Khaseem Greene (born February 4, 1989) 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 ...
player who was a
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
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 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
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football ...
and was selected by 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 ...
in the fourth round of the
2013 NFL draft
The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
.
Early life
Greene was born in
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Elizabeth High School, where he played high school football for the Elizabeth Minutemen. He also had a
postgraduate year
A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitt ...
at
Avon Old Farms
Avon Old Farms School is a boarding school for boys located in Avon, Connecticut, United States. Theodate Pope Riddle, one of America's first female architects, founded the school in 1927.
History
The school's conception dates to a few year ...
school in Avon Connecticut where he was a standout in basketball, football and track. During his time at Avon Old Farms he was part of the school's first ever New England track championship along with former
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
, Greene played for the
Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football program represents Rutgers University in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). Rutgers competes as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Prior to joining t ...
team from 2008 to 2012. As a junior in 2011, he switched from
safety
Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
to weakside linebacker. He led the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
with 141 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. As a senior in 2012, Greene recorded 136 tackles and six sacks with two interceptions, six forced fumbles and two touchdowns via fumble recoveries, and was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team
All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
by
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
.
Professional career
Chicago Bears
Greene was selected in the fourth round (117th pick overall) by 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 ...
, the second linebacker taken by the team. He signed a four-year contract with the Bears on May 2, 2013. Greene signed a four-year, $2.592 million contract. The deal included a $432,092 signing bonus.
Greene made his NFL debut in week nine 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 ...
in place of the injured Lance Briggs, recording four tackles. Greene concluded 2013 with 38.5 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble. In March 2014, Greene
tweeted
A tweet (officially known as a post since 2023) is a short status update on the social networking site Twitter (officially known as X since 2023) which can include images, videos, GIFs, straw polls, hashtags, mentions, and hyperlinks. Around ...
that he will change his number from #59 to #52, in honor of Rutgers teammate Eric LeGrand. On May 11, 2015, he was waived by the Bears.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Greene was claimed off waivers 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 ...
on May 12, 2015. He was released by the Buccaneers on September 4, 2015.
Detroit Lions
On November 18, 2015, Greene was signed to the Lions' practice squad. On January 4, 2016, Greene signed a futures contract with the Detroit Lions. On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the Lions.
Kansas City Chiefs
On January 21, 2017, Greene signed a futures contract with the Chiefs. On May 9, 2017, he was waived by the Chiefs.
Ray Graham
Raymond E. Graham (born September 18, 1990) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers.
Early life
Graham attended Elizabeth High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He was a first team All- ...
, is a running back who played college football for the
Pittsburgh Panthers
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...
and who has played in the NFL. Their father is Raymond Graham. Greene has a daughter.