Josh Pearson (born June 13, 1997) is an American 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 ...

College career

Pearson 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

Jacksonville State Gamecocks The Jacksonville State Gamecocks are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Jacksonville State University located in Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. In January 2023, the university began phasing in a new identity, Jax State, for marketing a ...

from 2017 to 2019.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pearson was signed by 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 ...

as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2020. He was waived on September 5, 2020, during final roster cuts, but was signed to the team's practice squad the following day. He was elevated to the active roster on October 8 for the team's week 5 game against 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 ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was released on December 21, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad two days later. On February 9, 2021, Pearson re-signed with the Buccaneers. He was waived on August 15, 2021.

BC Lions

On January 13, 2022, Pearson signed with

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

. Following training camp, he was placed on the injured list, but then made his CFL debut in the team's third game of the 2022 season, on June 30, 2022, against the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

, where he had one catch for seven yards. In the following game, he scored his first touchdown on a 66-yard pass from

Nathan Rourke Nathan Rourke (born May 24, 1998) is a Canadian professional football quarterback for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Rourke played college football for the Ohio Bobcats. Nicknamed "Kid Canada," Rourke set the single-season ...

on July 9, 2022, against the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. Following this game, he was transferred to the injured list. While on the injured list, he was the

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

singer for the team's game on September 24, 2022, against the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

. On May 3, 2023, Pearson retired from professional football. On June 4, 2023, Pearson came out of retirement and was sent to the Lions practice roster. He was released on November 13, 2023.

Personal life

Pearson was born to parents Kristie Carter and Harold Pearson and has four siblings, Jacob, Christy, Shell, Akeli.

References

External links

BC Lions bioJacksonville State Gamecocks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Josh 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Decatur, Alabama American football wide receivers Jacksonville State Gamecocks football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players BC Lions players Canadian football wide receivers Players of Canadian football from Alabama