Justin Jamal Coleman (born March 27, 1993) is an American football cornerback and nickelback who is a free agent. He played college football at Tennessee, and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He has also been a member of the New England Patriots, and Detroit Lions, winning Super Bowl LI with the Patriots.
Early years
Coleman attended Brunswick High School in Brunswick, Georgia, where he was a two-sport star in both football and track for the Pirates. As a sophomore in 2008, he tallied 71 tackles, four pass-break-ups, three sacks and intercepted two passes. As a junior in 2009, he totalled 83 tackles, six pass-break-ups, and six interceptions, and also returned a kickoff for touchdown. He helped lead the team to an undefeated district season as a senior in 2010. He was teammates with Ahmaud Arbery, Darius Slay, and Tracy Walker.
Also a standout in track & field, Coleman finished second in class 4-A at the state championships in the 300m hurdles (38.82s) and fifth in the 110m hurdles (14.61s) as a senior. He also competed as a sprinter at Brunswick, posting personal-best times of 11.04 seconds in the 100-meter dash, 22.67 seconds in the 200-meter dash and 52.34 seconds in the 400-meter dash.
Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Coleman was ranked the No. 17 overall cornerback in the nation and the No. 16 overall prospect in the state of Georgia. He was also named to the Rivals250 Team. He was rated as a three-star recruit by Scout.com, and was considered the No. 45 overall cornerback. ESPN.com ranked him the No. 30 overall safety.
College career
Coleman enrolled in the University of Tennessee, where he played for the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 2011 to 2014. He was teammates with Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson in the 2012 season. As a true freshman, he played in all 12 games (starting four) at cornerback, and was 1-of-16 true freshmen to play for the Vols in 2011. As a sophomore, he started 9-of-12 games played, finishing fourth on the team with 59 tackles (3.5 for loss) and 3 passes defended. He finished his 2013 campaign with 46 tackles, 8 passes defended and an interception, which he returned for a score. As a senior in 2014, he tied for fourth in the SEC with four interceptions. Following the 2014 campaign, Coleman was invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game, where he made four tackles.
Professional career
On November 18, 2014, Coleman accepted his invitation to play in the 2015 East-West Shrine Game. On January 17, 2015, Coleman appeared in the East-West Shrine Game as part of Michael Singletary's East team. Coleman recorded four solo tackles and deflected a pass as the East routed the West was 19-3. Coleman attended the NFL Scouting Combine as the only player from Tennessee. He completed all of the combine drills and finished with the best time of all cornerbacks in the three-cone drill. Coleman also finished third, among all corners, in the 60-yard shuttle and bench press and had the fifth best time, among corners, in the short shuttle. Coleman performed at a private workout for the New England Patriots. Coleman was projected to be a fifth to seventh round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 28th best cornerback prospect available in the draft by DraftScout.com.
Minnesota Vikings
2015
On May 3, 2015, the Minnesota Vikings signed Coleman to a three-year, $1.59 million contract as an undrafted free agent that included a signing bonus of $20,000.
Throughout training camp, Coleman competed for a roster spot as a backup cornerback against Josh Robinson, Jabari Price, DeMarcus Van Dyke, Marcus Sherels, and Jalil Carter. On August 30, 2015, the Minnesota Vikings waived Coleman as part of their final roster cuts.
New England Patriots
On September 4, 2015, the New England Patriots claimed Coleman off of waivers, but released him the following day.
Seattle Seahawks
On September 6, 2015, the Seattle Seahawks signed Coleman to their practice squad. Coleman received contract offers to join the New England Patriots' practice squad and Minnesota Vikings' practice squad, but declined to accept their offers.
New England Patriots (second stint) On September 9, 2015, the New England Patriots signed Coleman to their active roster from the Seattle Seahawks' practice squad. Upon his arrival, Coleman was designated as the fifth cornerback in the Patriots' depth chart, behind Malcolm Butler, Tarell Brown, Logan Ryan, and Bradley Fletcher.