Keelan Lawrence Cole Sr. (born April 20, 1993) 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 ...

player who is a

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 was signed by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

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 after the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

. 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 ...

Kentucky Wesleyan Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students. History Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kentucky Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It ...

Early life

Cole 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 Central High School in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

College career

Cole attended and played

from 2012 to 2016. From 2014 to 2016, he contributed 4,441 receiving yards and 55 receiving

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

2017 season

On May 1, 2017, Cole was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent. On August 10, 2017, Cole played his first preseason game, catching a 97-yard touchdown pass against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. On September 10, 2017, in the season opener, Cole made his regular season debut in a 29–7 victory over the

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 ...

. On September 17, 2017, in Week 2, he had the first two receptions of his career, which totaled 13 yards, in a 37–16 loss to 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 ...

. On December 10, 2017, during Week 14 against the

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 ...

, Cole finished with 99 receiving yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, as the Jaguars won 30–24. During a Week 15 win of 45–7 over the Texans, Cole finished with an NFL-leading 186 receiving yards and a touchdown, including a 73-yard reception to the one-yard line. He appeared in all 16 games and started six. Overall, he finished his rookie season with 42 receptions for 748 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.

2018 season

In Week 2 of the 2018 season, Cole recorded seven receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown in the 31–20 victory over the

. Overall, Cole finished the 2018 season with 38 receptions for 491 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in 16 games, of which he started 11.

2019 season

In the 2019 season, Cole finished with 24 receptions for 361 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns in 16 games and one start.

2020 season

On March 17, 2020, the Jaguars placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Cole. He signed the one-year contract on April 23, 2020. In Week 6 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 had six receptions for 143 receiving yards in the 34–16 loss. In Week 10 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 ...

, Cole recorded five catches for 47 yards and a receiving touchdown and returned a punt for a 91-yard touchdown during the 24–20 loss. In the 2020 season, Cole had 55 receptions for 642 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns in 16 games and five starts.

New York Jets

On March 19, 2021, Cole signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with

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 ...

. In the 2021 season, Cole had 28 receptions for 449 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in 15 games and 11 starts.

Las Vegas Raiders

On May 12, 2022, Cole signed as free agent with

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

. He was released on August 30. On September 6, Cole was re-signed to the team's practice squad. On September 13, Cole was signed to the active roster. He appeared in 14 games and started three in the 2022 season. Cole recorded ten receptions for 141 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. He handled some

punt return Punt or punting may refer to: Boats * Punt (boat), a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow developed on the River Thames * Falmouth Quay Punt, a small sailing vessel hired by ships anchored in Falmouth harbour * Norfolk Punt, a type of racing ...

duties as well. On March 23, 2023, Cole re-signed with the Raiders. He was released on August 29. Cole was re-signed to the practice squad on September 5. His contract expired when the teams season ended January 7, 2024.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Keelan 1993 births Living people Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky American football wide receivers Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers football players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Jets players Las Vegas Raiders players