Malik Turner (born January 30, 1996) is an American professional football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, and was signed by the Seattle Seahawks in 2018 as an undrafted free agent. He has also played for the Dallas Cowboys.
| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | January 30, 1996 Springfield, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Sacred Heart-Griffin (Springfield, Illinois) | ||||||||
| College: | Illinois (2014–2017) | ||||||||
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2018 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Early years
editTurner attended Sacred Heart-Griffin High School, where he played football and basketball. He received All-Central State Eight honors as a sophomore and junior.
As a senior, he tallied 69 receptions for 1,378 yards (19.9-yard avg.) and 22 touchdowns, while contributing to a 14-0 record and an IHSA Class 5A state championship. He received Central State Eight Conference Player of the Year honors.
College career
editTurner accepted a football scholarship from the University of Illinois. As a true freshman, he appeared in 13 games with 5 starts at wide receiver. He registered 25 receptions for 256 yards and one touchdown. He had 6 receptions for 84 yards against Louisiana Tech University.
As a sophomore, he appeared in 12 games with 10 starts. He posted 39 receptions for 510 yards (second on the team) and 3 receiving touchdowns (tied for the team lead). He had 11 catches for 126 yards against the University of Minnesota.
As a junior, he started 11 games and missed one contest with an injury. He led the team with 48 receptions, 712 yards and 6 receiving touchdowns. He had 11 receptions and 164 yards against Northwestern University. He made 9 receptions for 107 yards against Western Michigan University. He was named honorable-mention All-Big Ten.[1]
As a senior, he started 9 out of 10 games. He missed 2 games with an injury. He collected 31 receptions (tied for the team lead), 326 receiving yards (second on the team) and 2 touchdowns.
He finished his college career with 143 receptions (ninth in school history), 1,804 receiving yards (ninth in school history) and 10 receiving touchdowns.[2]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Bench press | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
202 lb (92 kg) |
32 in (0.81 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) |
17 reps | ||||||||
| All values from Pro Day[3] | ||||||||||||
Seattle Seahawks
editAfter an unsuccessful tryout at a minicamp with the Green Bay Packers, Turner was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent on July 29, 2018.[4] He was cut by the Seahawks at the end of training camp but was re-signed by the team to their practice squad on September 10, 2018.[5] Turner was promoted to the Seahawks' active roster on October 31, 2018.[6] Turner made his NFL debut on November 4, 2018 in a 17–25 loss against the Los Angeles Chargers.[7] Turner caught his first career pass, a 19-yard reception from Russell Wilson, in the Seahawks' 30–27 win over the Carolina Panthers on November 25, 2018.[8] He was waived on December 22, 2018 and re-signed to the practice squad and was subsequently promoted back to the active roster on January 1, 2019.[9][10] In his rookie season, Turner caught two passes for 20 yards in six games played.
In a Monday Night Football game on November 11, 2019 against the San Francisco 49ers, after an injury to Tyler Lockett, Turner caught two passes for 35 yards, both in overtime.[11] Turner caught a 33-yard pass from Wilson for his first career touchdown on November 24, 2019 in a 17–9 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.[12]
During the 2019 Divisional round game against the Green Bay Packers, Turner dropped a critical catch while wide open.[13]
On April 14, 2020, after originally receiving an exclusive-rights free agent tender, the Seahawks rescinded the tender, making Turner a free agent.[14]
Green Bay Packers
editOn August 12, 2020, Turner signed with the Green Bay Packers.[15] He was waived on September 5, 2020.[16]
Dallas Cowboys
editOn September 6, 2020, Turner was claimed off waivers by the Dallas Cowboys, to play on the special teams units, helping to offset the loss of wide receiver Ventell Bryant to a knee injury.[17] He played in the first 4 games of the season, before being declared inactive in the next 12 contests. He appeared in 6 games and registered 2 special teams tackles.
On March 19, 2021, he was re-signed a one-year contract with the Cowboys.[18] He was having problems with a turf toe in training camp and suffered a foot injury in the last preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. On September 2, 2021, he was placed on injured reserve to start the season.[19] He was activated on October 2, 2021. He was a backup and his most notable performance came in Week 9 against the Denver Broncos, where he almost made NFL history, by just missing a blocked punt in the third quarter (it didn't count because the Cowboys touched the ball after it crossed the line of scrimmage), that would've made him the first player ever to record 2 touchdown receptions and a blocked punt in a single-game. In Week 16 against the Washington Football Team, he had 3 receptions (including a 61-yard catch-and-run) for 82 yards and a touchdown, after playing just 13 offensive snaps. He finished the season with 12 receptions for 149 yards, 3 touchdowns and one special teams tackle. He wasn't re-signed after the season.
San Francisco 49ers (first stint)
editOn April 11, 2022, the San Francisco 49ers signed Turner to a one-year deal.[20] He was waived on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day.[21][22] He was released on November 1.
