T. J. Green (born March 15, 1995) 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

at Clemson, and was selected by 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 ...

in the second round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. He also played for 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 ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Birmingham Stallions, and

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the ...

Early life

Green attended Sylacauga High School in Sylacauga, Alabama. He played

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 ...

and as a senior had nine 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 ...

. He committed to

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 ...

to play

College career

Green played wide receiver his freshman year at Clemson in 2013, recording two receptions over 12 games. Prior to his sophomore year in 2014, he switched to

. He played in 11 games with one start and had 18

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

and an

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

. As a junior, he became a starter, recording 95 tackles with a

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

. After the season, Green entered the

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

2016

The

selected Green in the second round (57th overall) of the 2016 NFL draft. He was the third safety selected in 2016. On May 23, 2016, the Colts signed Green to a four-year, $4.16 million contract that includes $1.87 million guaranteed and a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $1.23 million. Throughout

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, Green competed against Clayton Geathers and Winston Guy for the job as the starting

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

. Head coach Chuck Pagano named Green the backup free safety behind Clayton Geathers to begin the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Colts' season-opener 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 ...

and recorded three combined tackles in their 39–35 loss before leaving in the fourth quarter with a sprained ankle. Green earned the start in place of Geathers who was inactive due to a broken bone in his foot he sustained in training camp. The sprained ankle sidelined Green for the Colts' Week 2 loss at the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. In Week 9, Green started at free safety after Mike Adams was inactive due to a

groin In human anatomy, the groin, also known as the inguinal region or iliac region, is the junctional area between the torso and the thigh. The groin is at the front of the body on either side of the pubic tubercle, where the lower part of the abdom ...

injury he sustained. He finished the Colts' 31–26 victory at 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 ...

with a season-high six combined tackles. He finished his rookie season with 42 combined tackles (32 solo) and two pass deflections in 15 games and four starts. He finished 91st out of 91 qualifying safeties in Pro Football Focus' overall grade and coverage grade in 2016.

2017

Green entered training camp competing for a job as a backup safety against Clayton Geathers, Matthias Farley, Andrew Williamson, Tyvis Powell, Earl Wolff, Ronald Martin, Lee Hightower, and Tyson Graham. Defensive coordinator Ted Monachino held a competition between Green and Farley for the job as starting strong safety after rookie Malik Hooker sustained numerous injuries during organized team activities and camp. Head coach Chuck Pagano named him the backup strong safety behind Farley to start the regular season. Prior to Week 8, Green was named the starting free safety after Hooker tore his ACL and MCL the previous week and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

for the remainder of the season. In his first start of the season, Green recorded four solo tackle during the Colts' 34–23 loss at 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 ...

in Week 8. On December 14, 2017, Green collected a season-high nine combined tackles during a 25–13 loss to the Broncos. Green finished the season with 45 combined tackles (31 solo) and a pass deflection in 16 games and seven starts. Pro Football Focus gave Green an overall grade of 73.9, ranking 60th among all qualifying safeties in 2017.

2018

On September 1, 2018, Green was waived/injured by the Colts and was placed on injured reserve. He was released on September 6, 2018.

Seattle Seahawks

On October 3, 2018, Green signed with the

. On October 22, 2018, Green left the team, citing his lack of desire to play football any more, and planned to retire.

New Orleans Saints

On July 25, 2019, Green signed with the

. He was waived on August 31, 2019, and 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 ...

the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 16, 2019. Three days later Green was waived after the Saints signed safety D. J. Swearinger.

Carolina Panthers

Green was claimed off waivers by the

on December 19, 2019. He was released on September 5, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad on September 11. He was released on September 19.

Atlanta Falcons

On September 30, 2020, Green was signed to the

practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on December 12 for the team's week 14 game against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. On October 25, 2021, Green was released by the Falcons.

Houston Texans

On November 2, 2021, Green was signed to the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Texans on January 11, 2022. The Texans released Green on March 22, 2022.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On September 27, 2022, Green was signed to the practice squad of the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. He was released on October 26, 2022.

Birmingham Stallions

Green was selected by the Arlington Renegades of the XFL in the 10th round of the defensive backs portion of the 2023 XFL Draft, but instead signed with the Birmingham Stallions of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) on December 16, 2022. He was released by the Stallions on May 3, 2023.

Memphis Showboats

Green signed with the

of the USFL on May 11, 2023.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bio

Clemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, T. J. 1995 births Living people People from Sylacauga, Alabama Players of American football from Talladega County, Alabama American football safeties Clemson Tigers football players Indianapolis Colts players Seattle Seahawks players New Orleans Saints players Carolina Panthers players Atlanta Falcons players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Birmingham Stallions (2022) players Memphis Showboats (2022) players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Canadian football defensive backs Players of Canadian football from Alabama