Jermaine Levan Kearse (born February 6, 1990) 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 wi ...

wide receiver. He played eight seasons in

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 majo ...

(NFL). He was signed by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

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 i ...

in 2012 and later won

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

with the team, beating the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. Kearse 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Kearse also played for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

and

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 For ...

Early years

Kearse grew up as a

military brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revis ...

; his father was a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. While living at Fort Lewis (now

Joint Base Lewis–McChord Joint Base Lewis–McChord (JBLM) is a U.S. military installation home to I Corps and 62nd Airlift Wing located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Headquarters, Joint Base Lewis–Mc ...

), south of

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

, he attended

Lakes High School Lakes High School is located in Lakewood, Washington. It serves students from 9th grade to 12th grade. It is one of the two major high schools in the Clover Park School District. Daffodil Festival Every year, Lakes participates in the Pierce C ...

in Lakewood 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, partl ...

for the Lancers. As a senior, he caught 54 passes for 903 yards and eight

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

College career

Kearse attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, playing for the

Huskies Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that ma ...

of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisi ...

. In his time there, he played under head coaches

Tyrone Willingham Lionel Tyrone Willingham (born December 30, 1953) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Stanford University (1995–2001), the University of Notre Dame (2002–2004), and the University of Washington (2005–2 ...

and Steve Sarkesian. As a true freshman in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, he played in all 12 games, with two starts, and had 20 receptions for 301 yards and two

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

. As a sophomore in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

in his first season with Sarkesian, Kearse started nine of 12 games and led the team in receptions with 50; yards with 866; and touchdowns with eight. He was named a second-team All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisio ...

selection. As a junior in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Kearse started all 13 games and again led the team in receptions with 63 for 1,005 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was named second-team All-Pac-10 for the second consecutive year. As a senior in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

, he had 47 receptions for 699 yards and seven touchdowns.

College statistics

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

2012 season

Kearse was signed by the

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 i ...

on April 28, 2012. he made his NFL debut on November 4 and had a six-yard reception against the Minnesota Vikings. He appeared in seven games as a rookie for Seattle in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, finishing with three catches for 31 yards and playing on special teams. Kearse underwent

LASIK LASIK or Lasik (''laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis''), commonly referred to as laser eye surgery or laser vision correction, is a type of refractive surgery for the correction of myopia, hyperopia, and an actual cure for astigmatism (eye), ...

surgery during the offseason to improve his vision.

2013 season

During the 2013 season in a Week 1 game against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

, Kearse caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

late in the fourth quarter to lift the Seahawks to a 12–7 score. The score was the first of Kearse's professional career. In a Week 5 game against the

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 ...

, Kearse had a 28-yard reception for a touchdown, and blocked a punt which resulted in a safety in the 34–28 loss. In Week 10 against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

, he scored a 43-yard touchdown after a trick play when

Marshawn Lynch Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode", he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Lync ...

threw the ball back to Russell Wilson in the 33–10 victory. In 2013, Kearse played 15 games with 346 receiving yards and four touchdowns. In the

NFC Championship The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Amer ...

on January 19, 2014, against division rival

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

, Kearse caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Wilson. The Seahawks eventually won the game 23–17 and advanced to

. During the Super Bowl against the

, Kearse had four catches for 65 yards including a 23-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, breaking four tackles to get into the endzone. The Seahawks won 43–8, giving Kearse and the team their first Super Bowl win in franchise history.

2014 season

In the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

regular season, Kearse played 15 games with 537 receiving yards and a touchdown. In Week 5, against the Washington Redskins, he caught his lone touchdown of the season in the 27–17 victory. In Week 3, in a Super Bowl XLVIII rematch against the

, Kearse threw the first pass of his NFL career, a 17-yard pass to Russell Wilson, in the 26–20 overtime victory. In the Divisional Round against the

, Kearse continued his streak of catching touchdowns in postseason games with a 63-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter, catching the ball with one hand. He would catch two other passes in the game, each going for 33 yards, and lead all receivers with 129 receiving yards on his three catches. The Seahawks won 31–17 and advanced to the NFC Championship. In the

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) North division. It is the t ...

, Kearse caught his only completion, a 35-yard game-winning overtime touchdown to give Seattle a 28–22 win after falling behind 16–0 at halftime. The victory sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. Kearse had been targeted on five throws earlier in the game, the first four being intercepted (two of them tipped by Kearse) and the fifth being incomplete. It was the fourth straight postseason game in which Kearse caught a touchdown pass. In the final minute of

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...

