Former Texas football LB Malik Jefferson waived by LA Chargers
Former Texas football Second Team All-American linebacker Malik Jefferson just departed from his third team in two years in the NFL.
More roster cuts were announced among those former players out of the Texas football program in the NFL over the weekend. On Sep. 5, the Los Angeles Chargers announced that former Longhorn linebacker and five-star recruit Malik Jefferson would be waived in their last round of roster cuts ahead of the start of the 2020 NFL season.
A few other former teammates of Jefferson with the Longhorns, including now former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, were waived from their teams ahead of the opening week in the NFL. Jefferson himself has been around with a few different teams since his NFL career began a few years back.
Originally picked up by the Cincinnati Bengals with a third round selection (78th overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft, Jefferson didn’t have much traction in his initial landing spot at the next level. The 23-year-old Mesquite, TX, native Jefferson has already played for the Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and the Chargers, since getting drafted into the NFL a little more than two years ago.
we've trimmed our roster to 53.
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) September 5, 2020
→ https://t.co/VkFChrKBjG pic.twitter.com/hSgPQHwyYW
An official team release on Sep. 5 announced that Jefferson was one of 26 players released in their latest round of roster cuts. A few of the other significant roster cuts for the Chargers over the weekend included Oklahoma State wide receiver Tyron Johnson, Kansas State wide receiver/tight end Dalton Schoen, and Notre Dame cornerback Donte Vaughn.
Jefferson has played in 21 career games to date. He spent one season with the Bengals and another with the Brown. In those just over 21 games played in his NFL career so far, Jefferson registered 11 combined tackles (six solo and five assisted). Jefferson also took more than 330 special teams snaps in his two years in the NFL now.
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During his three years playing for Texas, Jefferson received multiple All-Big 12 selections, one Second Team All-American nod, and Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. He hasn’t found much traction in the NFL yet, but he might get another shot with a fourth team in the near future.