Tony Lemar Jefferson Jr. (born January 27, 1992) is a former American football safety. He played college football at Oklahoma and signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, and New York Giants.
High school career
Jefferson attended Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California, where he made 88 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, two fumbles caused, two fumbles recovered, and lead Eastlake to a San Diego Division 1 CIF championship during his senior year. He earned a 2009 USA Today All-American selection. Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jefferson was listed as the No. 4 cornerback prospect in the class of 2010. He played in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
College career
At the University of Oklahoma, Jefferson was a 2010 Freshman All-American by College Football News, The Sporting News, and Big 12 Conference co-Defensive Freshman of the Year (along with OSU Cowboys linebacker Shaun Lewis).
College statistics
Professional career
On January 6, 2013, it was announced that Jefferson would forgo his senior season and enter the 2013 NFL Draft. Prior to the NFL Combine, Jefferson was ranked the fifth best safety prospect in the draft by ESPN. He was one of 21 safeties to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. At the combine, he completed the majority of drills before sustaining a hamstring injury that significantly affected his ability to run. His 40-yard dash was the second slowest time among all 18 safeties that participated. On March 18, 2013, Jefferson attended Oklahoma's pro day, but only performed the short shuttle and three-cone drill due to his hamstring injury. His character came into question after WalterFootball.com released a scouting report stating it received information from reliable sources that he had practice habits and an attitude, but was quickly dismissed after teammates and coaching staff at Oklahoma refuted the claims. The website later retracted the claims. He was projected to be drafted as early as the second or third round or as late as the fifth round by NFL Draft experts and scouts. Jefferson was ranked the eighth best safety in the draft by DraftScout.com and SB Nation.
Arizona Cardinals
On April 28, 2013, the Arizona Cardinals signed Jefferson to a three-year, $1.49 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $10,100 after he went undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft. His fall in the draft surprised analysts and was attributed to his time in the 40-yard dash and questions about his work ethic.
2013
Throughout training camp, Jefferson competed for a roster spot as a backup safety against Jonathon Amaya, Curtis Taylor, Javon Harris, and Josh Hill.
On August 17, 2013, Jefferson recorded five combined tackles and intercepted two passes by Alex Tanney and Kyle Orton during a 12–7 victory against the Dallas Cowboys in their second preseason game. Head coach Bruce Arians named Jefferson the backup strong safety, behind Yeremiah Bell, to begin the regular season after he performed well in the preseason and recorded 14 combined tackles (13 solo), two interceptions, and a sack.
He made his professional regular season debut in the Arizona Cardinals' season-opening 27–24 loss at the St. Louis Rams. The following week, Jefferson earned his first career start and made three solo tackles during a 25–22 victory against the Detroit Lions in Week 2. He made his first career tackle on running back Reggie Bush, stopping him for a four-yard loss in the first quarter. On September 29, 2013, Jefferson collected a season-high seven combined tackles during 13–10 victory at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His snaps increased for the last three games of the season (Weeks 15–17) after Tyrann Mathieu tore two ligaments in his knee and was sidelined for the rest of the season. In Week 16, he earned his second career start, replacing free safety Rashad Johnson, who was inactive due to an injury he suffered the previous week. Jefferson finished the Cardinals' 17–10 victory at the Seattle Seahawks with four combined tackles. He finished his rookie season in with 24 combined tackles (19 solo) and a fumble recovery in 16 games and two starts.