Joshua Joevan Bellamy (born May 18, 1989) is a former

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

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 ...

. 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 ...

at Butte Community College before transferring to

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, and signed with 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 ...

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 2012. He also played for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

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

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 ...

Early life

Bellamy 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 Boca Ciega High School.

College career

Bellamy played

under head coach

Charlie Strong Charles Rene Strong (born August 2, 1960) is an American football coach who is the current defensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He recently served as the Head coach, assistant head coach and Li ...

. He finished his senior season with 24 receptions, 280 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. Before transferring to Louisville, he played for Butte Community College in

Oroville, California Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is a city in and the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. Its population was 15,506 at the 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 2000 census. After the 20 ...

and led them to an undefeated JUCO national championship.

College statistics

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

On April 30, 2012, Bellamy signed with the

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 ...

. On August 31, 2012, he was released from the roster. On September 1, 2012, he was signed to 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 ...

. On December 8, 2012, he was promoted to the active roster. He was released by the team on August 31, 2013.

San Diego Chargers

On September 10, 2013, Bellamy was signed by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

to their practice squad. On November 19, 2013, he was released by the Chargers.

Washington Redskins

On November 21, 2013, two days after his release from the Chargers, Bellamy was signed by the

to their practice squad. On November 26, 2013, Bellamy was promoted to the 53-man roster. He was released by the team on April 5, 2014.

Chicago Bears

Bellamy was acquired off waivers by the

on April 8, 2014. The Bears signed him to the team's practice squad on September 1, 2014, after waiving him earlier for final roster cuts. He was activated on September 13, 2014. Josh Bellamy 2018

On September 20, 2015, Bellamy caught his first career touchdown against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. On October 11, 2015, Bellamy caught a career-high 6 receptions against the

. On November 22, 2015, Bellamy caught 4 passes for a then career-high 57 yards against the

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 ...

. On December 6, 2015, Bellamy had his first start, against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the 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 ...

, catching a pass for 16 yards. On April 18, 2016, Bellamy signed his exclusive rights tender offer. He re-signed with Chicago on a one-year deal worth $760,000. On November 27, 2016, Bellamy caught four passes for 41 yards against the

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 ...

, but struggled with drops as the Bears lost 27–21. On December 4, 2016, Bellamy caught four passes for a career-high 93 yards against the

. On March 6, 2017, Bellamy re-signed with the Bears. He caught a 46-yard touchdown against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

on November 12, his second-longest touchdown of his career. On December 16, Bellamy caught five passes for a season-high 70 yards against the

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 ...

. He played 15 games with seven starts, finishing with a career-high 24 receptions for 376 yards, good for second on the team behind

Kendall Wright Kendall Thomas Wright (born November 12, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Baylor Bears, earning All-American honors in 20 ...

. He re-signed with the Chicago Bears for the 2018 season on a one-year contract worth $1,906,000. On September 30, 2018, Bellamy caught his first touchdown of the season in the 48–10 victory over 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 December 15, Bellamy was fined $10,026 for a chop-block on

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

lineman

Aaron Donald Aaron Charles Donald (born May 23, 1991) is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons with the St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams franchise. He is considered one of the gr ...

. In Week 16 against the

, Bellamy was ejected after fighting cornerback Richard Sherman. They started fighting after 49ers safety Marcell Harris made a late hit on quarterback

Mitchell Trubisky Mitchell David Trubisky ( ; born August 20, 1994) is an American professional football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels and was selected second ...

and wide receiver Anthony Miller joined the effort. In addition, Sherman and Miller were also ejected from the game. Before Bellamy was ejected, he had just one reception for 6 receiving yards. The Bears would go on to win 14–9. Bellamy ended the year with 14 receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. In the Bears'

Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is an invitation to a tournament or a playoff berth awarded to a team or individual that does not qualify via an automatic bid. In some events, wildcards ...

playoff defeat to 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 ...

, he recorded a 34-yard catch that set up the Bears' lone offensive touchdown of the game.

New York Jets

On March 15, 2019, Bellamy signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the

. He was placed on injured reserve on November 5 due to a shoulder injuries; he had two catches for 20 yards on the season. Bellamy was placed on the reserve/ physically unable to perform list on May 5, 2020, ending his 2020 season. He was released on September 8, 2020.

Fraud charges

On September 10, 2020, Bellamy was arrested and charged for his alleged participation in a scheme to file fraudulent loan applications worth over $24 million via the

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and ...

. He was convicted and sentenced to 37 months in federal prison on December 10, 2021.

References

External links

Louisville Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellamy, Josh 1989 births Living people Players of American football from St. Petersburg, Florida American football wide receivers American football cornerbacks Butte Roadrunners football players Louisville Cardinals football players Kansas City Chiefs players San Diego Chargers players Washington Redskins players Chicago Bears players New York Jets players Brian Piccolo Award winners