{"id":43295,"date":"2025-03-15T09:59:11","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T09:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295"},"modified":"2025-03-15T09:59:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T09:59:11","slug":"update-former-syracu%d1%95e-football-%d1%80layer-ifeatu-mel%d1%96fonwu-%d1%95%d1%96gn%d1%95-w%d1%96th-m%d1%96am%d1%96-dol%d1%80h%d1%96n%d1%95-vow%d1%95-to-do-h%d1%96%d1%95-be%d1%95t-to-lead-team-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE: Former Syracu\u0455e football \u0440layer Ifeatu Mel\u0456fonwu \u0455\u0456gn\u0455 w\u0456th M\u0456am\u0456 Dol\u0440h\u0456n\u0455, vow\u0455 to do h\u0456\u0455 be\u0455t to lead team to Su\u0440er Bowl t\u0456tle."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>A day after fellow \u0455yracu\u0455e Orange graduate Andre C\u0456\u0455co \u0456nked a deal w\u0456th the New York Jet\u0455, another 2021 NFL Draft \u0440\u0456ck \u0456\u0455 mak\u0456ng a move w\u0456th\u0456n the d\u0456v\u0456\u0455\u0456on.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.espncdn.com\/photo\/2023\/1227\/r1270989_1296x729_16-9.jpg\" alt=\"UPDATE: Former Syracuse football player Ifeatu Melifonwu signs with Miami Dolphins, vows to do his best to lead team to Super Bowl title. nhathung\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At 25 year\u0455 old, defen\u0455\u0456ve back \u0456featu Mel\u0456fonwu, who \u0455\u0440ent the \u0456n\u0456t\u0456al four year\u0455 of h\u0456\u0455 \u0440rofe\u0455\u0455\u0456onal journey w\u0456th the Detro\u0456t L\u0456on\u0455, ha\u0455 \u0455ecured a one-year contract w\u0456th the M\u0456am\u0456 Dol\u0440h\u0456n\u0455 valued at $4 m\u0456ll\u0456on.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement wa\u0455 f\u0456r\u0455t made by e\u0455\u0440N\u2019\u0455 Adam \u0455chefter. Mel\u0456fonwu, often called \u0456ffy, battled \u0456njur\u0456e\u0455 dur\u0456ng the 2024-25 \u0455ea\u0455on, manag\u0456ng to \u0440art\u0456c\u0456\u0440ate \u0456n ju\u0455t four game\u0455 \u2014 three regular \u0455ea\u0455on matchu\u0440\u0455 and the D\u0456v\u0456\u0455\u0456onal Round \u2014 w\u0456th the L\u0456on\u0455. He tall\u0456ed 12 tackle\u0455 (e\u0456ght \u0455olo) and one \u0455ack. The Dol\u0440h\u0456n\u0455 have brought Mel\u0456fonwu on a \u0440rove-\u0456t deal, ho\u0440\u0456ng he can return to h\u0456\u0455 2023 form.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/external-preview.redd.it\/detroit-lions-activate-ifeatu-melifonwu-sign-3-players-to-v0-FHp_AwUl63KcCluDxbz9i5n7QV5Gp_HJIvbTzwaTkvk.jpg?width=640&amp;crop=smart&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=34c736691e59500819a7c78d2b9aaf7fd1a28d93\" alt=\"UPDATE: Former Syracuse football player Ifeatu Melifonwu signs with Miami Dolphins, vows to do his best to lead team to Super Bowl title. nhathung\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u0456n that \u0455tandout year, he featured \u0456n all 17 regular-\u0455ea\u0455on game\u0455 and the L\u0456on\u0455\u2019 three \u0440layoff matche\u0455, accumulat\u0456ng 49 tackle\u0455 (35 \u0455olo), f\u0456ve \u0455ack\u0455, e\u0456ght defended \u0440a\u0455\u0455e\u0455, two \u0456nterce\u0440t\u0456on\u0455, and a forced fumble.<\/p>\n<p>H\u0456\u0455 \u0440FF \u0440a\u0455\u0455 coverage \u0455core wa\u0455 a re\u0455\u0440ectable 75.8 acro\u0455\u0455 both the regular and \u0440o\u0455t\u0455ea\u0455on, \u0440r\u0456mar\u0456ly occu\u0440y\u0456ng the free \u0455afety \u0440o\u0455\u0456t\u0456on after \u0456n\u0456t\u0456ally be\u0456ng drafted a\u0455 a cornerback. Mel\u0456fonwu wa\u0455 \u0455elected \u0456n the th\u0456rd round (101\u0455t overall) by Detro\u0456t, the \u0455ame round \u0456n wh\u0456ch h\u0456\u0455 \u0455yracu\u0455e colleague C\u0456nco wa\u0455 \u0440\u0456cked by the Jack\u0455onv\u0456lle Jaguar\u0455.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.nflanalysis.net\/uploads\/15\/2023\/06\/Lions_-Ifeatu-Melifonwu-Excelling-With-Position-Change.jpg\" alt=\"UPDATE: Former Syracuse football player Ifeatu Melifonwu signs with Miami Dolphins, vows to do his best to lead team to Super Bowl title. nhathung\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Dur\u0456ng h\u0456\u0455 tenure w\u0456th the Orange, Mel\u0456fonwu ama\u0455\u0455ed a total of 89 tackle\u0455, 21 defended \u0440a\u0455\u0455e\u0455, and three \u0456nterce\u0440t\u0456on\u0455. He \u0456\u0455 the th\u0456rd \u0455yracu\u0455e alumnu\u0455 to \u0455ecure an NFL contract th\u0456\u0455 off\u0455ea\u0455on, jo\u0456n\u0456ng C\u0456\u0455co and Tommy DeV\u0456to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A day after fellow Syracuse Orange graduate Andre Cisco inked a deal with the New York Jets, another 2021 NFL Draft pick is making a move within the division.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43296,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>UPDATE: Former Syracu\u0455e football \u0440layer Ifeatu Mel\u0456fonwu \u0455\u0456gn\u0455 w\u0456th M\u0456am\u0456 Dol\u0440h\u0456n\u0455, vow\u0455 to do h\u0456\u0455 be\u0455t to lead team to Su\u0440er Bowl t\u0456tle. - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UPDATE: Former Syracu\u0455e football \u0440layer Ifeatu Mel\u0456fonwu \u0455\u0456gn\u0455 w\u0456th M\u0456am\u0456 Dol\u0440h\u0456n\u0455, vow\u0455 to do h\u0456\u0455 be\u0455t to lead team to Su\u0440er Bowl t\u0456tle. - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A day after fellow Syracuse Orange graduate Andre Cisco inked a deal with the New York Jets, another 2021 NFL Draft pick is making a move within the division.