Wikipedia

Genard Avery

Genard Avery (born April 26, 1995) is an American professional football defensive end. After playing college football for Memphis, he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft.

Genard Avery
refer to caption
Avery with the Eagles in 2021.
Personal information
Born: (1995-04-26) April 26, 1995 (age 29)
Grenada, Mississippi, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school:Grenada
College:Memphis (2014–2017)
Position:Defensive end
NFL draft:2018 / round: 5 / pick: 150
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Total tackles:106
Sacks:8.5
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:5
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Avery attended Grenada High School, where he was named to the Clarion-Ledger 2013 All-State Team and was the Most Valuable Player of Mississippi 6A Region. He played in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game, and was a member of The Clarion-Ledger's Targeted 22.[1] He registered 111 tackles and six sacks and forced five fumbles as a junior to earn Class 6A All-State honors.[1][2]

As a senior, Avery tallied 75 total tackles, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He also saw playing time on offense, accounting for 72 rushing yards on 18 carries and five offensive touchdowns. During senior year, recorded a season-high 10 tackles (9 solo stops) in a 51–14 win over DeSoto Central.[1]

Avery was also a Class 6A state champion powerlifter and four-year track and field letter-winner.[1]

College career

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As a freshman at Memphis, Avery had five tackles. As a junior, he had 81 tackles including 11 for loss and two interceptions returned for touchdowns. Avery followed that up with 80 tackles including 22 tackles for loss.[3][1]

Avery played in 50 career games with 34 starts, including every game of his final two seasons. His 45.5 career tackles for loss ranks second in the Memphis record book behind Tim Harris (49). His 21.5 sacks ranks third in program history behind Martin Ifedi (22.5) and Tramont Lawless (22). His 22.0 tackles for loss as a senior is a new Memphis single season record.[4][1]

Avery had 232 career tackles, which is fifth all-time at Memphis, adding four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, seven passes defended and two interceptions, both returned for touchdowns in 2016.[1]

He graduated from the University of Memphis in December 2017, completing his degree in Organizational Leadership in 3+1⁄2 years.[4][1]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0+1⁄2 in
(1.84 m) 		248 lb
(112 kg) 		31 in
(0.79 m) 		10+1⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 4.59 s 1.59 s 2.67 s 4.36 s 6.90 s 36.0 in
(0.91 m)		 10 ft 4 in
(3.15 m)		 26 reps
All values from NFL Combine[5][6]
 
Avery with the Eagles in 2021

Cleveland Browns

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Avery was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round (150th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft.[3]

On May 13, 2018, Avery signed a rookie contract worth just under $2.7 million. It includes a signing bonus worth $280,000.[7] In the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Avery recorded one strip sack and four total tackles in his NFL debut.[8] He finished his rookie season with 40 tackles and 4.5 sacks after playing in every game, while starting in 5 of them.

During his second year, Avery fell into disfavor under the new defensive scheme of Steve Wilks[9] and through the first 7 games of the season, he was only active during two games and was on the field for only 5 snaps.

Philadelphia Eagles

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On October 28, 2019, one day before the trade deadline, Avery was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft.[10]

In week 9, during his debut game with the Eagles, Avery recorded two tackles and half of a sack during the 22–14 win against the Chicago Bears. Avery remained active for the last 7 games, but he didn't record any more statistics for the rest of the season. He was inactive for the Eagles' wild card game against the Seattle Seahawks.[11]

In week 4 of the 2020 season, Avery recorded 5 quarterback hits and a sack during the 25–20 win against the San Francisco 49ers.[12] On October 30, 2020, Avery was placed on injured reserve with an elbow injury.[13] He was activated on November 30, 2020.[14] He finished his season with 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Entering the 2021 season, Avery was given a more prominent role as a starting outside linebacker. During the week 5 game against the Carolina Panthers, Avery recorded 8 tackles in the 21–18 win; the most tackles he had ever recorded in a single game up to that point.[15] On January 3, 2022, Avery was placed on the COVID list.[16] He was activated one week later on January 10. He finished the season with 43 tackles and 1 sack, while playing in 16 games and starting 12 of them, missing just one game where the Eagles did not play their starters.[17]

Pittsburgh Steelers

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On March 28, 2022, Avery signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.[18] He was released on August 23, 2022.[19]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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On August 25, 2022, Avery was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[20] He was released on August 30, 2022, and signed to the practice squad the next day.[21][22] He was promoted to the active roster on October 11.[23] On December 23, Avery was placed on season–ending injured reserve with an abdomen injury he had suffered in Week 14.[24]