, Kearse caught the ball after a Wilson pass was tipped by cornerback

Malcolm Butler Malcolm Terel Butler (born March 2, 1990) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played his first four seasons with the Patriots, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2014. After leaving New England, he was a member ...

and the ball bounced four times off Kearse's body before he secured the ball. The play seemingly looked to be a remake of the Helmet Catch. However, Butler intercepted Wilson at the goal line with under 30 seconds remaining, therefore foiling the Seahawks a chance for the second championship in a row as they lost to the Patriots 28-24.

2015 season

In the 2015 season, Kearse caught eight passes for 76 yards in the season-opening 34–31 overtime loss in St. Louis against the Rams, setting a new single-game high for receptions (breaking his previous record of five). In Week 5 in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, Kearse caught his first touchdown of the season on a 30-yard pass from Wilson in the 27–24 loss. In Week 11 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 ...

, Kearse recorded four receptions for 47 yards and two touchdowns, in the 39–30 victory for his first career multi-touchdown game. In Week 15, against the Cleveland Browns, he had a career-high 110 receiving yards in the 30–13 victory. Kearse started all 16 games for the first time of his career and finished the year with 685 receiving yards and a career-high five touchdowns. In the Divisional Round against the

, Kearse had 11 receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns as the Seahawks lost by a score of 31–24.

2016 season

In the 2016 season, Kearse caught 41 passes for 511 yards and one touchdown. Seattle won the

NFC West The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Ang ...

and made the playoffs. His lone touchdown came in Week 16, against 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 th ...

in the 34–31 defeat on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

. They defeated the

in the Wild Card Round before falling to the eventual NFC Champion

in the Divisional Round.

New York Jets

2017 season

On September 1, 2017, Kearse, along with 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 ...

second-round draft pick, were traded to the

in exchange for defensive tackle

Sheldon Richardson Sheldon Adam Richardson (born November 29, 1990) is an American football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at Missouri, and was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Richardson ha ...

On September 10, in the season opener, Kearse made his Jets debut, recording seven receptions for 59 yards in the 21–12 loss to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

. In Week 2, against the Oakland Raiders, he had four receptions for 64 yards and his first two receiving touchdowns with the Jets, both coming from quarterback

Josh McCown Joshua Treadwell McCown (born July 4, 1979) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He attended Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Texas, where he was named the East Texas Player of the Year and earned All-State honorab ...

. His performance against the Raiders was only the second multi-touchdown game of his career. During Week 12 against the

, Kearse had 7 receptions for 105 receiving yards and a touchdown. He and fellow receiver

Robby Anderson Robbie Anderson (born May 9, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple. Anderson was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent ...

both had over 100 receiving yards in the same game in a Jets lost 35-27. During Week 13 against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

, Kearse had another outstanding performance, highlighted by a spectacular one-handed catch by the sideline boundary line and a 51-yard reception play later in the game. He finished the game with 9 receptions and 157 receiving yards as the Jets won 38-31. Overall, in the 2017 season, he finished with 65 receptions for 810 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.

2018 season

In Week 6, against the

, he had nine receptions for a season-high 94 yards. He had his first receiving touchdown of the season in Week 11 against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. He finished the 2018 season with 37 receptions for 371 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

Detroit Lions

On June 6, 2019, Kearse signed with the

. On August 8, 2019, Kearse suffered a broken leg early in the first quarter in Week 1 of the preseason against the

. He was placed on injured reserve on August 10, 2019. Kearse announced his retirement on September 29, 2020.

NFL career statistics

Business ventures and endorsements

On July 28, 2017, Kitsap Credit Union and Jermaine Kearse announced a formal partnership. Kearse acted as the credit union's celebrity spokesperson from August 2017 through April 2018.

Personal life

Kearse married Marisa Ventura. The couple have two daughters. Kearse is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

. Kearse is currently a program assistant at the

References

External links

Washington Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kearse, Jermaine Living people 1990 births African-American players of American football American football wide receivers Detroit Lions players New York Jets players People from Lakewood, Washington Players of American football from Washington (state) Seattle Seahawks players Sportspeople from the Seattle metropolitan area Washington Huskies football players Washington Huskies football coaches 21st-century African-American sportspeople