Justin Montrel Griffith (born July 21, 1980) 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 ...

fullback 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

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in the fourth 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 ...

. 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 ...

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

. Griffith was also a member of the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

Early life

Justin Montrel Griffith was born on July 21, 1980, in

Magee, Mississippi Magee is a city in Simpson County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Jackson metropolitan area. History The first settlers in the area were Arthur Mangum and Phil Magee, who came into the area around 1820. Pioneers from Virginia an ...

Playing career

Griffith was drafted by the

in the fourth round (121st overall) of the

. He played four seasons with the team before becoming 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 ...

following the 2006 season. After playing two seasons for the

, Griffith was released on February 23, 2009. Griffith was signed by the

on April 27, 2009. The move reunited him with Seahawks head coach Jim Mora and offensive coordinator

Greg Knapp Gregory Fishbeck Knapp (March 5, 1963 – July 22, 2021) was an American professional football coach in the National Football League (NFL). He served as an assistant coach for 25 seasons with the New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, ...

, who were the head coach and offensive coordinator of the

during much of Griffith's time with the team. He was released on October 3, 2009, to make room for Kyle Williams who was signed off 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 ...

. Griffith was signed by the

on June 16, 2010.

Coaching career

He was a season-long coaching intern with the Seattle Seahawks for the 2011 season. In February 2012, Griffith returned to the Raiders, this time as an offensive

quality control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach plac ...

coach.

References

External links

Oakland Raiders bioSeattle Seahawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Justin 1980 births Living people People from Magee, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi American football fullbacks Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Atlanta Falcons players Oakland Raiders players Seattle Seahawks players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Seattle Seahawks coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Coaches of American football from Mississippi