Darius Lamar Jennings (born June 28, 1992) 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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

. 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 ...

for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

and was signed 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 ...

of 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) as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. Jennings was also a member of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

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

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Early life

Darius Lamar Jennings was born to Lawrence and Dana Jennings on June 28, 1992, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. He attended and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at The

Gilman School Gilman School is an all-boys independent school, independent, day school, day, college preparatory school located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. There are three school divisions: Lower School, grades pre ...

while also lettering in basketball and track.

College career

Jennings finished his collegiate career with 133 receptions for 1,667 yards and 11 touchdowns in 49 games and 28 starts. He ranked #1 all-time in kick return yards with 1,839. Jennings majored in sociology.

College statistics

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

2015 season

Jennings signed with the

as an

in May 2015. He started the season on 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 ...

and was promoted to the active roster in early December. Jennings was waived by the Browns on December 16, 2015, but was re-signed on December 22. Jennings finished his rookie season with 14 receptions for 117 yards to go along with seven returns for 158 yards in four games and one start.

2016 season

On April 4, 2016, the Browns re-signed Jennings. On September 3, 2016, he was released. The next day, Jennings was signed to the Browns' practice squad. He was released again on October 6, 2016.

Chicago Bears

On October 10, 2016, Jennings was signed to the

' practice squad. He was released by the Bears on November 22, 2016.

New York Jets

On December 6, 2016, Jennings was signed to the

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Jets on January 2, 2017. On April 26, 2017, Jennings was waived by the Jets.

Tennessee Titans

2017 season

On May 19, 2017, Jennings signed with the

. He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the Titans' practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 23, 2017. He was waived on November 25, 2017, and was re-signed back to the practice squad.

2018 season

Jennings signed a reserve/future contract with the Titans on January 15, 2018. During the season-opening 27-20 road loss to 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 ...

, Jennings scored his first NFL touchdown after returning a 94-yard

kickoff return A kickoff is a method of starting a Drive (American football), drive in gridiron football. Additionally, it may refer to a kickoff time, the scheduled time of the first kickoff of a game. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicki ...

in the fourth quarter. During a Week 9 28-14 road victory over the

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 ...

, Jennings had a 36-yard reception despite three defenders around him in the second quarter to go along with 23 return yards. In the next game against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, Jennings returned the opening kickoff for 58 yards and recorded a 21-yard pass completion to quarterback

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks footb ...

, the first of his career as the Titans won 34–10. Jennings finished the 2018 season with 22 returns for 698 yards and a touchdown to go along with 11 receptions for 101 yards and a two-yard rush in 16 games and no starts. His 31.7 yards set a franchise record for average kickoff returns that also led the NFL.

2019 season

Jennings was released by the Titans on October 31, 2019. Prior to his release, Jennings caught two passes for 17 yards and returned seven kicks for 147 yards. He was re-signed on December 23, 2019. In the regular-season finale 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 ...

, Jennings returned two kicks for 49 yards. In the postseason, Jennings returned three kicks for 60 yards before the Titans lost to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

in the

AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...

by a score of 35-24.

Los Angeles Chargers

On March 30, 2020, Jennings was signed by the

. He was released on September 5, 2020.

Detroit Lions

On August 9, 2021, Jennings signed with the

. He was released on August 23, 2021.

NFL statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

During the 2018 offseason, Jennings took part in the NFLPA’s Externship Program with Events DC and Under Armour. He helps out with "Next One Up," an organization helping inner-city high school athletes in Baltimore. Jennings also worked as a camp counselor at his alma mater, The Gilman (Md.) School, helping middle schoolers with classwork and activities. He has two brothers, Dimitrius Jones Jr. and Deon Jennings.

References

External links

Virginia Cavaliers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Darius 1992 births Living people Players of American football from Baltimore American football wide receivers American football return specialists Gilman School alumni Virginia Cavaliers football players Cleveland Browns players Chicago Bears players New York Jets players Tennessee Titans players Los Angeles Chargers players Detroit Lions players