Clelin Ferrell

Clelin Ferrell

Ferrell with the Oakland Raiders in 2019
No. 99 – Washington Commanders
Position:	Defensive end
Personal information
Born:	(1997-05-17) May 17, 1997 (age 26) Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school:	Benedictine (Richmond)
College:	Clemson (2015–2018)
NFL draft:	2019  / Round: 1 / Pick: 4
Career history
Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders (2019–2022) San Francisco 49ers (2023) Washington Commanders (2024–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Ted Hendricks Award (2018) 2× CFP national champion (2016, 2018) 2016 Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2018) Consensus All-American (2018) 2× first-team All-American (2017, 2018) 2× first team All-ACC (2017, 2018)
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Tackles: 133 Sacks: 13.5 Forced fumbles: 3 Fumble recoveries: 2 Pass deflections: 12
Player stats at NFL.com  ·  PFR

Clelin Ferrell (born May 17, 1997) is an American football defensive end for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson, winning the Ted Hendricks Award in 2018 prior to being selected fourth overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2019 NFL draft. Ferrell has also played for the San Francisco 49ers.

Early years

Clelin Ferrell's parents, Cleavester and Faye Ferrell, are both in the military. ^[1] Ferrell has four brothers and four sisters, all at least 10 years older than him. ^[1] His parents enrolled Clelin at Benedictine College Preparatory, a private military academy in Richmond, Virginia, because they believed that he needed some more structure. ^[1] Clelin’s father, Cleavester, died from cancer in March 2012, when Clelin was a freshman in high school. ^[1] The entire Benedictine junior varsity team attended the funeral to show their support. ^[1] Clelin committed to play college football at Clemson nearly three months before he tore his ACL, ^[1] which caused him to miss his senior football season. Ferrell was still ranked as the fifth best prospect in the state, the seventh best weak-side defensive end, and the No. 101 prospect in the country by 247 Sports. ^[2]

College career

At Clemson, Ferrell suffered a hand injury that forced him to redshirt the 2015 season. Returning the following season, he was named co-defensive rookie of the year award with Dexter Lawrence after recording 50 tackles, 12.5 for loss, and six sacks. Ferrell was named first-team All-American in 2017 and won the Ted Hendricks Award in 2018 after recording 53 tackles, 11.5 sacks, four pass breakups, and three forced fumbles. ^[3] He declared for the 2019 NFL draft following the season. ^[4]

College statistics

Year	GP	Tackles					Interceptions					Fumbles
		Solo	Ast	Total	Loss	Sack	Int	Yds	Avg	TD	PD	FR	Yds	TD	FF
2015	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2016	14	21	23	44	12.5	6	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
2017	14	33	33	66	18	9.5	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2
2018	15	29	26	55	20	11.5	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	3
Career [5]	44	84	82	166	50.5	27	0	0	0	0	5	1	0	1	5

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Broad jump	Bench press	Wonderlic
6 ft 4+3⁄8 in (1.94 m)	264 lb (120 kg)	34+1⁄8 in (0.87 m)	10+1⁄2 in (0.27 m)	4.40 s	7.26 s	9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)	25 reps	21 [6]
All values are from NFL Scouting Combine [7] [8]

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

Ferrell was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round with the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. ^[9] This selection was met with great criticism as Ferrell was widely regarded as a late first round pick, while several other defensive linemen more highly-rated than Ferrell like Josh Allen and Ed Oliver were available. ^[10] On June 18, 2019, Ferrell signed his four-year rookie contract, worth a fully guaranteed $31.2 million, including a $20.8 million signing bonus. ^[11] Ferrell made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football . In the game, Ferrell made three tackles and recorded his first sack on Joe Flacco in the 24–16 win. ^[12] In Week 10 against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football , Ferrell recorded 8 tackles and sacked Philip Rivers 2.5 times in the 26–24 win. ^[13]

Ferrell in a game against the Tennessee Titans

Ferrell was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Raiders on November 17, 2020, ^[14] and activated on November 26. ^[15] In Week 13 against the New York Jets, he recorded two strip sacks on Sam Darnold that were recovered by the Raiders during the 31–28 win. ^[16] On December 30, 2020, Ferrell was placed on injured reserve. ^[17] He finished the season with 27 tackles, two sacks, and two forced fumbles through 11 games.

