Marcus Stroud

Marcus Stroud

No. --     Free Agent
Defensive end
Personal information
Date of birth: June 25, 1978 (1978-06-25) (age 33)
Place of birth: Thomasville, Georgia
Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	Weight: 310 lb (141 kg)
Career information
College: Georgia
NFL Draft: 2001 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13
Debuted in 2001 for the Jacksonville Jaguars
Career history
Jacksonville Jaguars (2001–2007) Buffalo Bills (2008–2010) New England Patriots (2011)* *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
3× Pro Bowl selection (2003, 2004, 2005) 3× All-Pro selection (2003, 2004, 2005)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2010
Tackles	397
Sacks	28.5
Passes deflected	37
Stats at NFL.com

Marcus LaVar Stroud (born June 25, 1978 in Thomasville, Georgia) is an American Football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars 13th overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia. He has also been a member of the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots.

Early years

Stroud won a state title with Brooks County High School in 1994. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1996 while still in high school which featured a cover story of National Signing Day.^[1] Stroud, at the time a 6′6″, 266-pound defensive end, originally gave Florida a verbal commitment but changed his mind after Bulldogs coach Ray Goff was fired in November 1995. After heavy pursuit from new Georgia coach Jim Donnan, Stroud switched back to Georgia on Signing Day.^[1]

College career

Marcus played college football for the University of Georgia. At Georgia, his teammates included future NFL players Jonas Jennings, Kendrell Bell, Will Witherspoon, Richard Seymour, Tony Gilbert, Johnathan Sullivan, Charles Grant, Josh Mallard and Jamie Henderson.

Marcus is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Stroud was selected 13th in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Jaguars. The 2001 NFL Draft is considered by many experts to be the finest draft for defensive tackles in draft history. The 2001 class included fellow Pro Bowl selections Richard Seymour, Casey Hampton and Kris Jenkins.

He and John Henderson helped give the Jaguars one of the more dominant defensive tackles duos in the NFL.

Marcus Stroud was selected to the Pro Bowl following the 2003, 2004 and 2005 NFL seasons.

Stroud was suspended in 2007 for four games without pay for violating the league's policy on anabolic steroids and related substances.^[2]

Buffalo Bills

On March 1, 2008 Stroud was traded to the Buffalo Bills for third- and fifth-round picks in the 2008 NFL Draft.^[3]

Stroud was immediately deemed one of the key players to the Bills’ 2008 season, and Stroud said he is ready for the pressure, stating he believes the Bills’ run defense can vault at least 10 places.^[4]

On April 7, 2009, Stroud signed a two-year contract extension that guarantees him $12 million and pays him $16 million. In combination with the existing terms of his contract, Stroud could earn $28 million over the next four seasons.^[5] Stroud was released February 16, 2011 by the Bills.

New England Patriots

On March 1, 2011 the New England Patriots signed defensive lineman Stroud to a two-year contract. He was released on July 28.^[6]

Car accident

Stroud escaped injury in 2005, when he rolled his SUV while driving on Florida’s Interstate 10 outside of Jacksonville.^[7]

Community

Stroud hosted the Marcus Stroud 99 Pro Bowl Football Camp For Kids on 30 May 2009 at Brooks County’s Veterans Stadium in Georgia. Several NFL professionals, including Mike Peterson and Verron Haynes of the Atlanta Falcons, and George Wilson, Donte Whitner, Kavika Mitchell, Marcus Buggs and Drayton Florence of the Buffalo Bills gave of their time and talent on Saturday to encourage and train about 200 youth. The camp was free for the children.^[8][9][10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Layden, Tim (1996-02-19). "Sign Language". Sports Illustrated. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1007746/2/index.htm. 
2. ^ http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/110607/jag_215496311.shtml
3. ^ "Jags trade Stroud to Bills for picks". Foxsports.com. 2008-03-01. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7859190/Source:-Jags-trade-Stroud-to-Bill-for-picks. Retrieved 2008-03-01. 
4. ^ "How much will run defense improve?". BuffaloBills.com. 2008-07-09. http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=6208. Retrieved 2008-07-09. 
5. ^ http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/04/07/bills-stroud-signs-two-year-16-million-extension/ Retrieved on 2009-04-07
6. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg. "Release Tracker". Pro Football Talk. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/28/release-tracker/. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
7. ^ http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/9117670
8. ^ http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/sports/local_story_151022523.html
9. ^ http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2009/05/28/strouds-football-camp-this-weekend/
10. ^ http://www.wctv.tv/sports/headlines/46651082.html

Persondata
Name	Stroud, Marcus
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1978-06-25
Place of birth	Thomasville, Georgia
Date of death
Place of death