Jeff Charleston

Jeffrey David Charleston (born January 19, 1983 in Oregon City, Oregon) is an American football defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Idaho State.

Charleston has also been a member of the New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings.

Early years
Charleston attended Central High School in Independence, Oregon. He lettered three years in football and basketball and was first-team all-Oregon pick at tight end and second-team all-state at linebacker.

College career
Charleston played for three seasons at Division II Western Oregon. He was a two-time All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference pick; as a sophomore, he led the team in sacks (4.5), tackles for losses (10.5) and FR (4) and ranked 3rd on team with 69 tackles. He then decided to transfer to Idaho State University for both athletic and academic reasons. He sat out the 2004 season per NCAA transfer regulations, then played one season for Idaho State. As a senior, he registered 12 sacks, and had 56 tackles, five passed defensed, two FF and 19 tackles for losses. He was voted Defensive and Newcomer Player-of-the-Year in the Big Sky Conference.

Indianapolis Colts
Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by Houston on May 4, 2006, he was waived on September 1, 2006. The Colts signed him on January 4, 2007. In 2007 he started three of 13 games at RDE (starting the final three games for injured DE-Robert Mathis) and totaled 42 tackles, 22 solo, one sack, four pressures, one FF and two passes batted. The Colts waived him in August 2008.

New Orleans Saints
Charleston was signed by the Saints for the 2008 season. He played in 10 games in 2008. In 2009-10, Charleson played in 19 games, tallying 23 tackles. In March 2010, Jeff Charleston signed a one-year, $1.101 million contract extension with the New Orleans Saints. On Jan. 2, 2011, Charleston recovered a fumble of Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman when he was hit by Charleston.

Minnesota Vikings
On June 28, 2012, Charleston was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. On August 31, as the Vikings reduced their roster down to league maximum of 53 players, he was released.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him on September 26, 2012. On October 2, 2012 he was released.