Jerome McDougle (born December 15, 1978) 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 ...
player who was a
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). He was selected by the
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 ...
15th overall in the
2003 NFL draft
The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...
. McDougle 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 Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
. He also played in the NFL for the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
.
College career
McDougle was a standout defensive player at the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
. Among his
collegiate accomplishments, he helped lead the University of Miami to its 12–0 national championship season in 2001.
Professional career
Philadelphia Eagles
McDougle was selected by the
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 ...
with the 15th overall selection in the first round of the
2003 NFL draft
The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...
. The Eagles traded up 15 spots to obtain McDougle, making him the first University of Miami player to be drafted by the Eagles since
Jerome Brown
Willie Jerome Brown III (February 4, 1965 – June 25, 1992) was an American professional football defensive tackle who played for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire five-year NFL career with th ...
, whose promising NFL career was cut short by a fatal 1992 car accident.
With the Eagles, McDougle was plagued by injuries. In the final 2003 pre-season game, he sustained ankle, knee and hip injuries during a game against 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
, forcing him to miss eight games of the 2003 season. During the 2004 season, he was diagnosed with an
irregular heartbeat
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats ...
, and later he suffered a knee sprain in a game against 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 ...
, missing five games during the season.
During the 2005 offseason, McDougle was shot during an armed robbery of his home. Complications from the shooting and surgery left him out for the entire 2005 season. McDougle fully recovered and joined the Eagles at their 2006 training camp practices. He performed well in pre-season outings, recording an impressive sack of former collegiate teammate
Ken Dorsey
Kenneth Simon Dorsey (born April 22, 1981) is an American professional American football, football Coach (sport), coach and former quarterback who is the passing game specialist for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). Dorse ...
in the Eagles' pre-season game against 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 ...
. On August 15, however, Eagles coach
Andy Reid
Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously the head coach of the Philadelphi ...
announced that McDougle had sustained fractures to two ribs in pre-season practices and would require approximately three weeks for recuperation. He was reactivated in September 2006.
McDougle's pass rushing and run defense capabilities were expected to be an important part of the 2006 Eagles defense, which featured high levels of substitutions of defensive linemen in situational-oriented defenses. McDougle's actions on the field proved costly to the Eagles during a controversial Eagles 23–21 loss to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
on October 22, 2006. In the fourth quarter of a closely contested game played in 105-degree Tampa Bay heat, McDougle closed in on Buccaneer
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
Bruce Gradkowski
Bruce Raymond Gradkowski (born January 27, 1983) is an American former professional football quarterback and coach who currently serves as an offensive assistant for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served ...
, dropping him for a nine-yard loss in a critical
quarterback sack
In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...
. As McDougle brought Gradkowski to the ground at
Raymond James Stadium
Raymond James Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tampa, Florida, United States. It opened in 1998 and is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls college football ...
, however, he appeared to grab Gradkowski's face mask, resulting in a 15-yard intentional face-masking penalty against the Eagles. The 15-yard nature of the penalty was questionable, with replays showing that McDougle's grasp of Gradkowski's face mask appeared unintentional, which, if true, should have resulted in only a five-yard penalty.
Seeing that he had been penalized 15 yards, McDougle kicked the referee's flag in anger, resulting in an additional 15-yard
unsportsmanlike conduct
Unsportsmanlike conduct (also called untrustworthy behaviour, ungentlemanly fraudulent, bad sportsmanship, poor sportsmanship or anti fair-play) is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmans ...
penalty, for a total of 30 yards in penalties. The two penalties incurred by McDougle greatly enhanced the Buccaneers' field position, leading to a Buccaneers field goal, which proved the difference in the game's outcome, which ultimately was won by Tampa Bay on a 62-yard Buccaneers' field goal (the third longest in NFL history) as time expired.
In 2007, McDougle was again injured, tearing his triceps, this time in the Eagles' pre-season opener against the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
; he did not return during the 2007 season. On August 30, 2008, the Eagles released him during final cuts, ending a high-expectations tenure with the Eagles plagued by injuries and disappointments.
New York Giants
A day after being released from the Eagles, McDougle was signed by the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
on August 31, 2008.
He became a
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 ...
after the season, and was not signed by another team.
Personal life
He is the younger brother of NFL
offensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...
Stockar McDougle
Stockar McDougle (born January 11, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Detroit Lions 20th overall in the 2000 NFL draft. He played co ...
.
On July 28, 2005, just four days before McDougle was scheduled to arrive for the Eagles 2005 training camp in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...
, he was shot in the
abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...
during a robbery in
Miami, Florida
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. Following the shooting, McDougle was flown by helicopter to Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery by Dr. David Shatz, a trauma surgeon at the University of Miami.
NFL statistics
Key
* GP: games played
* COMB: combined tackles
* TOTAL: total tackles
* AST: assisted tackles
* SACK: sacks
* FF: forced fumbles
* FR: fumble recoveries
* FR YDS: fumble return yards
* INT: interceptions
* IR YDS: interception return yards
* AVG IR: average interception return
* LNG: longest interception return
* TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
* PD: passes defensed
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDougle, Jerome
1978 births
Living people
Players of American football from Pompano Beach, Florida
American football defensive ends
Hinds Eagles football players
Miami Hurricanes football players
Philadelphia Eagles players
New York Giants players
American shooting survivors
Blanche Ely High School alumni
21st-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century African-American sportsmen