Las Vegas Raiders
editOn November 4, 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Turner to their practice squad.[23] He was released on December 20.
Houston Texans
editOn December 23, 2022, Turner was signed to the Houston Texans practice squad.[24]
Indianapolis Colts
editOn February 24, 2023, Turner signed with the Indianapolis Colts.[25] He was waived/injured on August 18, 2023,[26] and placed on injured reserve.
San Francisco 49ers (second stint)
editOn July 25, 2024, Turner signed with the San Francisco 49ers, but was placed on injured reserve on August 6 and was released 2 days later with an injury settlement.[27][28][29] On October 23, 2024, Turner signed with the 49ers practice squad.[30] He was released on November 6.
NFL career statistics
editRegular season
edit| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost | ||
| 2018 | SEA | 6 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | SEA | 15 | 3 | 15 | 245 | 16.3 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | DAL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | DAL | 14 | 0 | 12 | 149 | 12.4 | 61 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 41 | 3 | 29 | 414 | 14.3 | 61 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Source: NFL.com | ||||||||||
Postseason
edit| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost | ||
| 2019 | SEA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Source: pro-football-reference.com | ||||||||||
References
edit- ^ Seligman, Noah (July 9, 2017). "Borrowing Talent from Big Ten West Foes". BadgerOfHonor.com. FanSided. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- ^ Rejc, Matt (February 15, 2018). "Malik Turner: Through Thick and Thin". TheChampaignRoom.com. SB Nation. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ "Malik Turner, Illinois, WR, 2018 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". DraftScout.com. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
- ^ Boyle, John (July 29, 2018). "Seahawks Sign Receivers Marvin Bracy & Malik Turner, Waive LS Tanner Carew & TE Kayaune Ross". Seahawks.com. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ Arthur, Ben (September 11, 2018). "Report: Seattle Seahawks bring back Malik Turner, sign him to practice squad". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ Boyle, John (October 31, 2018). "Seahawks Promote Receiver Malik Turner From Practice Squad". Seahawks.com.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers at Seattle Seahawks – November 4th, 2018 – Snap Counts". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- ^ Rodrigue, Jourdan (November 25, 2018). "Instant analysis: Secondary is primary problem, spoiling the Newton- McCaffrey show". CharlotteObserver.com. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- ^ "Seahawks Promote Elijah Nkansah From Practice Squad". Seahawks.com. December 22, 2018.
- ^ "Seahawks Place Delano Hill On Injured Reserve & Other Injury Updates From Pete Carroll". Seahawks.com. January 1, 2019.
- ^ "Malik Turner 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ Werner, Jeremy (November 24, 2019). "WATCH: Fomer [sic] Illini WR Malik Turner scores first NFL touchdown". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- ^ Bell, Gregg (January 12, 2020). "Russell Wilson rally falls short, Malik Turner late drop seals 28-23 playoff late loss to Pack". The News Tribune. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ Gantt, Darin (April 14, 2020). "Seahawks rescind contract tender to Malik Turner". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
- ^ "Packers sign WR Malik Turner". Packers.com. August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
- ^ "Packers announce roster moves". packers.com. September 5, 2020.
- ^ Helman, David (September 6, 2020). "Cowboys Claim WR, Release Veteran LB". DallasCowboys.com.
- ^ Phillips, Rob (March 19, 2021). "Cowboys Sign Goodwin, Turner; 4 Players Waived". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Phillips, Rob (September 2, 2021). "CeeDee's Return Among Several Roster Moves". DallasCowboys.com.
- ^ "49ers Sign Two Wide Receivers to One-Year Deals". 49ers.com. April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
- ^ "49ers Announce 2022 Initial 53-Man Roster Ahead of NFL Deadline". 49ers.com. August 30, 2022.
- ^ "49ers Move Two to IR; Waive RB; Announce Practice Squad and Other Moves". 49ers.com. August 31, 2022.
- ^ Champion, Aidan (November 4, 2022). "Las Vegas Raiders Thursday Roster Transactions". SI.com. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (12-23-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. December 23, 2022.
- ^ "Colts Sign WR Malik Turner". Colts.com. February 23, 2023.
- ^ "Colts sign WR James Washington, place DE Genard Avery on injured reserve, waive-injured WR Malik Turner". Colts.com. August 18, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
- ^ "449ers Sign WR Malik Turner, Place T Trent Williams on Reserve/Did Not Report List". 49ers.com. July 25, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
- ^ "49ers Sign RB Matt Breida; Place Wide Receiver on Injured Reserve". 49ers.com. August 6, 2024.
- ^ "Malik Turner: Let go with injury settlement". CBSSports.com. August 8, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
- ^ "49ers Place Aiyuk on IR, Promote Anderson to 53-Man Roster and More Moves". 49ers.com. October 23, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
