Derrick Willies

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Derrick Willies
refer to caption
Willies with the Cleveland Browns in 2018
No. 84, 16
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1994-10-17) October 17, 1994 (age 27)
Banning, California
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:Rock Island
(Rock Island, Illinois)
College:Texas Tech
Undrafted:2018
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:3
Receiving yards:61
Receiving touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Derrick Willies (born October 17, 1994) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Texas Tech and played professionally for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL).

Early years[]

Willies attended and played high school football and ran track at Burlington High School in Iowa before transferring Rock Island High School during his junior year and was named all-state at both schools. In track, Willies won the Illinois Class 3A state championship in the 110-meter hurdles.[1]

College career[]

Willies began his college career at the University of Iowa. After sitting out his first year, Willies had 4 catches for 71 yards and a touchdown as a redshirt freshman before leaving the team in late October.[2] Willies transferred to Trinity Valley Community College where he was a first team Junior College Athletic Association All-American and subsequently transferred to Texas Tech.[3] Willies caught 36 passes for 592 yards and five touchdowns over two seasons with the Red Raiders.[4]

Professional career[]

Willies was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2018.[5] Willies made the Browns 53-man roster and made his NFL debut on September 9, 2018 during the team's season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.[6] On October 7 against the Baltimore Ravens, Willies caught his first career NFL pass, a 13-yard reception, and had a pivotal 39-yard reception in overtime to set up the Browns' game-winning field goal.[7][8] After fracturing his collarbone during practice on October 12, Willies was placed on injured reserve on October 13, 2018.[9]

On August 31, 2019, Willies was waived by the Browns and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[10][11] His practice squad contract with the team expired on January 6, 2020,[12] and he was not invited to training camp by any team.

Willies was re-signed to the Browns' practice squad on November 17, 2020.[13] He was elevated to the active roster on December 26 for the team's week 16 game against the New York Jets, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.[14]

Willies was signed to a reserve/futures contract by the Browns on January 18, 2021.[15]

The Browns place Willies on the reserve/retired list on July 30, 2021.[16]

NFL statistics[]

Regular season statistics
Year Team Games Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Tgt Rec Pct Yds TD 1D Fum Lost
2018 CLE 5 0 5 3 60% 61 0 2 1 0
2020 CLE 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 6 0 5 3 60% 61 0 2 1 0

References[]

  1. ^ Batterson, Steve (May 6, 2018). "RI grad Willies gets a shot with Browns". Dispatch-Argus-QCOnline. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  2. ^ Morehouse, Marc (October 27, 2018). "Willies announces transfer on Instagram". The Gazette. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  3. ^ Caplan, Jeff (March 28, 2016). "Transfer receiver Derrick Willies is giving Texas Tech high hopes". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  4. ^ Levins, Matt (April 30, 2018). "Willies signs with Cleveland". The Hawk Eye. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  5. ^ "Browns sign 13 undrafted free agents". ClevelandBrowns.com. May 4, 2018. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018.
  6. ^ "Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns - September 9th, 2018-Snap counts". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  7. ^ "Ravens vs. Browns:Play-by-Play". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  8. ^ McDonald, Charles (October 7, 2018). "The Browns finally won a Sunday game, but not without plenty of drama". SB Nation. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  9. ^ "Browns sign WR Breshad Perriman, place Derrick Willies on IR, make other roster moves". ClevelandBrowns.com. October 13, 2018.
  10. ^ "Browns cut roster to 53 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 31, 2019.
  11. ^ "Browns announce nine additions to practice squad". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 1, 2019.
  12. ^ @HBalzer721 (January 7, 2020). "Browns practice-squad contracts expired Monday: DB Tigie Sankoh; WR Derrick Willies" (Tweet). Retrieved January 9, 2020 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Smith, Pete (November 17, 2020). "Browns Sign WR Derrick Willies to Practice Squad". SI.com. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  14. ^ "Browns place 5 on COVID-19 list". ClevelandBrowns.com. December 26, 2020.
  15. ^ "Browns sign 14 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. January 18, 2021.
  16. ^ "Browns place WR Derrick Willies on Reserve/Retired list". WEWS. July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021.

External links[]

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