Najee Goode (born June 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

and was selected 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 ...

in the fifth round of the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He also played with 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 ...

, with whom he won

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...

Early life

Goode attended Benedictine High School where he lettered in

and

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

. In football, he was a

dual-threat quarterback In gridiron football, a dual-threat quarterback is a quarterback (QB) who is adept at both passing and running with the ball. With the rise of several blitz-heavy defensive schemes and faster defensive players, the importance of a mobile quarter ...

as well as a linebacker. He was named the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

(MVP) of the

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or , see ) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The county seat and most populous city is Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,264,817, making it the second ...

East-West high school All-star game. In track & field, he won the Division II state championship in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

with a school record of 172’1". He then attended

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

(WVU) where he majored in

industrial engineering Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...

. While at West Virginia, in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, he tied for fourth on the single season list for tackles-for-loss with 15.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After being selected by the

, Goode took part in their rookie mini-camp. On May 14, 2012, Buccaneers.com announced Goode had signed a four-year deal to become an official member of their NFL roster, the same day as college roommate, and Buccaneers teammate Keith Tandy signed his rookie deal. He was released on September 1, 2013, when the Buccaneers trimmed their roster to 53 players.

Philadelphia Eagles

Goode was signed to the

on September 2, 2013. On September 9, 2014, he was placed on injured reserve after injuring his pectoral muscle in the season opening win against 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 ...

. Goode was released by the Eagles on September 5, 2015 for final roster cuts. He was re-signed on September 22. On December 6, 2015, Goode scored his first career

touchdown 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 ...

on a blocked punt by Chris Maragos. The Eagles won over 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 ...

, 35–28. In February 2016 he re-signed with the Eagles. On September 3, 2016, Goode was released by the Eagles during final cuts. On September 10, 2016, he was re-signed by the Eagles. On March 8, 2017, Goode signed a one-year contract extension with the Eagles. Goode finished the 2017 season with 22 tackles and won

when the Eagles defeated the

41–33. He had two tackles in the game.

Indianapolis Colts (first stint)

On April 4, 2018, Goode signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Jacksonville Jaguars

On May 1, 2019, Goode signed with the

. He played in 10 games before being placed on injured reserve on November 26, 2019. He finished the season with a career-high 27 tackles, one sack, and two passes defensed.

Indianapolis Colts (second stint)

On October 8, 2020, Goode was signed to the Colts practice squad. He was released on October 27.

NFL statistics

Personal life

He is the son of Fatimah and John Goode. Goode had a daughter born in June 2016. He was married on July 6, 2019 on Jekyll Island, Georgia

References

External links

*
West Virginia Mountaineers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goode, Najee 1989 births Living people Players of American football from Cleveland American football linebackers West Virginia Mountaineers football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Philadelphia Eagles players Indianapolis Colts players Jacksonville Jaguars players