Freddie Joe Nunn

{{Short description|American football player (1962–2021)}}

{{Use American English|date=April 2024}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Freddie Joe Nunn

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1962|4|9|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Noxubee County, Mississippi, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|10|16|1962|4|09|mf=y}}

| death_place = Tyler, Texas, U.S.

| number = 53, 78, 50, 93

| position = Linebacker

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 5

| weight_lb = 262

| high_school = Nanih Waiya School {{nowrap|(Winston County, Mississippi)}}

| college = Ole Miss

| draftyear = 1985

| draftround = 1

| draftpick = 21

| pastteams =

• St. Louis / Phoenix Cardinals ({{NFL Year|1985|1993}})
• Indianapolis Colts ({{NFL Year|1994|1996}})

|highlights =

• First-team All-American (1984)
• First-team All-SEC (1984)

| statlabel1 = Total tackles

| statvalue1 = 450

| statlabel2 = Sacks

| statvalue2 = 67.5

| statlabel3 = Fumble recoveries

| statvalue3 = 14

| pfr = NunnFr20

}}

Freddie Joe Nunn (April 9, 1962 {{ndash}} October 16, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He spent most of his career with the St.Louis / Phoenix Cardinals and retired as the franchise's all-time sacks leader.

Nunn was born in Noxubee County, Mississippi and played scholastically at Nanih Waiya School in neighboring Winston County.{{cite web| url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NunnFr20.htm |title=Freddie Joe Nunn Stats |website=Pro Football Reference |access-date=May 28, 2024}} He played collegiately for the Ole Miss Rebels,{{cite web| url=https://www.nfl.com/players/freddie-joe-nunn/ |title=Freddie Joe Nunn Stats |website=NFL.com |access-date=May 28, 2024}} where, as a senior, he was honored by United Press International (UPI) as a first-team All-American.{{cite news |title=UPI All-Americans |newspaper=The Indianapolis Star |date=December 5, 1984 |page=62 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5289262/upi_and_ap_allamerica_teams/ |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}

Nunn was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round (18th overall) of the 1985 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1985 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1985/draft.htm |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He started his career as a defensive end and later moved to the linebacker position. He played for the Cardinals organization from 1985 to 1993, and for the Indianapolis Colts from 1994 to 1996. In his career, Nunn played in 157 games and recorded 67.5 sacks.{{Cite web |url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/playern/nunn00200.html |title=Freddie Joe Nunn Stats |website=Pro Football Archives |access-date=May 28, 2024 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010195146/https://www.profootballarchives.com/playern/nunn00200.html |archive-date=October 10, 2023}}

At the time of his death on October 16, 2021, Nunn's 66.5 sacks as a Cardinal stood as an official franchise record.{{Cite web|title=Chandler Jones by the numbers: Cardinals legend in Reggie White territory after recording 100th career sack|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/chandler-jones-by-the-numbers-cardinals-legend-in-reggie-white-territory-after-recording-100th-career-sack/|access-date=2021-11-07|website=CBSSports.com|language=en}} When Cardinals linebacker Chandler Jones broke that record in a game played only three weeks after Nunn's death, Jones paid tribute to Nunn by revealing a t-shirt worn under his jersey bearing Nunn's name and portrait.{{Cite web|last=Fucillo|first=David|date=2021-11-07|title=Chandler Jones becomes Cardinals all-time sack leader, pays tribute to Freddie Joe Nunn|url=https://dknation.draftkings.com/nfl/2021/11/7/22769068/chandler-jones-t-shirt-freddie-joe-nunn-sack-cardinals-all-time-sack-leader|access-date=2021-11-07|website=DraftKings Nation|language=en}}