Jason Ferguson
Encyclopedia
Jason O. Ferguson is a former American football
defensive tackle who played thirteen seasons in the National Football League
, for the New York Jets
—who originally selected in the seventh round of the 1997 NFL Draft
—, Dallas Cowboys
, and Miami Dolphins
. A native of Nettleton, Mississippi
, he played college football
at Georgia
.
team, and in track and field. In football
, he was a two-time All-South honoree and a three-time All-District honoree.
at Itawamba Community College
for two years and was a two-time All-Area and an All-State honoree. In 1994, he also earned Junior College All-American status, after recording 88 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Ferguson originally intended to go Ole Miss
from Itawamba, but switched to Georgia in the final 72 hours before 1995 National Signing Day
.
Playing for the Georgia Bulldogs
in 1995 and 1996, he lined up next to Jermaine Smith
in Georgia's defensive front. In a memorable game against Auburn
, Ferguson sacked
quarterback Dameyune Craig
on fourth-and-3 in the fourth overtime, sealing Georgia's 56-49 win.
, Ferguson was selected 229th overall by Bill Parcells
' New York Jets
. The Jets were the only club to invite him for a visit before the draft, because most teams apparently dissuaded from considering him after he was tested positive for marijuana at the pre-draft combine, reportedly being the only player to do so. Seventeen defensive tackles were taken ahead of him, including Darrell Russell and Renaldo Wynn
in the first round. Parcells originally expressed reluctance to pick Ferguson at all, but trusted Georgia's head coach, Jim Donnan
. Ferguson was signed to a two-year deal by the Jets only few days after the draft.
In his first season with the Jets, Ferguson shared time with veteran Ernie Logan
at nose tackle, before replacing him as starter at the beginning of the 1998 NFL season
. In 1999, Ferguson was suspended for four games after testing positive for steroids
. After earning a $12 million contract during the 2000–2001 offseason, Ferguson tore his right rotator cuff
during the first practice and missed all of the 2001 NFL season
. He returned to the field to following season and played all games in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
in which he totaled 59 tackles and 3½ sacks, Ferguson left the Jets for the Dallas Cowboys, rejoining Bill Parcells who had become their head coach in 2003. Ferguson was signed to a five-year, $21.5 million contract that included a $9 million signing bonus. A replacement for La'Roi Glover
most of the season, Ferguson started three games in 2005. After Glover left for the Rams in 2006, Ferguson took over as full-time starter.
Following a season-ending biceps
injury in the Cowboys' victory over the New York Giants
in Week 1 of the 2007 season
, Ferguson lost his starting job to Jay Ratliff
. That following off-season he was traded to the Miami Dolphins
in exchange for a sixth round draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft
. The teams also swapped their 2008
sixth-rounders, with the Cowboys moving up from the bottom third to the top of that round.
In a game against the Carolina Panthers
on November 19, Ferguson suffered right knee injury that caused him to miss the rest of the 2009 NFL season
. Considering his age and that fact that he is playing on the last year of his contract, it was believed that this injury would end his 13-year tenure as an NFL player because he planned to either re-sign with the Dolphins, or retire.
On March 6, 2010, Ferguson was suspended for the first eight games of the 2010 NFL season
. He was penalized for taking steroids, the second time he failed the NFL drug test. Three days later, he re-signed with the Dolphins. However, on July 15, 2010, Ferguson announced his retirement from the NFL.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
defensive tackle who played thirteen seasons in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, for the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
—who originally selected in the seventh round of the 1997 NFL Draft
1997 NFL Draft
The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that...
—, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, and Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. A native of Nettleton, Mississippi
Nettleton, Mississippi
Nettleton is a town in Lee and Monroe Counties in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The population was 1,932 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Nettleton is located at . The town sits on the boundary line between Lee County on the north and Monroe County on the south, with approximately equal portions of...
, he played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Georgia
Georgia Bulldogs football
The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Bulldogs are a member of the Southeastern Conference and are frequently a top-25 team. The University of Georgia has had a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 738–398–54...
.
Early years
Ferguson attended Nettleton High School, and earned varsity letters in football, as a center on the basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team, and in track and field. In football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, he was a two-time All-South honoree and a three-time All-District honoree.
College career
Ferguson played college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Itawamba Community College
Itawamba Community College
Itawamba Community College, formerly known as Itawamba Junior College, is a community college in Mississippi, United States, with two campuses; the main campus is located in Fulton, and a branch campus in Tupelo that mainly handles technical education programs. It serves Chickasaw, Itawamba, Lee,...
for two years and was a two-time All-Area and an All-State honoree. In 1994, he also earned Junior College All-American status, after recording 88 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Ferguson originally intended to go Ole Miss
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
from Itawamba, but switched to Georgia in the final 72 hours before 1995 National Signing Day
National Signing Day
National Signing Day most commonly refers to a day in February, usually on the first Wednesday of that month, which is the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for college football with a school that is a member of the NCAA, the main governing body for...
.
