L. J. Fort

Larry Fort, Jr. (born January 3, 1990) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Northern Iowa and was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2012.

L. J. Fort
refer to caption
Fort with the Baltimore Ravens in 2020
Personal information
Born: (1990-01-03) January 3, 1990
Granite City, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:232 lb (105 kg)
Career information
High school:Waynesville
(Waynesville, Missouri)
College:Northern Iowa
Position:Linebacker
Undrafted:2012
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2021
Total tackles:173
Sacks:5.0
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:3
Interceptions:1
Defensive touchdowns:2
Player stats at NFL.com

Fort has been a member of the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Baltimore Ravens.

College career

Fort was a three-year starter at Northern Iowa as an outside linebacker. He was a second-team Missouri Valley Football Conference selection in 2010. The following season, Fort was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference's Defensive Player of the Year and was named a finalist for the NCAA FCS National Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeight40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 0 in
(1.83 m)		 228 lb
(103 kg)		 4.67 s1.58 s2.58 s4.35 s7.15 s38 in
(0.97 m)		9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m)		24 reps
All values from Northern Iowa's Pro Day[1]

Cleveland Browns

Fort signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent and made the 53-man roster for the 2012 regular season opener.

Fort started for the Browns in Week 1 due to injuries to Chris Gocong, James-Michael Johnson, and Emmanuel Acho. He had his first career interception against the Philadelphia Eagles in that game, picking off Eagles' quarterback Michael Vick.

Fort played in all 16 regular season games for the Browns, finishing his rookie season with 20 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 interception.

Denver Broncos

Fort signed a future reserve contract with the Denver Broncos on December 31, 2013. He was released by the Broncos on August 29, 2014.

Seattle Seahawks

On October 22, 2014, Fort was signed to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad. Fort signed with the team as a fullback. He was activated for one regular season game in 2014.[2]

Cincinnati Bengals

On November 26, 2014, Fort was signed to the Bengals' practice squad. He was released on April 29, 2015.[3]

New England Patriots

On August 4, 2015, Fort signed with the New England Patriots.[4] Fort was released on August 18, 2015.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 19, 2015, Fort signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fort was released on September 5 and was re-signed to the practice squad the following day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 28 to replace injured fullback Roosevelt Nix for the team’s final game.[5]

Fort was released by the Steelers on November 12, 2016 but was re-signed three days later.[6][7]

On September 12, 2017, Fort was waived by the Steelers and was re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[8] He was promoted to the active roster on September 23, 2017.[9]

Philadelphia Eagles

On March 14, 2019, Fort signed a three-year $5.5 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.[10] He was released on September 27, 2019 after four games.[11]

Baltimore Ravens

On September 30, 2019, Fort was signed by the Baltimore Ravens.[12] On October 13, against the Cincinnati Bengals, Fort made his first start as a Raven, registering 2 tackles and a pass defense. During the Ravens 30-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks, Fort registered six tackles, including two for loss, a quarterback hit and his first quarterback sack as a Raven.[13] On November 8, 2019, he signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract extension with the Ravens after becoming the starter due to injury.[14] On December 8, 2019, Fort sacked Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen on a crucial third down late in the fourth quarter.[13]

In Week 1 of the 2020 season against the Cleveland Browns, Fort forced a fumble on punter Jamie Gillan and later recovered a fumble lost by running back Nick Chubb during the 38–6 win.[15] In Week 2, against the Houston Texans, he had a 22-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the 33–16 victory.[16] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 3, 2020,[17] and activated four days later.[18]

At the start of the 2021 new league year, Baltimore chose not to pick up Fort's option for 2021, allowing him to become a free agent.[19] He re-signed with the team on a one-year contract on April 2, 2021.[20][21] In 2021, Fort changed his jersey number from #58 to #3 following the relaxation of the NFL's jersey number rules.

In the second quarter of the Week 2 preseason game against the Carolina Panthers, Fort tore his ACL, prematurely ending his season.[22] He was placed on injured reserve on August 23, 2021.[23]

NFL career statistics
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GGSCombSoloAstSackSftyIntYdsLngTDPDFFFRYdsTD
2012CLE 1616201171.0011010030000
2014CIN 110000.00000000000
2016PIT 14144310.00000000000
2017PIT 151511821.00000000000
2018PIT 15154830101.00000000000
2019BAL 16163519152.00000000000
2020BAL 14145330210.00000000000
Career919117190565.0011010030000

References
  1. "L.J. Fort, DS #65 OLB, Northern Iowa". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  2. "Seahawks sign LB L.J. Fort and FB Will Tukuafu".
  3. "Bengals waive LB L.J. Fort".
  4. "Report: Patriots sign linebacker L.J. Fort".
  5. "Steelers sign 10 players to the Practice Squad". Steelers.com. September 6, 2015. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  6. Varley, Teresa (November 12, 2016). "Steelers activate Green". Steelers.com.
  7. "Steelers Place Johnson on IR; Re-Sign Fort". Steelers.com. November 15, 2016.
  8. Varley, Teresa (September 12, 2017). "Steelers re-sign Johnson". Steelers.com.
  9. Varley, Teresa (September 23, 2017). "Steelers promote Fort to active roster". Steelers.com.
  10. "Eagles sign linebacker L.J. Fort to a 3-year contract". Philly.com. March 14, 2019.
  11. McPherson, Chris (September 27, 2019). "Eagles bring back CB Orlando Scandrick". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
  12. "Eagles release LB L.J. Fort, signs with Ravens". fox43.com. September 30, 2019.
  13. "58 L.J. Fort" (PDF). baltimoreravens.com. Baltimore Ravens. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  14. Shook, Nick (November 8, 2019). "Ravens sign LB L.J. Fort to two-year, $5.5M extension". NFL.com.
  15. "Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens - September 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  16. "Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans - September 20th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  17. "Ravens place Judon, Queen, 5 others on Reserve/COVID 19 list". APNews.com. November 3, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  18. Hensley, Jamison (November 7, 2020). "Baltimore Ravens activate six defenders off reserve/COVID-19 list". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  19. "LB L.J. Fort becomes free agent as Ravens don't pick up 2021 option". Ravens Wire. March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  20. Mink, Ryan (April 2, 2021). "Ravens Bring Back L.J. Fort on a One-Year Deal". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  21. "2021 NFL Transactions: Signings – April". NFL.com. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  22. "L.J. Fort Will Miss Season With Torn ACL". www.baltimoreravens.com. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  23. "Ravens Make Four Roster Moves Ahead of Deadline". www.baltimoreravens.com. Retrieved August 24, 2021.


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