Justin Bethel

At 33 years old, Justin Bethel has this physical status:

Justin Andrew Bethel (born June 17, 1990) is an American football cornerback and special teamer for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL).

He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

He played college football at Presbyterian College.

Early life

Bethel was born in Sumter, South Carolina and at age 6 he moved with his family to Columbia. He started playing football at age 11 when he was in sixth grade. He attended Blythewood High School where in 2007 he was named Blythewood's Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Defensive Player. He helped the team win the State Championship in 2006.

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College career

Bethel did not receive much attention from college football programs, and he planned to study culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University until his high school coach, former Clemson co-offensive coordinator and current USF head coach Jeff Scott, was recruited to be a mentor for the Presbyterian College Blue Hose. Bethel decided to attend Presbyterian and majored in Business Administration.

Bethel appeared in 12 games during his freshman season in 2008, totaling 54 tackles and 37 solo tackles. He had two interceptions and two blocked kicks.

Bethel's 2009 had a breakout season. During 11 games, 55 of which were solo, he had a team-best 79 tackles, including 55 in solo. In a game against Gardner-Webb University, he blocked three kicks, two of whom were blocked. He also screamed one down and had 4.5 tackles for a loss. He was selected to the Big South Conference Second-team Defensive squad for his efforts.

Professional career

With a solid showing in the East-West Shrine Game, Bethel captured the attention of pro scouts. He had a YouTube video of him doing a vertical leap onto boxes five foot high. He was expected to be a fifth or sixth round pick coming out of Presbyterian. He was invited to the NFL Combine and undertook all of the necessary combine drills. His vertical leap of 3912 inches was the highest of any defensive player to ever play. Bethel competed at Presbyterian's pro day and chose to run the 40, 20, and 10-yard dash as part of postureal drills on March 9, 2012. NFLDraftScout.com ranked him as the seventh best free safety prospect in the draft.

Bethel was chosen in the sixth round (177th overall) of the 2012 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He was the first Presbyterian player to be drafted in the NFL Draft since 1969.

The Arizona Cardinals announced Bethel to a four-year rookie deal on May 15, 2012.

Bethel started his first training camp with the Cardinals as a free safety, but defensive coordinator Ray Horton forced him to stop the Cardinals from being pushed to cornerback just a few weeks into camp. He competed with Greg Toler, Michael Adams, Crezdon Butler, A. J. Jefferson, and Jamell Fleming for a back-up cornerback position. Ken Whisenhunt, the Arizona Cardinals' depth chart, marked him as the sixth cornerback in the team's depth chart, behind Patrick Peterson, William Gay, Greg Toler, Jamell Fleming, and Michael Adams.

In the Arizona Cardinals' season-opening 20–16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Bethel made his professional debut in the Arizona Cardinals' season-opening 20–16 victory. In a 28-13 loss to the Chicago Bears, Bethel recovered Olindo Mare's blocked field goal and returned it 82-yards for a touchdown on December 23, 2012. The Cardinals had a 5–11 record and did not qualify for the playoffs. He had 13 tackles in his rookie season.

In 2013, Bethel began training camp in Arizona with Antoine Cason, Jerraud Powers, Jamell Fleming, Javier Arenas, and Bryan McCann for the void starting cornerback position left after William Gay's departure. Bruce Arians, the head coach of the Chicago Cardinals, named him the sixth cornerback on the depth chart to start the season, behind Patrick Peterson, Jerraud Powers, Antoine Cason, Javier Arenas, and Jamell Fleming.

Bethel stopped a field goal against the Detroit Lions on September 15, 2013. He blocked another field goal, this time against the Houston Texans on November 10. Bethel was selected to play in the 2014 Pro Bowl as a special teams player, as well as teammates Patrick Peterson, Antonio Cromartie, and Calais Campbell. He was the first Pro Bowler from Presbyterian to become a Pro bowler. The Cardinals had a 10–6 record and did not qualify for the playoffs. With 21 tackles and two field goal blocks, he ended his second season.

Bethel renamed his number 31 to Antonio Cromartie and renumbered to #28, which belonged to Rashard Mendenhall the season before he retired. He was in contention for the starting cornerback in training camp, facing Antonio Cromartie, Jerraud Powers, and Brandon Sermons. Bethel was the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to start 2014, behind Patrick Peterson, Antonio Cromartie, and Jerraud Powers.

Bethel scored his third straight field goal against the Dallas Cowboys on November 2, 2014. Three days later, he was named as the NFC special teams Player of the Week. Bethel's first game-saving stumble against the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth quarter was his first defense appearance of his career. In December, he was also named NFC special teams Player of the Month. Patrick Peterson, the last time a Cardinal received this award, was in November 2011. He had 25 tackles in his third season.

