Cleveland Merrill

Cleveland Merrill

Merrill with the Minnesota Vikings in 2015
No. 58     Minnesota Vikings
Inside Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: June 17, 1991 (age 27)
Place of birth: Vicksburg, MS
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 236 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school: Vicksburg, Vicksburg, MS
College: Ole Miss
NFL Draft: 2015 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
Debuted in 2015 for the Minnesota Vikings
Career history
Minnesota Vikings (2015-Present) *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
NFL 2x All-Pro (2015, 2016) College All-American (2014)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 0, 2024
Tackles 526 Interceptions 7 Sacks 2 Forced Fumbles 7 Touchdowns 1

Cleveland Merrill (born June 17, 1991) is an American football Linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at Ole Miss. The Vikings selected him with the third overall pick in the 2015 NFLHC Draft.

College Career

Cleveland Merrill attended Ole Miss for 3 years, declaring early for the NFL Draft his junior year. Merrill had a breakout year in 2014 when he lead the country in sacks, forced and recovered 2 fumbles, scored a touchdown, and recorded a safety. Merrill was seen as a "can't miss" player who was a lock for a top-5 pick.

College statistics

Year	Defensive
	GP	GS	Tackles	Sacks	FF	FR	INT	TD
2013	12	12	37	0.0	0	0	0	0
2014	12	12	120	12.0	2	2	0	1
Totals	24	24	157	12.0	2	2	0	1

Professional Career

Pre-draft

Merrill ran the 40-yard dash in 4.66 seconds at the Scouting Combine. Notably, Merrill scored a 31 on the Wonderlic, ranking fourth in the entire 2015 NFLHC Draft. He was considered one of the best linebackers in the 2014 NFLHC Draft along with Tyrone Jones, and was the consensus top inside linebacker available.

Measurables

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	Shuttle	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 1 in	236 lb	4.66 s	4.16 s		33 in	9 ft 7 in	20 reps	31

Draft

In the 2015 NFLHC Draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected Merrill with the 3rd overall pick.The day after the draft, Merrill signed a five-year contract with the Vikings worth approximately $50 million.

Minnesota Vikings

Cleveland Merrill became a starting inside linebacker for the Vikings before the 2015 NFLHC preseason.

Statistics

Regular season

Career Statistics (Regular Season)
Year	Team	Games		Defensive							Rating
		GP	GS	Tackles	Sacks	FF	FR	INT	TD	Safeties
2015	MIN	14	14	97	0.0	1	0	2	1	0	82
2016	MIN	12	12	66	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	87
2017	MIN	16	16	82	0.0	0	1	0	0	0	93
2018	MIN	7	7	16	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	94
2019	MIN	8	8	54	0.0	0	1	1	0	0	95
2020	MIN	16	16	55	0.0	3	2	2	0	0	95
2021	MIN	16	16	67	1.0	1	0	2	0	0	95
2022	MIN	5	5	21	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	94
2023	MIN	16	16	68	1.0	2	0	0	0	0	92
2024	MIN				0.0	0	0	0	0	0	89
Career		110	110	526	2.0	7	4	7	1	0

Injury History

Injury History
Year	Team	Injury Information		Notes
		Games Missed	Type
2015	MIN	0	N/A
2016	MIN	0	N/A
2017	MIN	0	N/A
2018	MIN	0	N/A
2019	MIN	0	N/A
2020	MIN	0	N/A
2021	MIN	0	N/A
2022	MIN	12	Severe ACL Rupture	Week 5-End of Season
2023	MIN	1	Moderate Hamstring Bruise	Week 17
2024	MIN	0	N/A
Career		13

Contract History

Contract History
Year	Team	Contract Year	Contract Information				Notes
			Years	Total	Guaranteed	Non-Guaranteed
2015	MIN	1st			0.0	0.0	Year Drafted
2016	MIN	2nd			0.0	0.0
2017	MIN	3rd			0.0	0.0
2018	MIN	4th			0.0	0.0
2019	MIN				0.0	0.0
2020	MIN				0.0	0.0
2021	MIN				0.0	0.0
2022	MIN				0.0	0.0
2023	MIN	1st	4	36	19.0	0.0	2023 Re-signing
2024	MIN	2nd			10.0	0.0
2025	MIN	3rd			5.0	5.0
2026	MIN	4th			2.0	6.5
Career					0.0	0.0