Thaddeus Coleman (born June 20, 1985) 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

who played in 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 ...

(CFL) and

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). 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 Mississippi Valley State, where he was a two-time first-team All-

Southwestern Athletic Conference The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United St ...

selection. He was signed by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

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 In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2008. Coleman was also a member of the

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 ...

of the NFL;

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

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 ...

, and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

of the CFL; Chicago Rush,

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

New Orleans VooDoo The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were members of the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2015. The VooDoo were the second team to play in the Arena Football League and play in ...

, and

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

of the AFL;

Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 season. They played their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The t ...

of the United Football League; and the RiverCity Rage of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

. He won the

103rd Grey Cup The 103rd Grey Cup was a Canadian football game that was played on November 29, 2015 between the East Division champion Ottawa Redblacks and the West Division champion Edmonton Eskimos to decide the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship f ...

with the Eskimos.

Early life

Coleman was born on June 20, 1985, in

Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan ( ) is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Chicago, Waukegan is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its population was 89,321, makin ...

. He 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 North Chicago Community High School in

North Chicago, Illinois North Chicago is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 30,759 at the 2020 census making it the third-most populous city by population in the county, after Waukegan and ...

as a two-way lineman. He helped North Chicago make the playoffs in 2001 and 2002. Coleman also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

in high school.

College career

Coleman played

for the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils of

Mississippi Valley State University Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississ ...

from 2004 to 2007. He spent his first season in 2004 as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and started three games but did not record a reception. He moved to

in 2005 and appeared in six games that season as a backup at both right tackle and left tackle. Coleman became a starter at left tackle in 2007 and was named first-team All-

(SWAC). He was named first-team All-SWAC his senior year as well and played in a postseason all-star game after the season.

Professional career

After going unselected in the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

, Coleman signed with the

of the

(NFL) on April 28, 2008. He was released on July 31, 2008. Coleman was signed by the

of the NFL on August 9, 2008, and was released on August 26, 2008, prior to the start of the

2008 NFL season The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League (NFL), themed with the slogan "Believe in Now." Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 1, ...

. Coleman was signed to the

practice roster 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 ...

of the

(CFL) on September 16, 2008. He played in three games for the RiverCity Rage of the

in 2009 and made one solo tackle. On June 15, 2009, the Eskimos traded Coleman to the

for Willie Amos. He was released on June 25 but signed to the team's practice roster on June 30 before the start of the

2009 CFL season The 2009 CFL season was the 56th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 52nd season of the Canadian Football League. The Montreal Alouettes won the 97th Grey Cup on November 29, 2009 with a last second 28–27 win over ...

. He was released from the practice roster on July 14, 2009. Coleman was assigned to the Chicago Rush of the

(AFL) on March 10, 2010. He was placed on the suspended list on May 5, and was traded to the

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz were an arena football team. The team began play as a 2004 expansion team of the Arena Football League's minor league af2 before becoming a member of the AFL in 2010. Formerly a tenant of the Ford Center from 2004 ...

for Quartez Vickerson on May 31. However, the trade was voided on June 4. Coleman 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 ...

on June 16, 2010. He recorded one assisted tackle during the 2010 season. Coleman was assigned to the

of the AFL on November 22, 2010. He caught one pass for 13 yards during the 2011 season. He was placed on the exempt list on July 6, 2011, activated on July 21, and placed on the exempt list again on August 4 after signing with the

of the United Football League (UFL). Coleman was released by the Destroyers on September 8 before the start of the 2011 UFL season. He was reassigned to the Predators on September 30, 2011. He was placed on injured reserve on May 14, 2012, and activated on June 4. He recorded one solo tackle and one

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

recovery in 2012. He was assigned to the Predators again on November 19, 2012. Coleman posted one assisted tackle for the Predators in 2013. He was placed on reassignment on April 16, 2013, but was activated the next day. On April 18, 2013, Coleman was traded to the

for

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

Prentice Purnell. Coleman totaled one solo tackle and one assisted tackle for the VooDoo in 2013. He was placed on the exempt list on June 3, 2013, after signing with the Eskimos. Even though Coleman was still a member of the Eskimos, the VooDoo activated him on June 23, 2015. He was placed on the refused to report list the next day. Nonetheless, he was activated again on June 25, 2015. Coleman signed with the Eskimos on June 5, 2013. He started all 18 games for the Eskimos during the 2013 season, recording two fumble recoveries and one tackle. He started the first two games of the 2014 season but suffered a hyper-extended elbow in the second game, causing him to miss the rest of the regular season. He later returned from injury to start both the 2014 West Division semifinal and final. Coleman was moved to the practice roster on June 21, 2015, prior to the start of the

2015 CFL season The 2015 CFL season was the 62nd season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 58th Canadian Football League season. The Edmonton Eskimos won the 103rd Grey Cup on November 29, defeating the Ottawa Redblacks 26–20 in Winni ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on August 27, and played in his only game of the 2015 season on August 28, a start in place of the injured Tony Washington. Coleman was moved back to the practice roster on September 10, and was later transferred to the injured list on October 31, where he spent the remainder of the season. The Eskimos later won the

against the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

on November 29, 2015. On October 16, 2015, Coleman was assigned to the

of the AFL during the AFL's offseason assignment process, despite still being a member of the Eskimos. On May 2, 2016, the Eskimos traded Coleman to the

for "two undisclosed players off the Roughriders' negotiation list". Coleman started all 18 games for the Roughriders in 2016 and also made one tackle. He started all 18 games in 2017 as well, totaling one fumble recovery and one tackle. He also started the 2017 East Division semifinal and final. In December 2017, Coleman signed a two-year contract extension with the Roughriders. He started all 18 regular season games for the third consecutive season in 2018 and made one tackle. Coleman also started the 2018 West Division semifinal. He started 17 games for the team in 2019, posting one tackle. He became a free agent after the 2019 season but the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

was later cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Coleman signed with the newly renamed

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

on July 11, 2021, and was moved to the team's suspended list the same day until he "completed CFL COVID-19 protocols". He was activated from the suspended list on July 19. He was released on July 29, 2021, before the start of the

2021 CFL season The 2021 CFL season was the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. The regular season began on August 5 and ended November 20. Each team played 14 regular season games o ...

. Coleman signed with the

of the CFL on November 9, 2021. He was moved to the practice roster on November 14. On November 15, he was promoted to the active roster in order to start the team's regular season finale. He was moved back to the practice roster on November 25, and was released on December 5, 2021.

Personal life

Coleman's father, Michael Coleman, was also a football player. As of 2024, Thaddeus was serving as an animal control peace officer with the city of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Thaddeus 1985 births Living people American football offensive tackles American football tight ends Canadian football offensive linemen Players of American football from Lake County, Illinois Players of Canadian football from Illinois Sportspeople from Waukegan, Illinois Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football players Arizona Cardinals players New York Jets players Edmonton Elks players RiverCity Rage players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Chicago Rush players Virginia Destroyers players Orlando Predators players New Orleans VooDoo players San Jose SaberCats players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Toronto Argonauts players