Kaevon Merriweather (born December 20, 1999) is an American professional football safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was signed by the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent after the 2023 NFL draft.
| No. 26 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Safety | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | December 20, 1999 Belleville, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 212 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Belleville | ||||||||
| College: | Iowa (2018–2022) | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2023 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2024 | |||||||||
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Early life
editMerriweather attended Romulus Senior High School in Romulus, Michigan before transferring to Belleville High School in Belleville, Michigan for his senior year. He starred in basketball in high school, receiving several offers to play basketball before committing to playing football in high school.[1][2] He committed to the University of Iowa to play college football after being recruited by Iowa defensive coordinator and longtime defensive backs coach Phil Parker.[3]
College career
editMerriweather played in nine games as a true freshman at Iowa in 2018, and took a redshirt in 2019 after playing in two games in 2019. In 2020, he started five of nine games, recording 23 tackles. In 2021, he started seven of 14 games and had 42 tackles and an interception as part of a nationally elite defense. Merriweather returned to Iowa as a starter in 2022.[4][5][6] He was named a first-team All-American by CBS Sports.[7]
Professional career
edit| 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 in (1.83 m) |
205 lb (93 kg) |
31+7⁄8 in (0.81 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) |
4.62 s | 1.58 s | 2.57 s | 4.24 s | 7.14 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) |
9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
17 reps | |
| Sources:[8][9] | ||||||||||||
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
editMerriweather was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2023.[10] On August 29, 2023, the Buccaneers announced that he had made the initial 53-man roster.[11]
On November 18, 2024, Merriweather was waived by the Buccaneers.[12]
Detroit Lions
editOn November 20, 2024, Merriweather signed with the Detroit Lions practice squad.[13]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (second stint)
editOn December 3, 2024, Merriweather was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers off the Lions practice squad.[14]
References
edit- ^ Batterson, Steve (September 30, 2022). "Merriweather now a lover of football after years of feeding basketball passion". Globe Gazette. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
- ^ Johnson, Jeff (August 20, 2019). "Kaevon Merriweather goes from D-I basketball recruit to competing for Iowa's starting free-safety spot". The Gazette. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ How Kaevon Merriweather went from MAC basketball hopeful to starting Iowa safety
- ^ Leistikow: How Kaevon Merriweather became an impactful leader at an important time for Iowa football
- ^ Merriweather finds a home with Hawkeyes
- ^ Kaevon Merriweather is another great gift to Hawkeyes from Michigan
- ^ Hawkeyes Jack Campbell, Kaevon Merriweather, Tory Taylor all named to CBS Sports' All-American teams
- ^ "Kaevon Merriweather Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Kaevon Merriweather College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ Smith, Scott (May 12, 2023). "Bucs Officially Announce 18 UDFA Signings". Buccaneers.com.
- ^ Smith, Scott (August 29, 2023). "Bucs Go Heavy on Front Seven in Initial 53-Man Roster". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
- ^ "Kaevon Merriweather News: Out in Tampa Bay". Rotowire. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ Reisman, Jeremy. "Detroit Lions add safety to practice squad, cut another". SB Nation. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ Smith, Scott. "Kaevon Merriweather Returns to Bolster Bucs' Injured Safety Group". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved December 4, 2024.