Akeem Spence

Akeem Spence

Spence with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019
Personal information
Born:	(1991-11-29) November 29, 1991 (age 32) Navarre, Florida, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	307 lb (139 kg)
Career information
High school:	Fort Walton Beach (Fort Walton Beach, Florida)
College:	Illinois (2009–2012)
Position:	Defensive tackle
NFL draft:	2013  / Round: 4 / Pick: 100
Career history
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2013–2016) Detroit Lions (2017) Miami Dolphins (2018) Philadelphia Eagles (2019) Jacksonville Jaguars (2019) New England Patriots (2020) Washington Football Team (2021) Denver Broncos (2021)* San Francisco 49ers (2022)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles: 215 Sacks: 10.5 Forced fumbles: 1 Fumble recoveries: 4
Player stats at PFR

Akeem Spence (born November 29, 1991) is an American football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft. He played college football at Illinois.

Early life

Spence was born in Navarre, Florida. He attended Fort Walton Beach High School, and played for the Fort Walton Beach Vikings high school football team. He recorded 80 tackles and five sacks as a senior and helped lead team to a 10–2 record and district championship. Posted 67 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and two sacks in 2007 as a junior. Rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, he accepted an athletic scholarship from the University of Illinois over offers from Iowa State and Syracuse. ^[1]

College career

While attending the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Spence played for the Illinois Fighting Illini football team from 2009 to 2012. After redshirting in 2009, he started all 13 games at defensive tackle alongside All-American Corey Liuget. He had 45 tackles, four tackles for a loss, one quarterback sacks, two hurries and one fumble recovery on the season. In 2011, he started all 13 games on the season, he finished ranked fourth on the team with 69 tackles on the season, including 5.5 tackles for a loess and 1.5 sacks. As a redshirt junior, he started all 12 games in 2012 and started all 38 games of his college career at defensive tackle. He ranked third on the team in tackles with 72 and tied for second on team with 7.0 tackles for a loss and had one sack.

Spence announced on December 19, 2012 that he would forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. ^{[2] [3]}

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

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 0+5⁄8 in (1.84 m)	307 lb (139 kg)	33+1⁄2 in (0.85 m)	10 in (0.25 m)	5.15 s	1.74 s	2.81 s	4.72 s	7.82 s	30 in (0.76 m)	8 ft 11 in (2.72 m)	37 reps
All values from NFL Combine [4] [5]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Spence with the Buccaneers in 2014

On April 27, 2013, Spence was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round (100th overall pick) of the 2013 NFL draft. ^[6] The Buccaneers signed him to a rookie contract on May 15, 2013. ^[7] Spence signed his contract on May 15, 2013, a four-year deal that's worth $2,644,424. Spence collected a $484,424 signing bonus.

On December 26, 2015, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed Spence on injured reserve. ^[8]

Detroit Lions

On March 10, 2017, Spence signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the Detroit Lions. ^[9] He started 11 games during the 2017 season, recording 39 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble. ^[10] Spence was named the 2017 recipient of the Detroit Lions Media-Friendly Good Guy Award by the Detroit chapter of the PFWA and Detroit Sports Media Association.

Miami Dolphins

On May 3, 2018, Spence was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional 2019 seventh round pick, previously acquired from the Browns in a trade for Jarvis Landry. ^[11]

On August 27, 2019, Spence was released from the Miami Dolphins. ^[12]

Philadelphia Eagles

Spence signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on September 10, 2019. ^[13] He was released after playing in six games on October 21, 2019. ^[14]

Jacksonville Jaguars

On October 25, 2019, Spence was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. ^[15]

New England Patriots

On November 21, 2020, the New England Patriots signed Spence to their practice squad. ^[16] He was elevated to the active roster on November 28 for the team's week 12 game against the Arizona Cardinals, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. ^[17] On December 5, 2020, Spence was promoted to the active roster. ^[18]

On August 31, 2021, Spence was released by the Patriots. ^[19]

Washington Football Team

Spence with the Washington Football Team in 2021

On December 16, 2021, Spence signed with the Washington Football Team. ^[20] He was waived on December 24. ^[21]

Denver Broncos

On December 28, 2021, Spence was signed to the Denver Broncos practice squad. ^[22] His contract expired when the team's season ended on January 8, 2022.

San Francisco 49ers

On August 1, 2022, Spence was signed by the San Francisco 49ers. ^[23] He was released on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day. ^{[24] [25]} He was promoted to the active roster on October 8. ^[26] He was released on November 1, 2022. ^[27] He signed back to the practice squad the next day. ^[28] He was signed to the active roster on December 15, 2022. ^[29] He was released on January 3, 2023. ^[30] Spence was re-signed to the 49ers’ practice squad on January 6, 2023. ^[31] His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 29, 2023.

