Jewell with theDenver Broncos in 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1994-12-25)December 25, 1994 (age 30) Decorah, Iowa, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 236 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Decorah | ||||||||||||||
| College | Iowa (2013–2017) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2018: 4th round, 106th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||||
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Josey Jewell (born December 25, 1994) is an American professionalfootballlinebacker. He playedcollege football for theIowa Hawkeyes, where he was aunanimous All-American and a three-time All-Big Ten selection. He was selected by theDenver Broncos in the2018 NFL draft. He has also played for theCarolina Panthers.
Jewell attendedDecorah High School inDecorah, Iowa, where he playedhigh school football as a linebacker andrunning back.[1] Jewell helped his team appear in back-to-back 3A State Title Games, defeatingSioux City Bishop Heelan by a score of 49–21 in the 2012 game.[2] His senior year, he finished the season with 1314 rushing yards, 21 rushing touchdowns, and 81 total tackles.[3] Josey Jewell was rated as a two-star prospect by247Sports with a composite score of .7783.[4] He committed to theUniversity of Iowa to playcollege football.[5]
Afterredshirting his first year at Iowa in2013, Jewell played in 11 games and made four starts in2014. He finished the season with 51 tackles and onesack.[6] As a sophomore in2015, he started all 14 games and led the team with 126 tackles, three sacks, and fourinterceptions.[7][8] As a junior in2016, Jewell started all 13 games and again led the team with 124 tackles with 1.5 sacks.[9] He was second-team All-Big Ten for the second straight season, and a finalist for theButkus Award.[10] As a senior in2017, Jewell was named aunanimous All-American. He also won theJack Lambert Award,[11] was a finalist for theBronko Nagurski Trophy,[12] and was named theBig Ten Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Big Ten with 125 tackles.[13]
| Year | GP | Tackles | For Loss | Sacks | Int | Yards | TD | Passes Def | FR | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 11 | 51 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 14 | 126 | 7.5 | 3 | 4 | 63 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 2016 | 13 | 124 | 6 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 2017 | 12 | 136 | 13.5 | 4.5 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 50 | 437 | 28 | 10 | 6 | 100 | 1 | 26 | 2 | 3 |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 234 lb (106 kg) | 32 in (0.81 m) | 10 in (0.25 m) | 4.79 s | 1.75 s | 2.76 s | 4.27 s | 6.80 s | 35.0 in (0.89 m) | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) | 22 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[14][15] | ||||||||||||
TheDenver Broncos selected Jewell in the fourth round (106th overall) of the2018 NFL draft.[16] Jewell was the 14th linebacker drafted in 2018.[17]
On May 10, 2018, the Denver Broncos signed Jewell to a four-year, $3.17 million contract that includes asigning bonus of $713,982.[18]
He entered training camp and competed for a role as a backup inside linebacker againstZaire Anderson,Joseph Jones,Jerrol Garcia-Williams, andKeishawn Bierria.[19]
In his second career NFL regular season game versus theOakland Raiders, Jewell recorded two combined tackles.[20]
In Week 4 of the 2020 season against theNew York Jets onThursday Night Football, Jewell recorded a team high ten tackles and sackedSam Darnold twice during the 37–28 win.[21]
On September 21, 2021, Jewell was placed on injured reserve with a pectoral injury.[22]
On March 15, 2022, Jewell signed a two-year contract extension with the Broncos.[23]
On December 11, 2022, Jewell recorded two interceptions and nine tackles in a 34–28 loss to theKansas City Chiefs.[24]
On March 13, 2024, Jewell signed a three-year, $22.75 million contract with theCarolina Panthers.[25] On July 22, 2025, Jewell was released by the Panthers due to health concerns surrounding lingeringconcussion symptoms.[26]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2018 | DEN | 16 | 9 | 58 | 38 | 20 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2019 | DEN | 15 | 3 | 38 | 21 | 17 | 1.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | DEN | 16 | 16 | 113 | 67 | 46 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2021 | DEN | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2022 | DEN | 13 | 13 | 128 | 70 | 58 | 2.5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 21 | 0 | 4 |
| 2023 | DEN | 16 | 15 | 108 | 60 | 48 | 3.0 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2024 | CAR | 12 | 12 | 97 | 51 | 46 | 3.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Career | 90 | 70 | 550 | 314 | 236 | 12.5 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 22 | |