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Oklahoma's Tony Jefferson Back in the NFL

Former Sooner DB went undrafted and sat out last season with an injury
John E. Hoover|
Oklahoma's Tony Jefferson Back in the NFL
Oklahoma's Tony Jefferson Back in the NFL

Former Oklahoma defensive back Tony Jefferson is back.

Jefferson, out most of the past two seasons after a knee injury while playing for the Baltimore Ravens, has signed a one-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers.

The news was first reported by ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.

Jefferson later posted his good news on social media.

Jefferson was a three-year starter for the Sooners but went undrafted after leaving OU following his junior year.

He signed a free agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals in 2013 and played four seasons in the desert. He started 31 games, including 14 in 2016, but was placed on injured reserve at the end of the 2016 season and eventually left the club. He signed with the Ravens in 2017 and became an everyday player, starting his first 35 games in Baltimore before the injury to his left knee five games into the 2019 season.

The 5-foot-11, 211-pound Jefferson has made 451 career tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 8.5 quarterback sacks, four fumble recoveries and four interceptions, including a pick-six touchdown with the Cardinals in 2015.

According to Spotrac, Jefferson’s seven-year NFL career so far has earned him $27 million.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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