Perrion Winfrey (/ˈpɛriɒn/ PERR-ee-on; born August 15, 2000) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Iowa Western and Oklahoma, and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft.
_(cropped).jpg) Winfrey at Classic Park in 2023 | |||||||||
| Birmingham Stallions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | August 15, 2000 Maywood, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 290 lb (132 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Lake Park (Roselle, Illinois) | ||||||||
| College: | Iowa Western (2018–2019) Oklahoma (2020–2021) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2022 / round: 4 / pick: 108 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||
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Early life
editWinfrey grew up in Maywood, Illinois, and attended Lake Park High School in Roselle, Illinois.[1] Winfrey was rated a three-star prospect, but was not heavily recruited after failing to qualify academically to play NCAA Division I football.[2]
College career
editWinfrey began his collegiate career at Iowa Western Community College at the recommendation of coaches at Iowa State.[3] Over two seasons he recorded 55 tackles with 23 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.[4] Winfrey was rated the best junior college prospect in the nation by 247Sports.com and committed to transfer to Oklahoma over offers from Alabama, Baylor, LSU, and Texas.[5][6]
In his first year at Oklahoma, Winfrey played in all 11 of the Sooners' games and became a starter at defensive tackle. He was named second-team All-Big 12 Conference by the league's coaches after recording 19 tackles, six for loss, and three pass breakups.[7] After the season Winfrey considered entering the 2021 NFL draft, but opted to return to Oklahoma for his senior season.[8]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+5⁄8 in (1.92 m) |
290 lb (132 kg) |
35+1⁄4 in (0.90 m) |
10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) |
4.89 s | 1.68 s | 2.85 s | ||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[9][10] | ||||||||||||
Cleveland Browns
editWinfrey was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 108th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.[11] Winfrey appeared in 13 games as a rookie. He had .5 sacks, 22 total tackles, and two passes defensed.[12]
On July 19, 2023, Winfrey was waived by the Browns, after being investigated for threatening and pulling a gun on a woman in Cleveland.[13]
New York Jets
editOn November 7, 2023, Winfrey was signed to the practice squad of the New York Jets.[14] He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent upon the expiration of his practice squad contract.[15]
Birmingham Stallions
editOn October 3, 2024, Winfrey was signed by the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (UFL).[16]
Legal issues
editOn April 10, 2023, Winfrey was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge in Harris County, Texas.[17] On July 19, 2023, Fox 8 Cleveland announced that Winfrey was under investigation by Cleveland police for allegedly pulling a gun on a woman and threatening her in Cleveland.[13]
References
edit- ^ Gregor, Scot (May 14, 2022). "Lake Park grad Winfrey determined to make his NFL mark with Browns". Daily Herald. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Buettner, Joe (June 14, 2019). "OU football recruiting notepad: Perrion Winfrey's commitment comes at critical time". The Norman Transcript. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ Sautter, Mike (May 8, 2019). "Suddenly, Iowa Western's Perrion Winfrey has offers from near, far — including Nebraska". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ Mussatto, Joe (October 28, 2020). "OU football: Perrion Winfrey's JUCO coach knew he was 'an unbelievable talent' — and now he knows he's grateful, too". The Oklahoman. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ Aber, Ryan (August 26, 2019). "OU commit Perrion Winfrey elevated to top juco player in 2020 class". The Oklahoman. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ Mussatto, Joe (June 12, 2019). "Top JUCO defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey commits to Sooners". The Oklahoman. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ Aber, Ryan (August 19, 2021). "Oklahoma banking on Perrion Winfrey to emerge on this year's defensive line". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ Bailey, Eric (January 3, 2021). "OU football: Offensive lineman Marquis Hayes announces he'll return in 2021, Perrion Winfrey indicates return as well". Tulsa World. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ "Perrion Winfrey Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Perrion Winfrey, Oklahoma, DT, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ Poisal, Anthony (April 30, 2022). "Browns select DT Perrion Winfrey with the 108th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ "Perrion Winfrey 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ a b Easterling, Chris (July 19, 2023). "Cleveland Browns release Perrion Winfrey following latest off-the-field incident". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (November 7, 2023). "Jets Sign DL Perrion Winfrey to Practice Squad". NewYorkJets.com.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (January 8, 2024). "Jets Sign Nine Players to Reserve/Future Contracts". newyorkjets.com.
- ^ @UFL_PR (October 3, 2024). "The #UFL has announced the following transactions" (Tweet). Retrieved October 5, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Browns DT Perrion Winfrey arrested for misdemeanor assault in Texas". NFL.com. April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.