Indianapolis Colts

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On June 1, 2023, Avery signed with the Indianapolis Colts.[25] He was placed on injured reserve on August 18, 2023.[26] He re-signed with the team on March 13, 2024.[27] He was released on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad.[28][29] Avery was signed to the active roster on September 17.[30] He was waived on November 23.[31]

NFL career statistics

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds Avg TD PD FF FR TD
2018 CLE 16 5 40 30 10 4.5 0 0 0.0 0 4 1 1 0
2019 CLE 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0
PHI 8 0 5 2 3 0.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0
2020 PHI 11 0 12 6 6 1.5 0 0 0.0 0 1 0 0 0
2021 PHI 16 12 43 21 22 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 53 17 101 60 41 7.5 0 0 0 0 5 1 1 0
Source: NFL.com

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Genard Avery - 2017 - Football".
  2. ^ "Avery wins state powerlifting title". The Grenada Star. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Browns select Memphis LB Genard Avery with No. 150 pick in 2018 NFL Draft". ClevelandBrowns.com. April 28, 2018. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Barnes, Evan (April 25, 2018). "Memphis football trio overcame adversity to prepare for NFL Draft". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  5. ^ "Genard Avery Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  6. ^ "Genard Avery, Memphis, ILB, 2018 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  7. ^ Cabot, Mary Kay (May 22, 2018). "Browns sign 5th-round draft pick Genard Avery to 4-year deal worth about $2.695 million". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  8. ^ Rutter, Joe. "Steelers let 14-point advantage slip away, settle for tie with Browns". Trib Live. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  9. ^ Risdon, Jeff (October 9, 2019). "Genard Avery: Why the Browns keep the 2nd-year defender as a healthy scratch". Browns Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  10. ^ Spadaro, Dave (October 28, 2019). "DE Genard Avery adds to young mix at pass-rushing spot". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  11. ^ "Genard Avery 2019 Game Logs".
  12. ^ "Genard Avery 2020 Game Logs".
  13. ^ McPherson, Chris (October 30, 2020). "Roster Moves: Eagles place DE Genard Avery and LB Nathan Gerry on Injured Reserve". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
  14. ^ McPherson, Chris (November 30, 2020). "Eagles announce three roster moves ahead of kickoff". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  15. ^ "Genard Avery 2021 Game Logs".
  16. ^ Oddo, Jillian (January 3, 2022). "Eagles place 12 players on Reserve/COVID-19 list". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
  17. ^ Bowman, Paul (January 10, 2022). "Eagles Clear COVID List, Place Three on IR". SportsTalkPhilly.com.
  18. ^ "Steelers sign Avery, Joseph". Steelers.com. March 31, 2022.
  19. ^ Varley, Teresa (August 23, 2022). "Steelers reduce roster to 80 players". Steelers.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  20. ^ Smith, Scott (August 25, 2022). "Bucs Sign Genard Avery, Lend Experience to LB Corps". Buccaneers.com.
  21. ^ Smith, Scott (August 30, 2022). "Tyler Johnson Among Cuts as Bucs Get to 53". Buccaneers.com.
  22. ^ Smith, Scott (August 31, 2022). "Bucs Start 2022 Practice Squad with 14 Returning Players". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  23. ^ Smith, Scott (October 11, 2022). "Bucs Promote OLB Genard Avery to Active Roster". Buccaneers.com.
  24. ^ "Buccaneers' Genard Avery: Lands on IR". cbssports.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  25. ^ "Colts sign DE Genard Avery, waive RB Darius Hagans". Colts.com. June 1, 2023.
  26. ^ "Colts sign WR James Washington, place DE Genard Avery on injured reserve, waive-injured WR Malik Turner". Colts.com. August 18, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  27. ^ "Colts re-sign DE Genard Avery". Colts.com. March 13, 2024.
  28. ^ "Colts make roster moves to form initial 53-man roster for 2024 regular season". Colts.com. August 27, 2024.
  29. ^ "Colts sign 11 players to practice squad". Colts.com. August 28, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  30. ^ "Colts place DT DeForest Buckner on injured reserve; sign DE Genard Avery to 53-man roster from practice squad; make additional practice squad roster moves". colts.com. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  31. ^ "Colts activate DE Tyquan Lewis from IR; waive DE Genard Avery; elevate G Antonio Mafi to active roster from practice quad for Week 12". colts.com. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
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