Clifton Geathers (born December 11, 1987) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. He was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in the sixth round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

Early life

Geathers attended Carvers Bay High School. He enrolled at

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private school, private, all-male, Military school, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Chr ...

as a senior. Although he originally intended to join the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, he decommitted and accepted instead a football scholarship from the

. As a freshman, he was a backup

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

, tallying 2 tackles in one game against

South Carolina State University South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public, historically black land-grant research university in South Carolina, is a member o ...

. He did not play in the season finale against

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

. As a sophomore, he appeared in 13 games (one start) and recorded 29 tackles (17 solo). His first career start came against the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

, where he had 5 tackles (one for loss) and one quarterback hurry. As a junior, he appeared in 12 games, posting 41 tackles (8.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He declared for the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

before his senior season. He finished his college career with 36 games, 72 tackles (12 tackles for loss), 6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Geathers was selected by the

in the sixth round (186th overall) of the

. He was released on September 4.

Miami Dolphins

On September 5, 2010, Geathers was awarded to the

on waiver claims. On November 26, he was waived to make room for Chris Baker.

Seattle Seahawks

On November 27, 2010, Geathers was claimed off waivers by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. He was released on December 7.

Dallas Cowboys

On December 8, 2010, he was claimed off waivers by the

. He appeared in one game and was declared inactive for three others. In 2011, he played in five games as a backup

, making 2 tackles and 3 quarterback pressures. He was released on August 31, 2012.

Indianapolis Colts

On October 3, 2012, Geathers was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He would replace former Baylor

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

Nicolas Jean-Baptiste. He would spend 4 days total on Indianapolis' practice squad before being elevated to the active roster due to an injury to Colts' defensive end,

Fili Moala Siaosi Toutoupau'u "Fili" Moala (born June 23, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, and was selected by the Indian ...

. He recorded a sack against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

on December 30. He had five tackles and his first career sack during the season.

Philadelphia Eagles

On March 28, 2013, the

traded fullback Stanley Havili in exchange for Geathers. He played in 16 games for the first time in his career. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

Washington Redskins

On March 13, 2014, Geathers signed as an unrestricted free agent with the

. He appeared in six games and made 6 tackles. He was released on November 1, 2014.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On December 1, 2014, he signed a one-year contract with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

as a free agent, following an injury to

Brett Keisel Brett Keisel (born September 19, 1978) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a defensive end for 13 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

. He was a game-day inactive for each of the 5 (4 regular season and 1 postseason) games he was on the Steelers roster. Geathers signed another one-year contract with the Steelers on April 1, 2015. On August 7, he was placed on season-ending injured reserve.

Personal life

His brother Robert Geathers Jr., was a

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. His uncle, Jumpy Geathers, played

in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

. Clifton's father, Robert Geathers Sr., was a third-round pick in the

1981 NFL draft The 1981 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 during April 28–29, 1981, at the New ...

, but an injury ended his career. His younger brother, Kwame Geathers, played college football at

The University of Georgia ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

and was a

for the

. His cousin

Clayton Geathers Clayton Geathers (born June 1, 1992) is an American former professional football safety. He played college football at UCF, and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft. Early life Geathers attended and ...

plays

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

References

External links

South Carolina Gamecocks bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geathers, Clifton 1987 births Living people American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Dallas Cowboys players Indianapolis Colts players Miami Dolphins players Sportspeople from Georgetown, South Carolina Philadelphia Eagles players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from South Carolina Seattle Seahawks players South Carolina Gamecocks football players Washington Redskins players Geathers family Cleveland Browns players