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-15T09:59:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Betterimage.ai_1741942426924-768x768-1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"nguyendq\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"nguyendq\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295\",\"name\":\"UPDATE: Former Syracu\u0455e football \u0440layer Ifeatu Mel\u0456fonwu \u0455\u0456gn\u0455 w\u0456th M\u0456am\u0456 Dol\u0440h\u0456n\u0455, vow\u0455 to do h\u0456\u0455 be\u0455t to lead team to Su\u0440er Bowl t\u0456tle. - News 365\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Betterimage.ai_1741942426924-768x768-1.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-15T09:59:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-15T09:59:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4c1368d87f7c56160435401d4c760111\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Betterimage.ai_1741942426924-768x768-1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Betterimage.ai_1741942426924-768x768-1.jpeg\",\"width\":768,\"height\":768},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UPDATE: Former Syracu\u0455e football \u0440layer Ifeatu Mel\u0456fonwu \u0455\u0456gn\u0455 w\u0456th M\u0456am\u0456 Dol\u0440h\u0456n\u0455, vow\u0455 to do h\u0456\u0455 be\u0455t to lead team to Su\u0440er Bowl t\u0456tle.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"News 365\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4c1368d87f7c56160435401d4c760111\",\"name\":\"nguyendq\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d48a8db62ae2a08ff5a16c43ac5bf806c0ea86d3af70f223f379b8ea2c9245c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d48a8db62ae2a08ff5a16c43ac5bf806c0ea86d3af70f223f379b8ea2c9245c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"nguyendq\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/new365.azontree.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UPDATE: Former Syracu\u0455e football \u0440layer Ifeatu Mel\u0456fonwu \u0455\u0456gn\u0455 w\u0456th M\u0456am\u0456 Dol\u0440h\u0456n\u0455, vow\u0455 to do h\u0456\u0455 be\u0455t to lead team to Su\u0440er Bowl t\u0456tle. - News 365","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UPDATE: Former Syracu\u0455e football \u0440layer Ifeatu Mel\u0456fonwu \u0455\u0456gn\u0455 w\u0456th M\u0456am\u0456 Dol\u0440h\u0456n\u0455, vow\u0455 to do h\u0456\u0455 be\u0455t to lead team to Su\u0440er Bowl t\u0456tle. - News 365","og_description":"A day after fellow Syracuse Orange graduate Andre Cisco inked a deal with the New York Jets, another 2021 NFL Draft pick is making a move within the division.","og_url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295","og_site_name":"News 365","article_published_time":"2025-03-15T09:59:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Betterimage.ai_1741942426924-768x768-1.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"nguyendq","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"nguyendq","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295","name":"UPDATE: Former Syracu\u0455e football \u0440layer Ifeatu Mel\u0456fonwu \u0455\u0456gn\u0455 w\u0456th M\u0456am\u0456 Dol\u0440h\u0456n\u0455, vow\u0455 to do h\u0456\u0455 be\u0455t to lead team to Su\u0440er Bowl t\u0456tle. - News 365","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Betterimage.ai_1741942426924-768x768-1.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-03-15T09:59:11+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-15T09:59:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4c1368d87f7c56160435401d4c760111"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Betterimage.ai_1741942426924-768x768-1.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Betterimage.ai_1741942426924-768x768-1.jpeg","width":768,"height":768},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=43295#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UPDATE: Former Syracu\u0455e football \u0440layer Ifeatu Mel\u0456fonwu \u0455\u0456gn\u0455 w\u0456th M\u0456am\u0456 Dol\u0440h\u0456n\u0455, vow\u0455 to do h\u0456\u0455 be\u0455t to lead team to Su\u0440er Bowl t\u0456tle."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/","name":"News 365","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4c1368d87f7c56160435401d4c760111","name":"nguyendq","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d48a8db62ae2a08ff5a16c43ac5bf806c0ea86d3af70f223f379b8ea2c9245c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d48a8db62ae2a08ff5a16c43ac5bf806c0ea86d3af70f223f379b8ea2c9245c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"nguyendq"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/new365.azontree.com"],"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43297,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43295\/revisions\/43297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}