On April 29, 2022, the Raiders announced that they would not pick up the fifth-year option on Ferrell's contract, making him a free agent in the 2023 offseason. ^[18] Ferrell recorded half sacks in a Week 7, 38–20 win against the Houston Texans ^[19] and a Week 13, 27–20 win against the Chargers. ^[20] He recorded his final sack as a Raider during a Week 18, 31–13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. ^[21]

San Francisco 49ers

On March 16, 2023, Ferrell signed a one-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers. ^[22]

Ferrell recorded his first forced fumble as a 49er in a Week 8, 31–17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, during which he also recorded his first half sack for the team. ^[23] The following week he recorded his first full sack in a 34–3 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars. ^[24] He would record another sack in a Week 14, 28–16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. ^[25]

Washington Commanders

On March 18, 2024, Ferrell signed with the Washington Commanders. ^[26]

Statistics

Legend
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Tackles						Interceptions					Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	TfL	Sck	Sfty	Int	Yds	Lng	TD	PD	FF	FR	Yds	TD
2019	OAK	15	15	38	24	14	8	4.5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	1	0	0
2020	LV	11	11	27	18	9	3	2.0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	0
2021	LV	16	0	14	8	6	1	1.5	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
2022	LV	16	4	26	8	18	3	2.0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
2023	SF	17	17	28	15	13	6	3.5	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0
Career		75	47	133	73	60	21	13.5	0	0	0	0	0	12	3	2	0	0

Postseason

Year	Team	Games		Tackles						Interceptions					Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	TfL	Sck	Sfty	Int	Yds	Lng	TD	PD	FF	FR	Yds	TD
2021	LV	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

References

1. Brenner, Aaron (September 7, 2016). "Clelin Ferrell's tough-love journey from military school to Clemson starter". Post and Courier. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
2. Rapp, Timothy (June 4, 2014). "Clelin Ferrell to Clemson: Tigers Land 4-Star DE Prospect". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
3. "NFL Draft & Combine Profile - Clelin Ferrell". www.nfl.com. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
4. Crawford, Brad (January 11, 2019). "Clemson pass rusher Clelin Ferrell declares for 2019 NFL Draft". 247 Sports. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
5. "Clelin Ferrell College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
6. "The Wonderlic Scores for NFL Draft's Top Prospects Have Leaked". April 22, 2019.
7. "Clelin Ferrell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
8. "2019 Draft Scout Clelin Ferrell, Clemson NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
9. Wesseling, Chris (April 25, 2019). "Oakland Raiders select Clelin Ferrell at No. 4 overall". NFL.com. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
10. "NFL Draft 2019: Clelin Ferrell to Raiders at No. 4 pick shocks Twitter".
11. "Raiders, No. 4 overall pick Clelin Ferrell agree to four-year contract".
12. "Raiders beat Broncos 24–16 in 1st game after Brown's release". www.espn.com. Associated Press. September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
13. "Raiders rally to beat Chargers 26-24". www.espn.com. Associated Press. November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
14. Alper, Josh (November 17, 2020). "Raiders put Clelin Ferrell, Lamarcus Joyner on COVID-19 list". NBCSports.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
15. Damien, Levi (November 26, 2020). "Raiders activate DE Clelin Ferrell from reserve/COVID-19 list". USAToday.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
16. "Las Vegas Raiders at New York Jets - December 6th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
17. "Clelin Ferrell ruled out for season finale vs. Broncos". Raiders.com. December 30, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
18. Gordon, Grant (April 29, 2022). "Raiders decline fifth-year options for DE Clelin Ferrell, RB Josh Jacobs, DB Johnathan Abram". NFL.com. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
19. "Josh Jacobs rushes for 3 TDs, Raiders beat Texans 38-20". ESPN.com. October 24, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
20. "Carr-Adams connection rallies Raiders past Chargers 27-20". ESPN.com. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
21. Kopp, Ron (January 7, 2023). "Final score: Chiefs handle Raiders 31-13, earn top seed in AFC playoffs". ArrowheadPride.com. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
22. "49ers Sign DL Clelin Ferrell to a One-Year Deal". 49ers.com. March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
23. "Burrow throws 3 TD passes to lead the Bengals past the 49ers 31-17". ESPN.com. October 30, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
24. "49ers dominate Jaguars 34-3 to end 3-game skid and look like Super Bowl contendors again". ESPN.com. November 12, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
25. "Samuel scores 2 TDs, Purdy throws for career-best 368 yards as 49ers beat Seahawks 28-16". ESPN.com. December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
26. "Commanders sign DE Clelin Ferrell". Commanders.com. March 18, 2024.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Sports-Reference (college)
• Washington Commanders bio
• Clemson Tigers Bio