 2021. He was waived on August 31, 2021.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 3, 2021, Ledbetter was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

practice squad. He was released on October 26.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On November 1, 2021, Ledbetter was signed to the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 10, 2022. He was waived/injured on August 10, 2022, and was placed on injured reserve the next day. He was released on August 22. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 12, 2022. He was signed to the active roster on December 28, 2022.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bioArkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledbetter, Jeremiah 1994 births Living people American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Arizona Cardinals players Baltimore Ravens players Arkansas Razorbacks football players Detroit Lions players Hutchinson Blue Dragons football players Players of American football from Orlando, Florida Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Jacksonville Jaguars players