Jerome Harlan Woods is a retired American football

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...

 safety who played his entire ten-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

.

With Kansas City, he produced 720 tackles (487 solo), 5.0 sacks (-27.0 yards), 15 interceptions for 282 yards with two touchdowns, 49 passes defensed, 29 QB pressures, four fumble recoveries and 11 forced fumbles. He added 27 special teams stops and 25 kickoff returns for 581 yards (23.2 avg.). His 720 career tackles with the Chiefs rank seventh in team history.

College career

Collegiately, Woods played two seasons at the University of Memphis

University of Memphis

The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....

 after transferring from Northeast Mississippi Community College

Northeast Mississippi Community College

Northeast Mississippi Community College, also known as NEMCC, is a public, comprehensive community college. NEMCC is a located in Booneville, Mississippi, USA...

. In two campaigns with the Tigers, he tallied 219 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, seven INTs, 17 pass break-ups, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries with one touchdown.

NFL career

Woods was just the fifth player in Memphis history to be selected in the opening round of the NFL Draft

NFL Draft

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

, when we was selected by Kansas City in 1996

1996 NFL Draft

The 1996 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 20–21, 1996...

 with the 28th overall pick.

Woods made a remarkable comeback in 2003

2003 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 2003 Kansas City Chiefs season resulted in a 13–3 record, beginning with a nine-game winning streak—the franchise’s best start in their 40-year history. The Chiefs won the AFC West and clinched the second seed in the playoffs...

 to earn his initial Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

 nod after missing the entire 2002 campaign

2002 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 2002 Kansas City Chiefs season marked the franchise's 40th season in Kansas City, Missouri and ended with an 8–8 record and a tie for third place in the AFC West....

 with a broken right leg. Woods started all 16 games in 2003, recording 99 tackles (68 solo), three interceptions for 125 yards with two touchdowns, nine passes defensed, one fumble recovery and three forced fumbles.

He played in seven games in 2005

2005 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 2005 Kansas City Chiefs season resulted in a 10–6 record, but no playoff berth. The Chiefs became the sixth 10–6 team to fail to qualify for the playoffs since the NFL introduced the wild card....

, registering three tackles and three special teams stops. Woods enjoyed four triple-digit tackle campaigns with the Chiefs, including a career-high 132 tackles in his first year as a starter in ‘97. He also registered a career-best four interceptions that season as the Kansas City defense led the NFL in scoring defense by allowing just 14.5 points per game.

Upon his request, Woods was released by the Chiefs prior to the 2006 season

2006 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 2006 Kansas City Chiefs season began with the team looking to improve on their 10–6 record in 2005 under new head coach Herman Edwards.The team battled many obstacles during the 2006 season, including the loss of starting quarterback Trent Green in the first game, the readjustment of a...

. Woods could not find a new team to sign with for 2006, and on June 7, 2007, it was announced that the Chiefs had signed Woods to a one-year contract, allowing him to officially retire as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. Woods moved to the club’s Reserve/Retired list on June 8, 2007.

Woods also has 2 children: Jada, and Dylan.