Jermaine Kearse

Jermaine Levan Kearse (born February 6, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football for the Washington Huskies.

As a true freshman in 2008, he played in all 12 games, with two starts, and had 20 receptions for 301 yards and two touchdowns.

As a sophomore in 2009 in his first season with Sarkesian, Kearse started nine of 12 games and led the team in receptions with 50; yards with 866; and touchdowns with eight.

He was named a second-team All-Pac-10 selection.

As a junior in 2010, Kearse started all 13 games and again led the team in receptions with 63 for 1,005 yards and 12 touchdowns.

He was named second-team All-Pac-10 for the second consecutive year.

As a senior in 2011, he had 47 receptions for 699 yards and seven touchdowns.

Kearse was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and later won Super Bowl XLVIII with the team, beating the Denver Broncos.

Kearse was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2012.

he made his NFL debut on November 4 and had a six-yard reception against the Minnesota Vikings.

He appeared in seven games as a rookie for Seattle in 2012, finishing with three catches for 31 yards and playing on special teams.

Kearse underwent LASIK surgery during the offseason to improve his vision.

During the 2013 season in a Week 1 game against the Carolina Panthers, Kearse caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Russell Wilson late in the fourth quarter to lift the Seahawks to a 12–7 score.

The score was the first of Kearse's professional career.

In a Week 5 game against the Indianapolis Colts, Kearse had a 28-yard reception for a touchdown, and blocked a punt which resulted in a safety in the 34–28 loss.

In Week 10 against the Atlanta Falcons, he scored a 43-yard touchdown after a trick play when Marshawn Lynch threw the ball back to Russell Wilson in the 33–10 victory.

In 2013, Kearse played 15 games with 346 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

In the NFC Championship on January 19, 2014, against division rival San Francisco 49ers, Kearse caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Wilson.

The Seahawks eventually won the game 23–17 and advanced to Super Bowl XLVIII.

During the Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos, Kearse had four catches for 65 yards including a 23-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, breaking four tackles to get into the endzone.

The Seahawks won 43–8, giving Kearse and the team their first Super Bowl win in franchise history.

In the 2014 regular season, Kearse played 15 games with 537 receiving yards and a touchdown.

In Week 5, against the Washington Redskins, he caught his lone touchdown of the season in the 27–17 victory.

In Week 3, in a Super Bowl XLVIII rematch against the Denver Broncos, Kearse threw the first pass of his NFL career, a 17-yard pass to Russell Wilson, in the 26–20 overtime victory.

In the Divisional Round against the Carolina Panthers, Kearse continued his streak of catching touchdowns in postseason games with a 63-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter, catching the ball with one hand.

He would catch two other passes in the game, each going for 33 yards, and lead all receivers with 129 receiving yards on his three catches.

The Seahawks won 31–17 and advanced to the NFC Championship.

In the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers, Kearse caught his only completion, a 35-yard game-winning overtime touchdown to give Seattle a 28–22 win after falling behind 16–0 at halftime.

The victory sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.

Kearse had been targeted on five throws earlier in the game, the first four being intercepted (two of them tipped by Kearse) and the fifth being incomplete.

It was the fourth straight postseason game in which Kearse caught a touchdown pass.

In the final minute of Super Bowl XLIX, Kearse caught the ball after a Wilson pass was tipped by cornerback Malcolm Butler and the ball bounced four times off Kearse's body before he secured the ball.

After five seasons with the Seahawks, Kearse played two more seasons for the New York Jets from 2017 to 2018.

In 2019, he joined the Detroit Lions, but missed the entire season due to injury.

Kearse grew up as a military brat; his father was a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army.

While living at Fort Lewis (now Joint Base Lewis–McChord), south of Tacoma, Washington, he attended Lakes High School in Lakewood and played high school football for the Lancers.

As a senior, he caught 54 passes for 903 yards and eight touchdowns.

Kearse attended the University of Washington in Seattle, playing for the Huskies of the Pac-12 Conference.

In his time there, he played under head coaches Tyrone Willingham and Steve Sarkesian.