Tim Jennings
refer to caption
Jennings at the 2013 Pro Bowl
No. 27, 23, 26, 28
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1983-12-24) December 24, 1983 (age 40)
Orangeburg, South Carolina, U.S.
Height:5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight:185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school:Orangeburg-Wilkinson (Orangeburg)
College:Georgia (2002–2005)
NFL draft:2006 / Round: 2 / Pick: 62
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:480
Forced fumbles:8
Fumble recoveries:7
Pass deflections:79
Interceptions:20
Defensive touchdowns:3
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Timothy DeShawn Jennings[1] (born December 24, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft.

Jennings also played for the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the Colts, he won Super Bowl XLI against the Bears. After his playing career, he became the defensive backs coach at Denmark High School.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts (2006–2009)

Jennings was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2006 NFL draft, and was a member of the Super Bowl XLI Champion team as a rookie.[2] From 2006 to 2009, Jennings recorded four interceptions and played in 53 games.[3]

Chicago Bears (2010–2015)

2010

Jennings signed with the Chicago Bears in free agency and earned a starting position in coach Lovie Smith's defense. In 2010 against the Buffalo Bills, Jennings returned an interception for a touchdown to lead the Bears a 22–19 victory.[4]

Jennings was part of the team that advanced to the 2010 NFC Championship Game, ultimately falling just short of a berth in Super Bowl XLV.

2011

During a middling 2011 season, Jennings was benched by the Bears coaching staff after a poor game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15. However, Jennings rebounded and eventually developed into one of the best cover corners in the NFL. During his time in Chicago, Jennings and hard-hitting Charles Tillman formed one of the best cornerback tandems in the league.

2012

In March 2012, Jennings was re-signed to a 2-year contract,[5] and was later reunited with former Colts teammate Kelvin Hayden.[6] Against his former team in the season opener, Jennings intercepted first-overall draft pick Andrew Luck twice, marking the first time in Jennings' career that he recorded two interceptions in a single game. He also forced another interception by deflecting Luck's pass to safety Chris Conte.[7] The following week, Jennings recorded five tackles, two passes defended, and intercepted Aaron Rodgers in a 23–10 loss to the Packers. After week three of the 2012 season against the St. Louis Rams, Jennings became the first Bears player to record an interception in four consecutive games (dating back to the 2011 season finale) since Dave Duerson in 1986.[8] Jennings was later named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for September.[9] His seven interceptions led the NFL.[10] In Week 13 against the Seattle Seahawks, Jennings sustained a shoulder injury, and was ruled out of the following game against the Minnesota Vikings. Jennings was replaced by former Colts teammate Kelvin Hayden.[11] As of Week 16, Jennings led the Bears with 15 pass breakups, and his three games with more than one interception is a team record.[12] On December 26, Jennings was named to his first career Pro Bowl.[13] Jennings finished the season with nine interceptions, leading the league, making him the first Bears player since Mark Carrier in 1990 to lead the league in interceptions.[14] Jennings was later named to the second team of the 2012 All-Pro Team, his first.[15]

2013

In 2013, Jennings recorded a team-leading four interceptions,[16] the second-most in his career, behind 2012's nine interceptions. In the past two seasons, Jennings has recorded 13 interceptions, the second-most in the league behind Richard Sherman's 16.[17] Jennings was an unrestricted free agent for the 2014 season until January 2, 2014, when he was re-signed by the Bears to a 4-year contract.[16] On January 20, 2014, Jennings was named to the Pro Bowl roster to replace Richard Sherman, becoming the second Bears cornerback to make two consecutive Pro Bowls, after Tillman in 2011–12.[18]

2015

On August 30, 2015, Jennings was released by the Bears.[19]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2015)

Jennings signed with the Buccaneers on September 3, 2015.[20] Jennings was released from the Buccaneers on November 9, 2015.[21]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Led the league
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2006 IND 11 0 7 7 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007 IND 11 4 31 30 1 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0
2008 IND 16 12 66 51 15 0.0 3 2 9 0 6 7 2 2 0 0
2009 IND 15 5 57 44 13 0.0 2 2 13 0 13 10 0 0 0 0
2010 CHI 16 13 56 41 15 0.0 2 1 39 0 39 7 1 1 0 0
2011 CHI 16 15 77 69 8 0.0 4 2 2 0 1 10 1 1 0 0
2012 CHI 14 14 60 55 5 0.0 1 9 105 1 31 21 0 0 0 0
2013 CHI 16 16 58 50 8 0.0 0 4 111 2 48 13 2 1 0 0
2014 CHI 16 16 51 37 14 0.0 2 0 0 0 0 7 1 1 17 0
2015 TAM 6 3 17 12 5 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
137 98 480 396 84 0.0 16 20 279 3 48 79 8 7 17 0

Playoffs

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2007 IND 1 0 2 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2008 IND 1 1 7 6 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
2009 IND 3 0 2 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2010 CHI 2 2 10 7 3 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
7 3 21 17 4 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0

Personal life

Jennings is the younger cousin of former NFL cornerback Donnie Abraham.

References

  1. ^ "ESPN Profile". ESPN.com.
  2. ^ "2006 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  3. ^ Tim Jennings. "Tim Jennings, DB for the Chicago Bears at". Nfl.com. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  4. ^ "Bears rally to beat Bills with late TD". Chicagobears.com. November 7, 2010. Archived from the original on November 11, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  5. ^ "Bears agree to terms with Tim Jennings". Chicagobears.com. March 13, 2012. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  6. ^ "Hayden set to push Jennings at corner – Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. July 26, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  7. ^ Mayer, Larry. "Jennings plays takeaway in Bears victory". Chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  8. ^ Mayer, Larry (September 18, 2012). "Jennings proving to be a ball hawk in secondary". Chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  9. ^ Mayer, Larry. "Jennings tabbed NFC Defensive Player of Month". Chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  10. ^ "The Season: Big Bear". National Football League. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  11. ^ Mayer, Larry (December 7, 2012). "Hayden to replace injured Jennings". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  12. ^ Mayer, Larry (December 26, 2012). "Five Bears players voted to Pro Bowl". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on December 30, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  13. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (December 26, 2012). "2013 Pro Bowl roster analysis: NFC". National Football League. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  14. ^ Mayer, Larry (January 7, 2013). "Reviewing Bears season by the numbers". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  15. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (January 12, 2013). "All-Pro Team headlined by Adrian Peterson, J.J. Watt". National Football League. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  16. ^ a b Mayer, Larry (January 2, 2014). "Bears sign Cutler, two others". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  17. ^ "Postgame notes: Bears vs. Packers". Chicago Bears. December 29, 2013. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  18. ^ Mayer, Larry (January 20, 2014). "Jennings added to Pro Bowl roster". chicagobears.com. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  19. ^ Bergman, Jeremy (August 30, 2015). "Chicago Bears cut veteran cornerback Tim Jennings". NFL.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  20. ^ Greg Auman [@gregauman] (September 4, 2015). "Bucs announce they've agreed to terms with CB Tim Jennings" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Adam Caplan [@caplannfl] (November 9, 2015). "#Buccaneers cut CB Tim Jennings" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

Indianapolis Colts 2006 NFL draft selections
Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl XLI champions
NFL annual interceptions leaders
Categories