For the American politician, see Timothy Jennings.
Tim Jennings
Number27, 23, 26, 28
PositionCornerback
Birth dateDecember 24, 1983 (age 42)
Birth placeOrangeburg, South Carolina, U.S.
Height5 ft
Height in8
Weight lbs185
High schoolOrangeburg-Wilkinson
CollegeGeorgia (2002–2005)
Draftyear2006
Draftround2
Draftpick62
Pastteams
Highlights
Statlabel 1Total tackles
Statvalue 1480
Statlabel 2Forced fumbles
Statvalue 28
Statlabel 3Fumble recoveries
Statvalue 37
Statlabel 4Pass deflections
Statvalue 479
Statlabel 5Interceptions
Statvalue 520
Statlabel 6Defensive touchdowns
Statvalue 63
PfrJ/JennTi20
Pastcoaching

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. He won Super Bowl XLI with the Colts.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Jennings was selected 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

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's 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 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

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
BoldCareer high

Regular season

YearTeamGamesTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLIntYdsTDLngPDFFFRYdsTD
2006IND1107700.00000000000
2007IND114313010.01000031000
2008IND16126651150.03290672200
2009IND1555744130.02213013100000
2010CHI16135641150.0213903971100
2011CHI1615776980.042201101100
2012CHI1414605550.019105131210000
2013CHI1616585080.004111248132100
2014CHI16165137140.020000711170
2015TAM63171250.01000010100
Career13798480396840.016202793487987170

Playoffs

YearTeamGamesTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLIntYdsTDLngPDFFFRYdsTD
2007IND102200.00000010000
2008IND117610.00000021000
2009IND302200.00000000000
2010CHI2210730.00000020000
Career73211740.00000051000

Coaching career

After his playing career, he became the defensive backs coach at Denmark High School.[citation needed]

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. ^ 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. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. 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 (September 4, 2015). "Bucs announce they've agreed to terms with CB Tim Jennings.". No. 639611773801353216.
  21. ^ Adam Caplan (November 9, 2015). "#Buccaneers cut CB Tim Jennings.". No. 663840593404035072.