Jackson Jeffcoat (born December 26, 1990[1]) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire Canadian Football League (CFL) career as a defensive end with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Jeffcoat won the 107th and 108th Grey Cup when the Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to conclude the 2019 and 2021 seasons. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns. Jeffcoat was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2014, and also played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Browns.

Jackson Jeffcoat
No. 94, 53
Jeffcoat at the Blue Bombers 2019 Grey Cup parade
Born: (1990-12-26) December 26, 1990 (age 33)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Career information
StatusRetired
CFL statusAmerican
Position(s)Defensive end
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight253 lb (115 kg)
CollegeTexas
High schoolPlano West (Plano, Texas)
Career history
As player
2014*Seattle Seahawks
20142015Washington Redskins
2016*Cleveland Browns
20172023Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star2021
CFL West All-Star2021
Career stats
Total tackles147
Sacks38.0
Forced fumbles13
Interceptions2

Early life

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Born in Dallas, Texas, while his father, Jim Jeffcoat, played for the Dallas Cowboys,[2] Jeffcoat attended Plano West Senior High School, where he was a two-time first-team all-state defensive end. Over his final three seasons, he recorded 259 tackles, 25.5 sacks, 56 TFL, 42 pressures, four PBU, three forced fumbles, two interceptions, two blocked kicks, and a touchdown. He was named a High School All-American by USA Today, Parade, and EA Sports. He was selected to play in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Regarded as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jeffcoat was listed as the No. 1 strong-side, defensive end in the class of 2010.[3]

College career

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Jeffcoat attended the University of Texas at Austin from 2010 to 2013. Jeffcoat was named a 2010 Freshman All-American by The Sporting News.[4] As a senior in 2013, he was a consensus All-American and won the Ted Hendricks Award in recognition of his contributions on the field.[5]

Professional career

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2014 NFL Combine

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 3 in
(1.91 m)
247 lb
(112 kg)
33+78 in
(0.86 m)
9+58 in
(0.24 m)
4.63 s 6.97 s 36 in
(0.91 m)
10 ft 3 in
(3.12 m)
18 reps
All values from NFL Combine.[6]

Seattle Seahawks

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Jeffcoat was originally predicted to be drafted somewhere in the middle rounds of the 2014 NFL draft. However, neither he nor any other member of the Longhorns team was selected that year, the first time since 1937 that no Longhorns were drafted.[7] Jeffcoat signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. The Seahawks released him on August 25, 2014.[8]

 
Jeffcoat with the Washington Redskins in 2015.

Washington Redskins

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On September 2, 2014, Jeffcoat was signed to the practice squad of the Washington Redskins.[9] He was promoted to the active roster on October 7,[10] but was waived three days later. The Redskins re-signed him to their practice squad again on November 13.[11] He was promoted again to the active roster on December 16.[12] In the Week 16 win against the Philadelphia Eagles that removed them from playoff contention, Jeffcoat recorded his first career sack on quarterback Mark Sanchez.[13] The following week, he had his first career start with Trent Murphy on injured reserve and recorded his first career interception, which came off Tony Romo, in the Week 17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.[14]

On November 7, 2015, he was placed on the team's injured reserve.[15] He was waived by the team on April 14, 2016.[16]

Cleveland Browns

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Jeffcoat was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns on April 15, 2016.[17] On August 1, 2016, Jeffcoat was waived by the Browns.[18]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

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Jeffcoat was signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) on February 21, 2017.[19] In 16 games played, Jeffcoat contributed 36 tackles, 7 sacks, 3 tackles on special teams, one interception, and a forced fumble. In Winnipeg's one postseason game, Jeffcoat had 5 tackles and a sack, but the Blue Bombers were defeated by Edmonton. 2018 saw Jeffcoat miss several games with injury, but he still put up a respectable 21 tackles, 5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. Jeffcoat also had a monster postseason, with four sacks in two games played, but a loss to Calgary in the Western Division final denied Jeffcoat and the Blue Bombers a trip to the 106th Grey Cup.

 
Jeffcoat raises the Grey Cup at Winnipeg's 2021 celebration at IG Field.

