Isaiah Winstead (born August 9, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver for the

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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Norfolk State Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

and

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

. He signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

after going undrafted in the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

College career

Norfolk State

In his Freshman season, Winstead saw playing time in all 11 games and started two. He caught at least one pass in every game and scored his first collegiate touchdown against North Carolina Central. Winstead finished his freshman season with 29 catches, 344 yards and three touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2018, he started 10 of 11 games and lead the Spartans in all receiving categories. He was second in the

MEAC The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National C ...

in reception per game and fourth in receiving yards. Winstead had a career day against MEAC rival

Morgan State Morgan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Morgan (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Morgan le Fay, a powerful witch in Arthurian legend * Morgan (surname), a surname of Welsh origin * Morgan (singer ...

, hauling in eight passes for a career high 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns that both came in the fourth quarter. Caught a career high nine passes in the final game of the season against

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

Toledo

Winstead transferred to Toledo after the 2018 season. After sitting out a season because of transfer rules, Winstead made third-team All- MAC after leading the Rockets with 25 receptions and 429 yards. He finished eighth in the MAC in receiving yards and ninth in yards per catch (17.2). Caught his first FBS touchdown against

Ball State Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, industrialists and founders of the Ball C ...

. During his second year in Toledo, Winstead finished second on team with 38 receptions for 520 yards. Isaiah hauled in a season-high six receptions for 65 yards against Eastern Michigan. He had four catches vs. Notre Dame,

UMass The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medical ...

and Central Michigan. Isaiah had a season-high 108 yards receiving in that Central Michigan game. He also had three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown against Akron.

East Carolina

Winstead arrived at East Carolina as a graduate transfer in 2022 and earned All-

AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New York * American Aviation, a company from Cleveland, ...

Honorable Mention honors as well as Third-Team All-AAC by Phil Steele Magazine. He led the Pirates in receptions and yards as well as second in touchdowns. Winstead became the seventh 1,000 yard receiver in program history against

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. He went for over 150 yards for the second time in his career against Memphis, which was one of his three 100-yard games during the 2022 season. Winstead finished the season with 88 receptions for 1,085 yards and six touchdowns - all career highs.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

After a post on his

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went viral, it caught the attention of the

who signed him as the final player on their 90-man roster on May 7, 2023. He was waived on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on December 7, 2023.

Arlington Renegades

On January 19, 2024, Winstead signed with the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). His contract was terminated on August 1, 2024.

New York Jets

Winstead signed with the

on August 2, 2024.

References

External links

*
East Carolina Pirates bio

Toledo Rockets bio

Norfolk State Spartans bio

ESPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winstead, Isaiah 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Richmond, Virginia American football wide receivers San Francisco 49ers players East Carolina Pirates football players Toledo Rockets football players Norfolk State Spartans football players Arlington Renegades players New York Jets players