Kevin Strong Jr. (born August 5, 1996) is an American professional football nose tackle. He played college football at UTSA before graduating in 2018. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions in 2019.
 Strong in 2022 | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
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| Born: | August 5, 1996 Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 295 lb (134 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Cleveland (Cleveland, Texas) | ||||||||||
| College: | UTSA (2014–2018) | ||||||||||
| Position: | Nose tackle | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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College career
editStrong was a member of the UTSA Roadrunners for five seasons, redshirting his freshman year. As a junior, Strong was named second-team All-Conference USA after recording 27 tackles, seven tackles for loss and three sacks.[1] He finished his collegiate career with 106 tackles (26.5 for loss), 7.5 sacks, three pass deflections, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and two blocked kicks in 47 games played (40 starts).[2]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+5⁄8 in (1.90 m) |
289 lb (131 kg) |
32+3⁄4 in (0.83 m) |
10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) |
5.26 s | 1.81 s | 3.02 s | 4.88 s | 7.95 s | 30.5 in (0.77 m) |
8 ft 10 in (2.69 m) |
17 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[3] | ||||||||||||
Detroit Lions
editStrong signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent on May 10, 2019.[4] He made his NFL debut on September 8, 2019, against the Arizona Cardinals.[5] On November 12, 2019, Strong was placed on injured reserve after a season ending injury. He finished his rookie season with five tackles and a pass defended in eight games played.[6]
On September 5, 2020, Strong was waived by the Lions and signed to the practice squad the next day.[7][8] He was elevated to the active roster on September 19 for the team's Week 2 game against the Green Bay Packers, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.[9] He was released by the Lions on November 11, 2020.[10] He re-signed to the practice squad on December 1, 2020,[11] and was promoted to the active roster the next day.[12] In Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings, Strong recorded his first career sack on Kirk Cousins during the 37–35 loss.[13]
On September 25, 2021, Strong was placed on injured reserve.[14] He was activated on November 2, 2021. He was waived on November 20.
Tennessee Titans
editStrong signed with the Tennessee Titans' practice squad on November 23, 2021.[15] He was promoted to the active roster on January 8, 2022.[16]
Arizona Cardinals
editOn March 15, 2023, Strong signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals.[17] He was released on January 5, 2024.[18]
References
edit- ^ Luca, Greg (October 2, 2018). "UTSA's Strong seeing improvement after rough start to 2018 season". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
- ^ Schlitt, Erik (August 14, 2019). "Lions Wire exclusive: Kevin Strong's path to his first NFL game". Lions Wire. USA Publisher. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
- ^ "Kevin Strong Jr., Texas-San Antonio, DT, 2019 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ "Lions sign 13 undrafted rookie free agents". DetroitLions.com. May 10, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ Raven, Benjamin (September 9, 2019). "Snap counts: Lions Frank Ragnow returns to play every offensive snap on OL in Week 1 tie". MLive.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ Schlitt, Erik (November 12, 2019). "Lions claim OT Dan Skipper off waivers, place DT Kevin Strong on IR". Lions Wire. USA Today. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- ^ "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. September 5, 2020.
- ^ "Lions establish practice squad". DetroitLions.com. September 6, 2020.
- ^ Schlitt, Erik (September 19, 2020). "Lions elevate Kevin Strong and Dee Virgin to the active roster for Week 2". USAToday.com. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- ^ Schlitt, Erik (November 11, 2020). "Lions re-sign RB Dalyn Dawkins to practice squad, release DT Kevin Strong". USAToday.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
- ^ Schlitt, Erik (December 1, 2020). "Lions sign DT Kevin Strong to practice squad, protect him and three others in Week 13". USAToday.com. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions – January 3rd, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ Schlitt, Erik (September 25, 2021). "Detroit Lions elevate K Ryan Santoso to active roster, place DL Kevin Strong on IR". Pride Of Detroit. SB Nation. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
- ^ Wyatt, Jim (November 23, 2021). "Titans Make 13 Roster Moves – On the Active Roster, Practice Squad and Injured Reserve – On a Busy Tuesday". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ Wyatt, Jim (January 8, 2022). "Titans Promote DL Kevin Strong to the Active Roster While Waiving RB Jeremy McNichols". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
- ^ Urban, Darren (March 15, 2023). "Kyzir White Agrees To Two-Year Deal With Cardinals". AZCardinals.com.
- ^ Urban, Darren. "Cardinals Move Dante Stills, D.J. Humphries To Injured Reserve". azcardinals.com. Retrieved January 6, 2024.