Jerel Worthy

Jerel Worthy (born April 26, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans, earning consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft.

Early life Worthy was born in Dayton, Ohio. He originally attended Chaminade-Julienne High School in Dayton, Ohio but then transferred to Wayne High School in Huber Heights, where he played high school football for the Wayne Warriors. As a senior for the Warriors, Worthy recorded 50 tackles, 10.5 sacks and 12 hurries.

Worthy's performance during his senior season earned him a spot on the Superprep and Prepstars Midwest Teams. He was six foot two inches, 288 pounds, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds who bench pressed a maximum of 335 pounds and squatted a maximum of 470 pounds. At the end of the season, he was named as a freshman All-American

As a sophomore, Worthy started all 13 games at defensive tackle and lead the linemen with 40 tackles, eight of which went for a loss. He was also an All-Big ten selection from the coaches and media. Worthy became the first defensive tackle since Ronald Curl in 1971 to be named an All-American at Michigan State.

Professional career Pre-draft Worthy was predicted to be a late first round to second round draft pick. Scouts talked about his size and called him thick and powerful. They also stated that he had enough speed to "shoot through the gap" Scouts also discussed his inconsistency and that his reputation was better than his actual production.

Green Bay Packers During the second round of the 2012 NFL draft the Green Bay Packers traded the 59th overall pick and a fourth round selection to move up in the draft and select Worthy with the 51st overall pick.

New England Patriots On August 12, 2014, Worthy was traded to the New England Patriots for a conditional late round draft choice in the 2015 NFL draft, pending a physical. He was waived by the Patriots on August 30, 2014.

Kansas City Chiefs On September 9, 2014, Worthy signed with the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad. He was released on October 21, 2014, but re-signed to the practice squad 5 days later. On December 31, he signed a futures contract with the Chiefs. He was waived on August 3, 2015.

Detroit Lions After being placed on waivers by the Chiefs, the Detroit Lions claimed Worthy on August 4, 2015. The Detroit Lions cut Worthy from the team on September 5, 2015, at the 53 man roster deadline.

Buffalo Bills On November 24, 2015, Worthy was signed to the Buffalo Bills' practice squad. On December 22, 2015, Worthy was signed to the active roster. He appeared in the final two games of the 2015 season and in 13 games in 2016.

On November 14, 2017, Worthy was released by the Bills.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers On August 20, 2018, Worthy was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was released by the Buccaneers on October 1, 2018.

Orlando Apollos On January 6, 2019, Worthy joined the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football. However, he was placed on injured reserve before the start of the regular season, and activated on March 5, 2019. The league ceased operations in April 2019. In 4 games played, Worthy made 9 tackles and a sack.