After fulfilling his CFL rookie contract, Jeffcoat was eligible to become a free agent on February 12, 2019. Jeffcoat was pursued by interested NFL teams, and was brought in for a workout by the Cincinnati Bengals.[20] However, Jeffcoat was signed to a two-year contract extension with the Blue Bombers on January 21, 2019.[21] Jeffcoat's 2019 season was almost identical to his 2018; he missed time with injury, played in the same number of games, had the same number of sacks and forced fumbles. In the 2019 Grey Cup, Jeffcoat had 4 tackles, 2 sacks and forced a fumble, which he recovered as the Blue Bombers went on to win 33-12.[22]

Jeffcoat signed a one-year contract extension with the Blue Bombers on January 8, 2021.[23] He played in 12 regular season games for the Bombers during the 2021 season and set a career high with nine quarterback sacks and four forced fumbles, to go along with 26 defensive tackles. Jeffcoat was named a CFL All-Star for the first time in his career, as he helped the Bombers win consecutive Grey Cups. Jeffcoat missed two games in the 2022 season with a hip injury.[24]

On January 19, 2023, Jeffcoat and the Bombers agreed to a one-year contract extension.[25] Jeffcoat suffered a lower-body injury in the Bombers' Week 1 win, the injury caused him to miss some action at the start of the season.[26] However, Jeffcoat recovered and played in the most games in a single season since his rookie year, and produced his second highest numbers of sacks and forced fumbles on the year. After not hearing much from the Bombers prior to free agency, Jeffcoat retired on February 9.[27]

Statistics

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  Defence
Year Team Games Tackles ST Sacks Int TD FF
2017 WPG 16 36 3 7 1 0 1
2018 WPG 12 21 0 5 0 0 2
2019 WPG 12 23 0 5 0 0 2
2020 WPG Season cancelled
2021 WPG 12 26 0 9 0 0 4
2022 WPG 12 20 0 4 1 0 1
2023 WPG 14 21 0 8 0 0 3
CFL totals 78 147 3 38 2 0 13

References

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  1. ^ "Jackson Jeffcoat Stats, News and Video - OLB". NFL.com.
  2. ^ Farnsworth, Clare (June 15, 2014). "Jackson Jeffcoat hoping to follow in his father's footsteps". Seahawks.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  3. ^ "Strongside defensive ends 2010". Rivals.com. January 21, 2010.
  4. ^ Fagan, Ryan. "SN college football Freshman of the Year: South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore". Sporting News. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010.
  5. ^ Texas senior defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat reflects on tumultuous career
  6. ^ "Jackson Jeffcoat". NFL.
  7. ^ Halliburton, Suzanne (May 10, 2014). No Longhorns selected in draft. Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  8. ^ "Seahawks part ways with eight players". Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  9. ^ Jones, Mike (September 2, 2014). "Redskins sign center Braxston Cave, linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat to practice squad". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  10. ^ Tandler, Rich (October 7, 2014). "Redskins waive two players, promote one". CSNWashington.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  11. ^ "Redskins Sign Jackson Jeffcoat To Practice Squad". Redskins.com. November 13, 2014. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  12. ^ Alper, Josh (December 16, 2014). "Colt McCoy heads to injured reserve". NBCSports.com. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  13. ^ Walker, Andrew (December 20, 2014). "Redskins Drop Eagles 27-24 In FedExField Thriller". Redskins.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  14. ^ Skinnell, Brian (December 28, 2014). "Jeffcoat Seizes Opportunity In First-Career Start". Redskins.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  15. ^ "11/7: Roster Moves And Injury Report Update". Redskins.com. November 7, 2015. Archived from the original on November 9, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  16. ^ "Redskins waive linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat". Washington Post. April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  17. ^ Jackson, Zac (April 15, 2016). "Browns claim Jackson Jeffcoat". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  18. ^ Alper, Josh (August 2016). "Browns churn roster by adding two players and waiving two others".
  19. ^ "Bombers add players to training camp roster". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  20. ^ "Bengals hosted 5 CFL players on tryouts". December 28, 2018.
  21. ^ "Bombers sign Jeffcoat to two-year extension - TSN.ca". January 21, 2019.
  22. ^ "Box Score". CFL.
  23. ^ "Blue Bombers agree to terms with defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat on a one-year extension". BlueBombers.com. January 8, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  24. ^ TSN ca Staff (August 3, 2022). "Bombers' Jeffcoat (hip) to return vs. Alouettes - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  25. ^ TSN ca Staff (January 16, 2023). "Jackson Jeffcoat Winnipeg Blue Bombers one-year deal". TSN. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  26. ^ "Jackson Jeffcoat to miss second straight game for Winnipeg Blue Bombers". TSN. June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  27. ^ "Not mad, but 'at peace': Bombers' Jeffcoat calls it a career".
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