Josh Woods (American football)
Josh Woods (born July 1, 1996) is an American football linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland.
_(cropped).jpg) Woods playing for Maryland in 2016 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 55 – Chicago Bears | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Inside linebacker | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | July 1, 1996 Baltimore, Maryland | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 236 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | McDonogh School (Owings Mills, Maryland) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Maryland | ||||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2018 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2019 | |||||||||||||||
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Early life and high school
Woods was born and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended the McDonogh School. He played both cornerback and wide receiver for the Eagles and was named first team All-Metro by the Baltimore Sun and first team All-State as a senior after making 35 tackles with four interceptions on defense catching 35 passes for 800 yards and 10 touchdowns on offense as McDonogh went 11-0 and won its first MIAA state championship. All 4 years in high school, Josh was an academic all american. He maintained a GPA of 4.267 upon graduating high school.[1] Rated a three-star recruit, Woods committed to play college football at the University of Maryland over offers from Virginia and Delaware.[2]
College career
Woods played four seasons for the Maryland Terrapins as a defensive back. He was used primarily on special teams during his freshman and sophomore seasons, playing in 14 total games and making two tackles. Woods became a key member of the Terrapins secondary as a junior, playing in ten games with five starts while making 41 tackles (one for loss) and breaking up two passes.[3] As a senior, Woods made 62 tackles (4.5 for loss) with four passes broken up and two interceptions despite missing two games due to injury.[4]
Professional career
Woods was signed by the Chicago Bears on June 7, 2018 after participating in a veteran mini-camp on a tryout basis.[5] He was cut by the team at the end of training camp but was re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 2, 2018.[6] He spent the entire 2018 season on the practice squad as he continued to transition to linebacker, adding 30 pounds in the process. After a strong showing in preseason, Woods made the Bears 53-man roster going into the 2019 season.[7]
Woods made his NFL debut on September 29, 2019 against the Minnesota Vikings, playing 15 snaps on special teams.[8]
References
- Volk, Pete (May 21, 2014). "Profiles in Terpage: Josh Woods". TestudoTimes.com. SB Nation. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- Volk, Pete (November 18, 2013). "Three-star local safety Josh Woods commits to Maryland". TestudoTimes.com. SB Nation. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- Bernstein, Daniel (October 12, 2017). "Josh Woods is making big plays for Maryland football's defense". The Diamondback. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- Ermann, Jeff (June 7, 2018). "After Impressive Minicamp, Josh Woods Signs with Bears". 247Sports.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- Perez, Bryan (June 7, 2018). "Chicago Bears sign former Maryland DB-turned-LB Josh Woods". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- Perez, Bryan (September 2, 2018). "Bears to add former Maryland LB Josh Woods to practice squad". Bears Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- Lieser, Jason (September 2, 2019). "Whirlwind weekend for Bears LB Josh Woods as he makes regular-season roster". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- "Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bear - September 29th, 2019: Snap Counts". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019.