Playing for the Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia Bulldogs football
The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Bulldogs are a member of the Southeastern Conference and are frequently a top-25 team. The University of Georgia has had a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 738–398–54...
in 1995 and 1996, he lined up next to Jermaine Smith
Jermaine Smith
Jermaine Smith is an American Arena Football League player for Tampa Bay Storm. He went to Laney High School in Augusta, Georgia where he played Defensive Lineman as well as Fullback. He began his collegiate career at Georgia Military College...
in Georgia's defensive front. In a memorable game against Auburn
Auburn Tigers football
Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...
, Ferguson sacked
Quarterback sack
In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...
quarterback Dameyune Craig
Dameyune Craig
Dameyune Vashon Craig is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League for four seasons for the Carolina Panthers. He is currently the quarterbacks coach for Florida State University.-Early years:Craig played high school football for Mattie T. Blount High...
on fourth-and-3 in the fourth overtime, sealing Georgia's 56-49 win.
Professional career
New York Jets
Falling to the seventh round of the 1997 NFL Draft1997 NFL Draft
The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that...
, Ferguson was selected 229th overall by Bill Parcells
Bill Parcells
Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...
' New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The Jets were the only club to invite him for a visit before the draft, because most teams apparently dissuaded from considering him after he was tested positive for marijuana at the pre-draft combine, reportedly being the only player to do so. Seventeen defensive tackles were taken ahead of him, including Darrell Russell and Renaldo Wynn
Renaldo Wynn
Renaldo Levalle Wynn is an American football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the 1997 NFL Draft...
in the first round. Parcells originally expressed reluctance to pick Ferguson at all, but trusted Georgia's head coach, Jim Donnan
Jim Donnan
Jim Donnan is a former American football player and coach and now a television analyst for college football and a motivational speaker. He served as the head football coach at Marshall University and the University of Georgia , compiling a career record of 104–40–1...
. Ferguson was signed to a two-year deal by the Jets only few days after the draft.
In his first season with the Jets, Ferguson shared time with veteran Ernie Logan
Ernie Logan
Ernest Edward Logan II in Fort Bragg, North Carolina attended Pine Forest High School. The 6-foot-4, 290-pound Fayetteville, North Carolina native played his college football at East Carolina University from 1986–1990, where he racked up 100 tackles and 5.0 quarterback sacks. He was an American...
at nose tackle, before replacing him as starter at the beginning of the 1998 NFL season
1998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
. In 1999, Ferguson was suspended for four games after testing positive for steroids
Anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...
. After earning a $12 million contract during the 2000–2001 offseason, Ferguson tore his right rotator cuff
Rotator cuff
In anatomy, the rotator cuff is the group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the shoulder. The four muscles of the rotator cuff, along with the teres major muscle, the coracobrachialis muscle and the deltoid, make up the seven scapulohumeral muscles of the human body.-Function:The...
during the first practice and missed all of the 2001 NFL season
2001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...
. He returned to the field to following season and played all games in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Dallas Cowboys
A highly coveted free-agent in 2005, coming off a very strong 2004 season2004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
in which he totaled 59 tackles and 3½ sacks, Ferguson left the Jets for the Dallas Cowboys, rejoining Bill Parcells who had become their head coach in 2003. Ferguson was signed to a five-year, $21.5 million contract that included a $9 million signing bonus. A replacement for La'Roi Glover
La'Roi Glover
La'Roi Damon Glover ; born July 4, 1974) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League who ended his career with the St. Louis Rams. Glover retired from the NFL on June 22, 2009...
most of the season, Ferguson started three games in 2005. After Glover left for the Rams in 2006, Ferguson took over as full-time starter.
Following a season-ending biceps
Biceps
Biceps may refer to:*Biceps brachii muscle, a muscle located on the inside of the upper arm*Biceps femoris muscle, one of the hamstring muscles of the back of each thigh*Biceps , a point in a metrical pattern...
injury in the Cowboys' victory over the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Week 1 of the 2007 season
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
, Ferguson lost his starting job to Jay Ratliff
Jay Ratliff
Jeremiah "Jay" Ratliff is an American football nose tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He played college football at Auburn.-Early years:...
. That following off-season he was traded to the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in exchange for a sixth round draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft
2009 NFL Draft
The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft consisted of two rounds on the first day starting at 4:00...
. The teams also swapped their 2008
2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so...
sixth-rounders, with the Cowboys moving up from the bottom third to the top of that round.
Miami Dolphins
Rejoining Bill Parcells on a third team, Ferguson became the Dolphins' starting nose tackle in 2008. He has since appeared in all games and, as of November 2009, compiled 55 tackles (33 solo). In 2008, the Dolphins' opponents averaged only 101.3 rushing yards per game, and 4.2 yards per carry.In a game against the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
on November 19, Ferguson suffered right knee injury that caused him to miss the rest of the 2009 NFL season
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
. Considering his age and that fact that he is playing on the last year of his contract, it was believed that this injury would end his 13-year tenure as an NFL player because he planned to either re-sign with the Dolphins, or retire.
On March 6, 2010, Ferguson was suspended for the first eight games of the 2010 NFL season
2010 NFL season
The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...
. He was penalized for taking steroids, the second time he failed the NFL drug test. Three days later, he re-signed with the Dolphins. However, on July 15, 2010, Ferguson announced his retirement from the NFL.