Bethel was named in the 2015 Pro Bowl as the second player in franchise history to play multiple times as a special teamer (with Ron Wolfley). The Arizona Cardinals finished second in the NFC West with an 11–5 record and a playoff berth. During the fourth quarter of a 16-27 loss to Carolina in the NFC Wildcard game, Bethel appeared in his first career postseason game and tackled Carolina Panthers punter Brad Nortman in the end zone for a safety.

Bethel has started training camp with Jerraud Powers for the open starting cornerback position left after Antonio Cromartie's departure. He started the regular season as the back-up to Patrick Peterson and Jerraud Powers.

During a 47-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on September 27, 2015, Bethel made his first-career interception and returned it for a 21-yard touchdown. He also knocked the ball from DeAndrew White, but a 49er recovered it. In a 26–18 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, he ripped the ball from Jeremy Ross and recovered the fumble, his second forced fumble of the season and third of his career. In a 34-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns on November 1, he made his first appearance in his career and had four solo tackles and two pass deflections. The Arizona Cardinals agreed to Bethel's three-year, $15 million contract extension with a $100,000 guarantee and a $3 million signing bonus on December 5. In Week 16, safety Tyrann Mathieu tore his ACL and was placed on injured reserve, making him the starting nickelback for the remainder of the season. Bethel defeated the Green Bay Packers 38-8 on December 27, with a career-high eight combined tackles and intercepted a pass attempt by Aaron Rodgers in a 38-28 victory. He finished the regular season with career highs in tackles (46), passes defended (9), and interceptions (22).

He earned his third straight invite to the 2016 Pro Bowl as a special teams member. The Arizona Cardinals won the NFC West championships in 2015 after finishing 13–3. The Cardinals defeated the Green Bay Packers 26-20 in overtime on January 16, 2016, winning the NFC divisional round for the first time in his career. Bethel started in his first appearance in his career after collecting six solo tackles and defended a pass. During a 15-49 loss, he got started with a three-combined tackles and a pass deflection during a NFC Championship game against the Carolina Panthers on January 24, beginning with four combined tackles and a pass deflection.

His jersey number 31, as a boy in high school, was retired in 2015.

Bethel had undergone surgery earlier this week to repair a minor fracture in his ankle that he suffered against the Cincinnati Bengals on November 23, 2015. He skipped organized team games and the first three weeks of training camp. After Jerraud Powers was left out of the free agency, Bethel was supposed to be the Arizona Cardinal's starting cornerback alongside Patrick Peterson. He began competing with Mike Jenkins, Asa Jackson, Tharold Simon, and Brandon Williams after arriving at training camp. Patrick Peterson and Brandon Williams were back in action in the 2016 season as the back-up to Patrick Peterson and Brandon Williams.

During a 23-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on November 13, he made his first appearance of the season and scored four solo tackles and deflected a pass. Bethel defeated the Los Angeles Rams 41-6 in the fourth quarter on January 1, 2017. The Cardinals had a 7-8-1 record and did not qualify for the playoffs, but not enough to qualify for the playoffs. He finished the 2016 season with 39 tackles, six pass deflections, an interception, and a touchdown.

After Marcus Cooper left for the Chicago Bears during free agency, Bethel started training camp in 2017 against Brandon Williams, Tramon Williams, and Harlan Miller for the vacant starting cornerback position. Bethel is the starting cornerback for the regular season, according to head coach Bruce Arians and Patrick Peterson. It was the first time he had been dubbed the starting cornerback in Bethel's career.

He started with the Detroit Lions' 35-23 loss to the Detroit Lions in the first quarter and then returned an intercept on Matthew Stafford for an 82-yard touchdown in the first quarter. He didn't start working and was demoted to No. 2 on the team's No. 1. In Week 7 there was a 3 cornerback due to the emergence of veteran Tramon Williams. The Cardinals had an 8-08 record and did not qualify for the playoffs. He had 41 tackles, four pass deflections, an intercept, and a touchdown.

Bethel signed with the Atlanta Falcons on March 24, 2018. He appeared in 14 games, mainly on special teams, with 14 tackles.

Bethel committed to the Baltimore Ravens for two years on March 15, 2019. He was released on October 21, 2019.

Bethel committed to the New England Patriots for two years on October 22, 2019. In week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens, Bethel made his Patriots debut against the Baltimore Ravens. In the 37-20 loss, Bethel recovered a muffed punt by return man Cyrus Jones. During week 15 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Bethel recovered a punt muffed by punt returner Alex Erickson during the 34-13 victory.

Bethel re-signed with the Patriots on a three-year, $6 million deal on March 12, 2021.

The Patriots cut Bethel on August 30, 2022.

Bethel signed with the Miami Dolphins on September 1, 2022.

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