No. 83 | |||||||
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Position: | Tight end | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | January 10, 1961||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 242 lb (110 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | South Mountain (Phoenix, AZ) | ||||||
College: | Brown | ||||||
NFL Draft: | 1982 / Round: 7 / Pick: 179 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Steven Russell Jordan (born January 10, 1961) is an American former professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings from 1982 to 1994.
Steve Jordan grew up in Phoenix, Arizona [1] and graduated from South Mountain High School. [2] A multi-sport athlete, he played football, basketball, and tennis in high school, but he concentrated on academics. [3]
He attended college at Brown University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the Brown University School of Engineering in 1982. [4] In addition to his engineering coursework, he tried out for the football team and made the varsity lineup his sophomore year. [5] Although the Brown coaching staff originally thought he would not play "a minute of varsity ball," [6] Jordan was twice named to the first-team All-Ivy League squad and he also made All-American honorable mention. [7] After his senior season, Jordan was awarded the Tuss McLaughry Trophy as the Brown football team member "who through sportsmanship, performance, and influence, contributed most to the sport at Brown." [8] He was inducted into the Brown Bears athletic Hall of Fame in 1987. [9]
Jordan was the Vikings 7th round pick (179th overall) in the 1982 NFL draft. [10] He played 13 seasons for the Vikings and was selected to six consecutive Pro Bowls from 1986 through 1991. He finished his NFL career with 498 receptions for 6,307 yards and 28 touchdowns. [11] Viking head coach Jerry Burns praised Jordan's work ethic, noting that "no one on the Vikings works harder." [12] During Jordan's years with the team, the Vikings won three NFC Central division titles, made the NFL playoffs six times, and reached the 1987 NFC Championship game, which they lost 17-10 to the Washington Redskins. [13] The Redskins went on to win Super Bowl XXII.
Jordan's career statistics compare favorably to several NFL Hall of Fame inductees. [14] For example, Jordan's 498 career receptions and 6,307 career yards exceeds Mike Ditka's 427 career receptions and 5,812 career yards, [15] Dave Casper's 378 career receptions and 5,216 career yards, [16] and John Mackey's 331 career receptions and 5,236 career yards. [17]
Jordan still holds the Vikings all-time single-game receiving record for tight ends. [18] During a game against the Washington Redskins on November 2, 1986, Jordan caught 6 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. [19] No Vikings tight end has ever caught for more yards in a single game. [20]
After his retirement from the NFL, Jordan worked as a civil engineer for M.A. Mortenson of Minneapolis, Minnesota. [21] He was elected to the Brown University Board of Trustees in 1993. [22]
On October 25, 2019, the Minnesota Vikings inducted Jordan into the Vikings Ring of Honor. In announcing Jordan's selection, the Vikings co-owner and team president Mark Wilf noted that "Steve Jordan's impact on the Vikings has carried on past his career on the field. As great a player as Steve was, he's just as great an ambassador for the Vikings and the game of football. He is a positive role model to young players about the value of education and using your platform as an NFL star for good." [23]
Upon his induction to the Ring of Honor, Jordan said, "I look back, and it's really good that something like this can happen, someone like me, who comes out of a small school can come to the Vikings and have a successful career, not just on the field but off the field." [24]
Jordan lives in Eagan, Minnesota. [25] His son, Cameron Jordan, currently plays defensive end for the New Orleans Saints. He and his wife Anita had two more children, son Geoffrey and daughter Stephanie. Jordan is also the father-in-law of German football player Kasim Edebali.
Jerry Lee Rice is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers before two shorter stints at the end of his career with the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. Nicknamed "World" because of his superb catching ability, his accomplishments and numerous records, Rice is widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver in NFL history and one of the greatest players of all time. His biography on the official Pro Football Hall of Fame website names him: "the most prolific wide receiver in NFL history with staggering career totals". In 1999, The Sporting News listed Rice second behind Jim Brown on its list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players". In 2010, he was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the greatest player in NFL history.
Randy Gene Moss is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans and the San Francisco 49ers. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most talented wide receivers of all time, he holds the NFL single-season touchdown reception record, as well as the NFL single-season touchdown reception record for a rookie. All-time, Moss ranks second in career touchdown receptions as well as fourth in career receiving yards. In addition to possessing extraordinary speed at his size and superior leaping ability, he was famously known for often securing spectacular contested catches in tight coverage by physically overpowering defenders. The term "mossed", referring to this ability, has since become a common term in football lexicon.
Richard Joseph Gannon is an American former football quarterback who played 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Subsequently, he was a sports commentator with CBS Sports for 16 years.
Frederick "Scarecrow" Biletnikoff is an American former football player and coach. He was a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons and later an assistant coach with the team. He retired as an NFL player after the 1978 season, and then played one additional season in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Montreal Alouettes in 1980. While he lacked the breakaway speed to be a deep-play threat, Biletnikoff was one of the most sure-handed and consistent receivers of his day, with a propensity for making spectacular catches. He was also known for running smooth, precise pass routes. He is a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1988) and College Football Hall of Fame (1991).
James Arthur Monk is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, New York Jets, and the Philadelphia Eagles. He is considered by many NFL players, coaches and analysts to be one of the greatest wide receivers of all time. Monk was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Roger Timothy Craig is an American former football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders and Minnesota Vikings. Craig went to four Pro Bowls and won three Super Bowls with the 49ers. Craig was the first NFL player to have 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. Marshall Faulk and Christian McCaffrey are the only other players to have accomplished that feat. He currently works as the VP of Business Development at TIBCO Software.
Graduel Christopher Darin Carter is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles (1987–1989), the Minnesota Vikings (1990–2001) and the Miami Dolphins (2002). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wide receivers of all time.
Andre Darnell Reed is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Kutztown and was selected by the Bills in the fourth round of the 1985 NFL Draft with the 86th overall selection. Following 15 seasons with the Bills, where he earned Pro Bowl honors seven times, Reed spent his final season as a member of the Washington Redskins in 2000.
Paul Dryden Warfield is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1977 for the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, except for a year in the World Football League (WFL) with the Memphis Southmen. He was known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, and jumping ability. A consistent big-play threat throughout his career, his 20.1 average yards per reception is the highest in NFL history among players with at least 300 receptions.
Joey Matthew Browner is an American former professional football player who played as a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings from 1983 to 1991 and for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1992. Browner played college football for the USC Trojans.
Keenan Wayne McCardell is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is the wide receivers coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the wide receivers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, University of Maryland, College Park and Washington Redskins.
Walter Eugene "Chuck" Foreman is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Minnesota Vikings and the New England Patriots in the National Football League (NFL). Considered one of the best passing-catching backs in NFL history, Foreman started in three Super Bowls with the Vikings and was the premiere back for the team for most of the 1970s. Upon entering the league in 1973, he was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and he was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first five seasons of his career. During this time, he was also named once first-team All-Pro team and three second-team All-Pro teams. Nicknamed "The Spin Doctor" for his elusive running abilities, Foreman held the Vikings franchise record for rushing yards from scrimmage upon his retirement. As part of the team's 50th anniversary celebration, Foreman was named as one of the 50 Greatest Vikings in 2010. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Foreman to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2010
Thomas Roland Matte was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) in the 1960s and 1970s and earned a Super Bowl ring. He attended Shaw High School in East Cleveland and was an Eagle Scout. Matte was an All-American quarterback playing college football at Ohio State University.
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