Blessuan Austin

Blessuan Austin
refer to caption
Austin with the Jets in 2019
Personal information
Born: (1996-07-19) July 19, 1996 (age 28)
Queens, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school:Campus Magnet (Queens, New York)
College:Rutgers (2015–2018)
Position:Cornerback
NFL draft:2019 / round: 6 / pick: 196
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:98
Forced fumbles:2
Pass deflections:8
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Blessuan Austin (born July 19, 1996) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Rutgers.[1]

Early life

Austin played the positions of cornerback, safety, quarterback and wide receiver between his years at Milford Academy and Campus Magnet High School. During the 2014 season, Austin totaled 14 tackles and 3 interceptions while with the Milford Falcons. His performances earned him All-Queens First Team honors. He was also ranked the No. 8 prospect out of New York by Rivals.com.[2]

College career

Austin began his freshman season at Rutgers University in 2015 as a cornerback with the Scarlet Knights. He started 10 of 11 games in which his season totals included 33 tackles, 4 pass breakups, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble.

During the 2016 season, Austin earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention. In that same season, Austin placed second in the Big Ten and 12th in the national rankings.

In the 2017 season, Austin played in only 4 games before he sustained a left ACL injury against Nebraska.[2][3] He finished his junior season with a total of 12 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass breakup.

Austin returned for his senior season in 2018 playing as a defensive back. His return was short-lived as he sustained another season-ending injury to his left ACL for the second time while against Texas State.[3] After Austin played his one and only game, his season totals included three tackles, 1 sack and 1 interception. While at Rugers, Austin majored in labor and employment relations.[2]

Despite his shortened junior and senior seasons being caused by two consecutive knee injuries, Austin declined to remain at Rutgers as a medical redshirt and declared for the 2019 NFL Draft.[3]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0+5⁄8 in
(1.84 m) 		198 lb
(90 kg) 		32+1⁄2 in
(0.83 m) 		10 in
(0.25 m)		 4.69 s 1.59 s 2.66 s 35.5 in
(0.90 m)		 10 ft 3 in
(3.12 m)		 15 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[4][5]

New York Jets

Austin was drafted by the New York Jets in the sixth round, 196th overall, of the 2019 NFL draft. The Jets previously obtained the selection along with guard Kelechi Osemele in a trade that sent their 2019 fifth round pick to the Oakland Raiders.[6] He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on August 31, 2019.[7] He was activated off the NFI on November 7.[8] He was placed on injured reserve on November 21, 2020.[9] He was activated on December 12, 2020.[10]

On September 1, 2021, Austin was waived by the Jets.

Seattle Seahawks

On September 7, 2021, Austin was signed by the Seattle Seahawks.[11]

Denver Broncos

On April 27, 2022, Austin was signed by the Denver Broncos.[12] He was waived on August 29, 2022.[13]

Atlanta Falcons

On August 14, 2023, Austin signed with the Atlanta Falcons.[14] He was released on August 26, 2023.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Blessuan Austin Stats, News, Bio". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Blessuan Austin"'s Scarlet Knights Profile. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "North Jersey.com"'s 2019 NFL Draft Article: Rutgers Blessuan Austin Jets, Sixth-round NFL Draft, How Cb Fits. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  4. ^ "Blessuan Austin Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "Blessuan Austin, Rutgers, CB, 2019 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Lange, Randy (April 27, 2019). "Round 6: Jets Wrap '19 Draft by Picking Rutgers CB Blessuan Austin". New York Jets. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  7. ^ "NFL cuts for all 32 teams: Who's in and who's out". ESPN.com. August 31, 2019. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  8. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (November 7, 2019). "Jets Activate CB Bless Austin". NewYorkJets.com.
  9. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (November 21, 2020). "Jets Activate OLB Frankie Luvu from Injured Reserve, Place CB Bless Austin on IR". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  10. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (December 12, 2020). "Jets Activate CB Bless Austin, TE Trevon Wesco from Injured Reserve; Place 3 on IR". NewYorkJets.com.
  11. ^ Boyle, John (September 7, 2021). "Seahawks Place Three On Injured Reserve; Add Blessuan Austin, Penny Hart & John Reid To 53-Man Roster". Seahawks.com.
  12. ^ "Broncos sign CBs Bless Austin and Donnie Lewis Jr., WR Trey Quinn". www.denverbroncos.com. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  13. ^ DiLalla, Aric (August 29, 2022). "Broncos release P Sam Martin, make series of other roster moves". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  14. ^ "Falcons sign free agent defensive back Bless Austin". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  15. ^ Grindley, Wyatt (August 26, 2023). "Falcons Releasing Four Players". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved August 26, 2023.


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