Isaiah Winstead

Isaiah Winstead (born August 9, 1999) is an American professional football wide receiver. He played college football at Norfolk State, Toledo and East Carolina. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers after going undrafted in the 2023 NFL draft.

College career Norfolk State In his Freshman season, Winstead saw playing time in all 11 games and started two. He caught at least one pass in every game and scored his first collegiate touchdown against North Carolina Central. Winstead finished his freshman season with 29 catches, 344 yards and three touchdowns.

As a sophomore in 2018, he started 10 of 11 games and lead the Spartans in all receiving categories. He was second in the MEAC in reception per game and fourth in receiving yards. Winstead had a career day against MEAC rival Morgan State, hauling in eight passes for a career high 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns that both came in the fourth quarter. Caught a career high nine passes in the final game of the season against Liberty.

Toledo Winstead transferred to Toledo after the 2018 season. After sitting out a season because of transfer rules, Winstead made third-team All-MAC after leading the Rockets with 25 receptions and 429 yards. He finished eighth in the MAC in receiving yards and ninth in yards per catch (17.2). Caught his first FBS touchdown against Ball State.

During his second year in Toledo, Winstead finished second on team with 38 receptions for 520 yards. Isaiah hauled in a season-high six receptions for 65 yards against Eastern Michigan. He had four catches vs. Notre Dame, UMass and Central Michigan. Isaiah had a season-high 108 yards receiving in that Central Michigan game. He also had three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown against Akron.

East Carolina Winstead arrived at East Carolina as a graduate transfer in 2022 and earned All-AAC Honorable Mention honors as well as Third-Team All-AAC by Phil Steele Magazine. He led the Pirates in receptions and yards as well as second in touchdowns. Winstead became the seventh 1,000 yard receiver in program history against Temple. He went for over 150 yards for the second time in his career against Memphis, which was one of his three 100-yard games during the 2022 season. Winstead finished the season with 88 receptions for 1,085 yards and six touchdowns - all career highs.

Statistics Season Team Games Receiving GP GS Rec Yds Avg TD 2017 Norfolk State 11 2 29 344 11.9 3 2018 Norfolk State 11 10 54 633 11.7 5 2020 Toledo 6 5 25 429 17.2 3 2021 Toledo 13 6 38 520 13.7 1 2022 East Carolina 13 13 88 1,085 12.3 6 Career 54 36 234 3,011 12.9 18

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers After a post on his Twitter went viral, it caught the attention of the San Francisco 49ers who signed him as the final player on their 90-man roster on May 7, 2023. He was waived on August 29, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on December 7.

Arlington Renegades (first stint) On January 19, 2024, Winstead signed with the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). His contract was terminated on August 1.

New York Jets Winstead signed with the New York Jets on August 2, 2024. He was waived on August 27.

Arlington Renegades (second stint) On October 1, 2024, Winstead re-signed with the Arlington Renegades.

BC Lions On September 23, 2025, Winstead left the Renegades to sign with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), joining their practice squad, where he spent the remainder of the 2025 CFL season until he was released on November 9, 2025.

Louisville Kings On January 13, 2026, Winstead was drafted by the Louisville Kings of the United Football League (UFL). He appeared in 8 regular season games, recording 29 receptions for 474 yards and 3 touchdowns. In 2 postseason games, he had 7 receptions for 88 yards and 1 touchdown as the Kings won the UFL Championship.

Pittsburgh Steelers On August 10, 2026, Winstead signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On August 28, he was waived.