Pernell McPhee (born December 17, 1988) 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 wi ...

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Ravens in the fifth round of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York ...

out of

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

. He 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 ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

Early years

Pernell attended

Pahokee High School Pahokee High School (also known as Pahokee Junior Senior High School) is a historic school in Pahokee, Florida. It is currently located at 900 Larrimore Road. On November 15, 1996, The old Pahokee High School building on E. Main St. was added t ...

, where he was teammates with Dwight Bentley and

Janoris Jenkins Janoris Jermain Jenkins (born October 29, 1988), nicknamed "Jackrabbit", is an American football cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Alabama and Florida and was draft ...

. McPhee only played one year of

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 ...

and started on both sides of the ball, playing offensive tackle and defensive end. He registered 75 total tackles, including 35 tackles for loss and 19 quarterback sacks to go along with 12 forced fumbles as a senior. He helped lead Pahokee to a 14–0 record that included a 25–11 win over

John Brantley John Brantley, IV (born March 3, 1989) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Florida from 2008 to 2011. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens after going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft but was released befo ...

's Ocala Trinity Catholic for the 2006

FHSAA The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is an organization whose purpose is to organize sports competition for high schools in Florida. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Florida uses ...

Class 2B State Championship. McPhee was named all-state following that season. In addition to his exploits on the football field, he was also a two-year starter in basketball. He originally signed with the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...

out of high school before going the

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior s ...

route.

College career

Itawamaba Community College

Spent the first two years of his college career at

Itawamba Community College Itawamba Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Fulton, Mississippi. Additional campuses are in Belden and Tupelo. History Itawamba Community College began as an extension of Itawamba County Agricultural High ...

Fulton, Mississippi Fulton is a city in and the county seat of Itawamba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,961 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Tupelo Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Fulton was established in 1837 as a coun ...

where he was named an NJCAA All-American as a sophomore, a season in which he led the nation with 13.5 sacks. During his career at ICC, he tallied 124 tackles (92 solo), 32.5 sacks, 73.5 TFL, 47 QB pressures, and 4 FFs in 18 games.Pernell McPhee Player Bio
/ref> In 2019, McPhee was selected to the ICC Athletic Hall of Fame.

Mississippi State University

After completing his two years at ICC he transferred to

. He was named to the coaches All-SEC first-team as a senior in 2010 and was named first-team All-SEC as a junior in 2009. He served as a team captain in 2010. During his MSU career he started all 25 of the games in which he appeared and totaled 91 tackles (46 solo), 7 sacks, 22 TFL, 20 QB pressures, 2 FFs, and 4 pass breakups. In 2009, he was twice named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the week.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

McPhee was drafted by 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 ...

in the fifth round with the 165th overall pick of the

. McPhee collected 6.0 sacks as a rookie for the Ravens in 2011, plus 23 tackles and a forced fumble while playing in all 16 regular season games. On January 12, 2013, in the AFC Divisional Playoff against 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 ...

, McPhee recorded a strip-sack on quarterback

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with ...

. The Ravens would go on win that game 38-35 in double overtime. On January 20, 2013, in the AFC Championship 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 ...

, McPhee tipped a pass from quarterback

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

that led to an interception by

Dannell Ellerbe Dannell Antonio Ellerbe (born November 29, 1985) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and has also played for the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Ea ...

with 6:49 remaining in regulation. This led to the Ravens winning that game 28-13 and earning a trip to

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

, where they would defeat the

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 ...

by a score of 34-31. McPhee switched from defensive end to outside linebacker for the 2013 season. In the 2014 season, McPhee finished with a career high 7.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

Chicago Bears

On March 10, 2015, McPhee signed a five-year contract with the

. On September 27 on the road at

CenturyLink Field Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, t ...

, McPhee came up with two back to back sacks in a 0–26 loss to 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 ...

. In the 2015 season, McPhee led the team with 18 quarterback hits. McPhee started the 2016 season on the PUP list with a knee injury. He was activated to the active roster on October 20, 2016. In 2017, McPhee played in 13 games with five starts before suffering a shoulder injury in Week 15. He was placed on injured reserve on December 20, 2017. On February 26, 2018, McPhee was released.

Washington Redskins

On March 26, 2018 McPhee signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract with the

Baltimore Ravens (second stint)

On May 17, 2019, McPhee signed with the Baltimore Ravens. He was placed on injured reserve on October 21, 2019, with a triceps injury. On May 12, 2020, McPhee re-signed with the Ravens. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

list by the team on November 24, 2020 and activated on December 4, 2020. On March 16, 2021, McPhee signed a one-year contract extension with the Ravens. On November 20, 2021, McPhee was placed on

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 ...

with an knee injury. He was activated on December 20, 2021.

References

External links

Mississippi State bio

Baltimore Ravens bio

Chicago Bears bio

Washington Redskins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McPhee, Pernell 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Orlando, Florida American football defensive ends American football linebackers Mississippi State Bulldogs football players People from Pahokee, Florida Baltimore Ravens players Chicago Bears players Washington Redskins players Pahokee High School alumni Ed Block Courage Award recipients