Jerramy Stevens facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Jerramy Stevens

Stevens at the 2005 Seahawks intrasquad scrimmage
No. 86
Position:	Tight end
Personal information
Born:	(1979-11-13) November 13, 1979 (age 45) Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:	260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school:	River Ridge (Lacey, Washington)
College:	Washington (1998–2001)
NFL Draft:	2002 / Round: 1 / Pick: 28
Career history
Seattle Seahawks (2002–2006) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2007–2010)
Career highlights and awards
Second-team All-Pac-10 (2000)
Career NFL statistics
Receptions: 202 Receiving yards: 2,217 Receiving touchdowns: 22

Jerramy Ryan Stevens (born November 13, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football for the Washington Huskies and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft. Stevens also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

With Washington, Stevens was among the team's top receivers in the 1999 and 2000 seasons and won the 2001 Rose Bowl with Washington following an 11–1 season in 2000. In 2005, Stevens became a regular starter at tight end for the Seattle Seahawks and played in Super Bowl XL.

High school years

Jerramy Stevens attended River Ridge High School of Lacey, Washington. A 1998 graduate, Stevens was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. In football, Stevens originally played quarterback. He passed for 5,000 yards during his high school career, including throwing for 2,000 yards as a junior. As a senior, he earned first-team All-Narrows League and was named to The Olympian's All-Area team as a safety.

During his senior year, he and another student were accused of beating a schoolmate over his head with a baseball bat and stomping on his face on June 2, 1998. The victim suffered a broken jaw and ate with a straw for six months. Upon questioning by authorities, Stevens initially denied being involved in the fight but admitted his wrongdoing later. Stevens was charged with felony assault and was ordered to home detention while awaiting trial. ..... Three football coaches at the University of Washington wrote the trial judge affirming that Stevens's scholarship offer was still valid, and the judge allowed Stevens to participate in training camp with Washington even though Stevens violated home detention orders. As a result of a plea deal, Stevens was convicted of misdemeanor assault and received credit for time served.

College career

Stevens redshirted the 1998 season and played on the practice squad as quarterback. For his redshirt freshman season in 1999, Stevens converted to tight end. In 1999, Stevens made 21 receptions for 265 yards and 4 touchdowns.

In 2000, Stevens made 43 receptions for 600 yards and 3 touchdowns and won the 2001 Rose Bowl with Washington. On September 9, in Washington's 34–29 upset over fourth-ranked Miami (Florida), Stevens made 7 receptions for 89 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown pass from Marques Tuiasosopo in a drive that put Washington up 21–3 at the half. The following game on September 16 against Colorado, Stevens made 7 receptions again but this time for 103 yards. In the Rose Bowl game, Stevens led Washington in receiving with 5 catches for 51 yards.

In 2001, Stevens made 10 receptions for 88 yards and one touchdown. Stevens injured his right foot on September 24 and was sidelined until November.

Professional career

NFL Draft

Stevens was selected by his hometown Seattle Seahawks as their first-round pick in the 2002 NFL draft; he was the 28th player taken overall. Seattle traded its first-round (No. 20) and fifth-round (No. 156) choices to Green Bay for the Packers' first-round (No. 28) and second-round (No. 60) choices. Green Bay used the picks to select Javon Walker and Aaron Kampman.

Because of Stevens's criminal history, Stevens's draft selection by the Seahawks was controversial to the fans. Coach Mike Holmgren acknowledged that drafting Stevens took him numerous deliberations with Stevens, Stevens's parents, Stevens's coaches at Washington, and even Holmgren's own family.

Seattle Seahawks

Stevens played 12 games with one start in his rookie season in 2002 and debuted in the season opener against the Oakland Raiders on September 8. Forced by Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson, Stevens fumbled his first reception, a four-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck but made two other receptions that game. On November 24, in a 39–32 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Stevens made his first touchdown catch as a professional. The 6-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck marked a turning point in the game as Seattle took a 21–17 lead on that touchdown drive and never looked back. As a rookie, Stevens made 21 receptions for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns.

In 2003, Stevens played all 16 games and started 2, with 6 receptions for 72 yards.

In 2004, Stevens again played all 16 games and started 5. He made 31 receptions for 349 yards and 3 touchdowns.

In 2005, Stevens started 12 games out of 16 and made 45 receptions for 554 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Before Super Bowl XL, Stevens said in a February 2, 2006 interview, "The story of Jerome Bettis returning to his hometown (Detroit) is heartwarming, but it's going be a sad day when he doesn't walk away with that trophy." This drew the ire of Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter. On February 5, 2006, Stevens caught 3 passes for 25 yards in Super Bowl XL. Among his catches was Seattle's first-ever Super Bowl touchdown. However, he also dropped three key passes in the Seahawks' 21–10 loss to the Steelers.

On November 6, 2006, in a game against the Oakland Raiders, Stevens was kneed in the groin by Raiders defensive end Tyler Brayton, who was then ejected from the game. Neither player was suspended, but Brayton was fined $25,000 by the NFL for the incident, and Stevens was fined $15,000 for his involvement, as well as an earlier taunting incident.

Art Shell, the Raiders coach, said in an interview that Stevens was the instigator, and had tried to knee Brayton earlier. However Mike Holmgren, the Seahawks coach, responded by saying that Stevens was not attempting to strike Brayton, but was struggling for leverage which caused his leg to flare out.

On March 20, 2007, Seattle general manager Tim Ruskell confirmed that Stevens' days with the Seahawks were done. "I would say it's probably a time for a change of scenery and to move on," Ruskell said. This move was widely expected, as only hours after Stevens' arrest on March 13, the Seahawks signed veteran Marcus Pollard, giving them four tight ends.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On April 29, 2007, he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He caught his first touchdown pass as a Buccaneer on December 2 (Week 13) against the New Orleans Saints, a four-yard reception from Luke McCown with 14 seconds left in the game in a drive that clinched a 27–23 victory for the Buccaneers and the team's fourth straight win. .....

On May 30, 2008, Stevens was re-signed by the Buccaneers after the team waived quarterback Bruce Gradkowski. ..... In 14 games played, Stevens made three starts and made 36 receptions for 397 yards and 2 touchdowns.

In 2009, Stevens played all 16 regular season games with eight starts for the Buccaneers. Stevens made 15 receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown.

..... Stevens played in five games with one start in 2010 for Tampa and made three receptions for 43 yards.

NFL statistics

Personal life

Stevens was born in Boise, Idaho, to a black father and a white mother, one of their four children. His mother Fran worked as a police officer and school administrator, and his father Bob was a teacher and high school sports coach. Bob Stevens died on September 4, 2012, at age 62, from cancer. Stevens grew up in Lacey, Washington.

Stevens married Hope Solo, a professional soccer goalkeeper formerly on the United States women's national soccer team, on November 13, 2012; the two had been dating for about two months, and the marriage came one day after Stevens was arrested for allegedly assaulting Solo. Solo attended the University of Washington from 1999 to 2003, nearly the same time as Stevens, and played for four seasons on the Washington Huskies women's soccer team. The couple welcomed Vittorio Genghis and Lozen Orianna Judith Stevens on March 4, 2020.