Keith Jeremiah Henry (born January 27, 1999) 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 ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

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). 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

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

and was selected by the

Washington Commanders 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) East division ...

in the fifth round of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

. Henry has also been a member of the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

Early life

Henry was born on January 27, 1999, in

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city in Athens County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 United States census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Athe ...

. His father Keith was an assistant coach under

Jim Grobe Jim Britt Grobe (born February 17, 1952) is an American college football coach and former player who was most recently the defensive coordinator of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football. His previous position to that was ...

on the

Ohio Bobcats football The Ohio Bobcats football team is a major intercollegiate varsity sports program of Ohio University. The team represents the university as the senior member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), playing at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdiv ...

team. Henry's family moved to

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, in 2001. He attended West Forsyth High School in

Clemmons, North Carolina Clemmons is a village in Forsyth County, North Carolina, Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States and a suburb of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem. The population was 21,177 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, with an ...

, where he had 24 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, and 14 passes deflected as a senior for their football team in 2017. Rated a five-star recruit, he signed a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

to play

for the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

College career

Henry played in four games for the Tigers as a freshman before redshirting. He played in all 15 of the Tigers' games as a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

freshman, making 22 tackles with two sacks. As a sophomore, he appeared in 15 games as a backup, registering 22 tackles (4.5 for loss), 2 sacks and 3 passes defensed. As a junior, he appeared in 13 games (4 starts), collecting 28 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He earned a degree in sports communication in December 2020 before receiving a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in athletic leadership in December 2021. Henry considered entering the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

, before opting to return to Clemson for a fifth season. He started all 14 games, tallying 59 tackles (9 for loss), 3.5 sacks, 24 quarterback pressures (led the team), 6 passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, he had 6 tackles (2.5 for loss), on sack, 5 quarterback pressures and one forced fumble.

College statistics

Professional career

Washington Commanders

Henry was selected by the

in the fifth round (137th overall) of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 12, 2023. He appeared in 10 games (3 starts), registering 19 tackles (4 for loss), 1.5 sacks and 2 passes defensed. In 2024, the Commanders hired new head coach Dan Quinn. On August 27, 2024, Henry was released as part of final roster cuts before the start of the season. He appeared in 2 games as a backup, playing mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

during his time with the team and was released after defensive end Marshawn Kneeland was activated from injured reserve.

Philadelphia Eagles

On November 26, 2024, Henry 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 ...

. He won a Super Bowl championship when the Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40–22 in Super Bowl LIX. He signed a reserve/future contract on February 14, 2025.

References

External links

*
Clemson Tigers bio

Philadelphia Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, K. J. 1999 births Living people American football defensive ends Players of American football from Winston-Salem, North Carolina Clemson Tigers football players Washington Commanders players Cincinnati Bengals players Dallas Cowboys players Philadelphia Eagles players