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold	Career high

Year	Team	Games		Tackles					Interceptions					Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	Sck	TFL	Int	Yds	TD	Lng	PD	FF	FR	Yds	TD
2013	TAM	16	14	29	19	10	1.0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
2014	TAM	16	5	37	27	10	3.0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
2015	TAM	8	7	11	8	3	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2016	TAM	16	4	19	10	9	0.5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2017	DET	16	11	39	19	20	3.0	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
2018	MIA	16	16	42	23	19	2.0	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
2019	JAX	9	0	11	8	3	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	PHI	6	0	7	6	1	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2020	NWE	6	0	9	3	6	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2021	WAS	1	0	1	0	1	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2022	SFO	7	0	10	4	6	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		117	57	215	127	88	10.5	19	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	0	0

Personal life

On January 14, 2014, Spence was arrested in Flomaton, Alabama on charges of misdemeanor marijuana possession. ^[32] He was later suspended one game by the NFL for the incident. ^[33] During the 2017 NFL season, Spence participated in a protest during the national anthem. Following this, he reported that his father, a contractor, was denied work due to his protest. ^[34]

References

1. "Akeem Spence - Yahoo! Sports". Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
2. "Illinois' Akeem Spence to enter NFL draft". ESPN.com. December 19, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
3. "Report: Illini's Spence to enter NFL draft" . Retrieved April 9, 2023.
4. "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Akeem Spence". NFL.com . Archived from the original on April 23, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
5. "NFL Draft Scout". NFL Draft Scout. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
6. "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
7. Associated Press, "Fourth-round draft pick Akeem Spence agrees to contract with Buccaneers ^{[ dead link ]}," The Washington Post (May 15, 2013). Retrieved May 15, 2013.
8. "Bucs put Akeem Spence on IR, promote Mike James". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
9. "Lions sign unrestricted free agent DT Akeem Spence". DetroitLions.com. March 10, 2017. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
10. "Detroit Lions trade DT Akeem Spence to Dolphins". NFL.com. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
11. "Detroit Lions trade DT Akeem Spence to Dolphins". NFL.com. May 3, 2018. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018.
12. "Dolphins Waive Chase Allen, Release Akeem Spence". MiamiDolphins.com. August 27, 2019.
13. Spadaro, Dave (September 10, 2019). "Eagles agree to terms with DT Akeem Spence as defensive line prepares to move on without Malik Jackson". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
14. McPherson, Chris (October 21, 2019). "Eagles agree to sign DT Anthony Rush, release CB Orlando Scandrick and DT Akeem Spence". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
15. Smith, Michael David (October 25, 2019). "Jaguars put Marcell Dareus on injured reserve, sign Akeem Spence". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
16. "Patriots make a series of roster transactions". Patriots.com. November 21, 2020. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
17. "Patriots Announce A Series of Roster Moves". Patriots.com. November 28, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
18. "Patriots Make a Series of Roster Transactions". Patritos.com. December 5, 2020. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
19. "Patriots Make Roster Moves to Reach 53-Man Roster Limit; Acquire OL Yasir Durant in a Trade with Kansas City". Patriots.com. September 1, 2021.
20. "Washington places 3 players on Reserve/COVID-19 list, signs DT Akeem Spence". WashingtonFootball.com. December 16, 2021.
21. "Washington places Landon Collins on IR amid multiple moves". WashingtonFootball.com. December 24, 2021. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
22. DiLalla, Aric (December 28, 2021). "Broncos sign DT Justin Hamilton, place DT DeShawn Williams on IR". DenverBroncos.com.
23. "49ers Sign DL Akeem Spence, Place DL Maurice Hurst on IR". 49ers.com. August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
24. "49ers Announce 2022 Initial 53-Man Roster Ahead of NFL Deadline". 49ers.com. August 30, 2022.
25. "49ers Move Two to IR; Waive RB; Announce Practice Squad and Other Moves". 49ers.com. August 31, 2022.
26. "49ers Activate Ward; Place McKivitz on IR and Other Roster Moves". 49ers.com. October 8, 2022.
27. "49ers release Akeem Spence". November 2022. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
28. "49ers re-sign DL Akeem Spence to practice squad". November 2, 2022.
29. "49ers activate CB Janoris Jenkins and WR Willie Snead from the practice squad".
30. "49ers Waive Defensive Lineman from Roster, Quarterback from Practice Squad". 49ers.com. January 3, 2023.
31. "49ers sign DT Akeem Spence to the practice squad". yardbarker.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
32. CBS Sports, "Bucaneers DT Akeem Spence Arrested in Alabama," CBS Sports (January 15, 2014). Retrieved January 16, 2014.
33. Yasinskas, Pat (August 17, 2015). "Akeem Spence suspended one game following marijuana arrest". ESPN. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
34. "Lions' Akeem Spence Says His Protest Cost His Father a Job". si.com. September 28, 2017.

External links

• Illinois Fighting Illini bio
• Media related to Akeem Spence at Wikimedia Commons