T. J. Edwards
T. J. Edwards (born August 12, 1996) is an American football linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin.
Edwards making a tackle | |||||||||||||
No. 57 – Philadelphia Eagles | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | Lake Villa, Illinois | August 12, 1996||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 242 lb (110 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Lake Villa (IL) Lakes Community | ||||||||||||
College: | Wisconsin | ||||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2019 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 15, 2020 | |||||||||||||
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High school
Edwards played quarterback in high school. His senior year, he also played three games at Safety. In his three games on defense, he posted 20 tackles, 2 TFLs, 2 sacks and an interception.[1]
Recruiting
Despite playing quarterback in high school he recruited for college football as a defensive player. Edwards was originally committed to Western Michigan. However, in early December 2013 Edwards flipped his commitment to Wisconsin after being recruited by Wisconsin's defensive coordinator Dave Aranda.[2]
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
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T.J. Edwards LB |
Lake Villa, IL | Lakes Community | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | - | Dec 2, 2013 |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 68 | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 46 Rivals: NR | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
Edwards attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he played inside linebacker for the Wisconsin Badgers football team.
2014
Edwards redshirted his freshman year.[3] At the end of the season the team was preparing to play against Auburn in the Outback Bowl. The younger players on the team received extra reps and UW's defensive coordinator Dave Aranda praised Edwards, saying "He was the MVP of that period, in my opinion."[4]
2015
With 2014 starting inside linebackers Marcus Trotter and Derek Landisch graduating and needing to be replaced Edwards was thrown in the mix to become a starter. After spring practice Edwards had earned the starting role alongside Leon Jacobs.[5]
In his redshirt freshman year Edwards started all 13 games.[6] In the season opener Edwards tallied 12 tackles against Alabama. The next three games however he only recorded ten tackles. October 19 Edwards was named Big Ten freshman of the week for his performance against Purdue where he had 16 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and one forced fumble.[7]
For the season Edwards led the team in tackles, recording 84, 6.5 tackles-for-loss and one forced fumble.[8] At the end of the season Edwards was named to the Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-American team.[9] He was also named honorable mention All-Big Ten by the coaches.[10]
Professional career
After going undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, Edwards signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on May 9, 2019.[11] After making the Eagles final roster to begin 2019, he played in all 16 games with four starts.
On October 8, 2020, Edwards was placed on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 4.[12] He was activated on October 31, 2020.[13] In Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, Edwards recorded a team high 13 tackles and recorded a strip sack on quarterback Ben DiNucci which was recovered and returned by teammate Rodney McLeod for a 53 yard touchdown during the 23–9 win.[14] In Week 17 against the Washington Football Team on Sunday Night Football, Edwards recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Alex Smith during the 20–14 loss.[15]
References
- "Football - Wisconsin Athletics". Uwbadgers.com. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
- "Lakes grad T.J. Edwards getting first-team LB snaps with Badgers - Lake County News-Sun". Chicagotribune.com. 2015-04-14. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
- Bonato, Jeff. "Lakes grad T.J. Edwards getting first-team LB snaps with Badgers". Retrieved 12 December 2017.
- "Badgers football: Redshirt freshman T.J. Edwards embraces switch to linebacker | College football". host.madison.com. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
- Temple, Jesse (2015-05-04). "Athletic LB T.J. Edwards transitioning into 'natural' position for Wisconsin Badgers". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
- "Football - Wisconsin Athletics - T.J. Edwards named Freshman All-American". Uwbadgers.com. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
- "Big Ten Football Players of the Week Big Ten Conference Official Site". Bigten.org. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
- "2015 Wisconsin Badgers Tackles". cfbstats.com. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
- "Badgers football: Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Edwards named FWAA Freshman All-American | College football". host.madison.com. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
- "View 2015 All-Big Ten Defensive Team & individual award winners « Big Ten Network". Btn.com. 2015-11-30. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
- McPherson, Chris (May 9, 2019). "Eagles sign entire 2019 draft class and 10 undrafted free agents". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
- McPherson, Chris (October 8, 2020). "Eagles sign LB Dante Olson to the practice squad; place LB T.J. Edwards and S Rudy Ford on Injured Reserve". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
- McPherson, Chris (October 31, 2020). "Roster Moves: Eagles activate LB T.J. Edwards, S Rudy Ford, TE Dallas Goedert, T Jason Peters, and WR Jalen Reagor from Injured Reserve". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
- "Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles - November 1st, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- "Washington Football Team at Philadelphia Eagles - January 3rd, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.