Jordan Cravens Cameron (born August 7, 1988) 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

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

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 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

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

and 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 fourth round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

. Cameron also played 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 ...

Early life

Cameron was born on August 7, 1988, in

Newbury Park, California Newbury Park is a populated placeReal Estate Communications, Inc. (1984). ''California Real Estate Directory''. Page 201. in Ventura County, California, United States. Most of it lies within the western Thousand Oaks, California, Thousand Oaks ...

, the son of Stan and Cathy Cameron (née Cravens), who works for a telecommunications company. He was raised

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

(LDS). Cameron attended

Newbury Park High School Newbury Park High School, opened in 1967, is a co-educational public high school located in Newbury Park, California. Academics The school is one of two International Baccalaureate schools in Ventura County, the other being Rio Mesa High Schoo ...

in Newbury Park. He made the All-Marmonte League first-team in 2005 as a junior. As a senior in 2006, he made Prep Star All-West and once again made All-Marmonte League first-team. He caught 73 passes for 1,022 yards and 12 touchdowns in his senior year. He was a teammate of former

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

' quarterback Jordan LaSecla. He also starred in basketball and volleyball at Newbury Park High.

College career

After high school, Cameron decided to play basketball at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

rather than football. After redshirting his freshman year (2006–07), he decided to give football another try. He transferred to USC in 2007 to play football as a wide receiver. However, when USC refused to accept some of Cameron's credits from Brigham Young, he was forced to withdraw and attend

Ventura College Ventura College is a Public college, public community college in Ventura, California. Established in 1925, the college has a campus with an enrollment of 13,763 students. It is part of the Ventura County Community College District. History ...

. He missed the football season but was given the option to try to rejoin the team in 2008. Even if he had stayed at USC, due to NCAA transfer rules he would have been ineligible to play in 2007. Cameron ended up enrolling at USC a year later and saw brief action for the Trojans at

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 ...

in the 2008 and 2009 seasons, but did not make any catches. Prior to his senior year, he embraced a move from receiver to

. In his final season at USC, Cameron caught 16 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown.

Professional career

Pre-draft

After his senior season at USC, Cameron was invited to play in the

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

where he made a big impression on the coaches during the week of practice. Cameron helped his draft stock significantly during his workouts at the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

. He was in the top three of every drill he participated in and fifth in bench press reps. He was projected to be a mid-to-late-round pick in the

Cleveland Browns

Cameron was selected by the

with the 102nd pick in the

. On December 27, 2013, Cameron was voted to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

Miami Dolphins

Cameron signed a two-year, $15 million (with $5 million guaranteed) deal with the

on March 12, 2015. He was placed on injured reserve on November 5, 2016, after suffering a season-ending concussion injury. On March 10, 2017, after suffering four

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

s in six seasons, Cameron announced his retirement from the NFL.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Cameron has four children, a son from a previous relationship, and three children with

Elin Nordegren Elin Maria Pernilla Nordegren (; born 1 January 1980) is a Swedish former model and nanny. She was married to professional golfer Tiger Woods from 2004 until their divorce in 2010. Early life and education Nordegren was born in Stockholm. Her ...

, the ex-wife of

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

(with whom she has two older children). Cameron's older sister Brynn played guard on the USC women's basketball team. She has a child with fellow USC athlete

Matt Leinart Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans, where he won the Heisman Tro ...

and two children with

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

star

Blake Griffin Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. Griffin primarily played with the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and played college basketball for the Oklahoma ...

. His younger brother Colby was an undrafted free agent quarterback for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, but was released before the 2013 NFL season. He is also the cousin of former

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

safety Su'a Cravens. Cameron has Samoan ancestry and was nominated for the Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year Award in 2016.

References

External links

NFL Combine bio

ESPN.com bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Jordan Living people 1988 births American football tight ends American sportspeople of Samoan descent USC Trojans football players Cleveland Browns players Miami Dolphins players People from Newbury Park, California Unconferenced Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Ventura County, California