Damarious Randall

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Damarious Randall
refer to caption
Randall with the Cleveland Browns in 2018
No. 23, 36
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1992-08-29) August 29, 1992 (age 31)
Pensacola, Florida, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school:Pensacola
College:
NFL draft:2015 / Round: 1 / Pick: 30
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:293
Sacks:2.5
Fumble recoveries:2
Pass deflections:47
Interceptions:14
Defensive touchdowns:2
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Damarious Wayne Randall (born August 29, 1992) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft.

Early years[edit]

Randall played as a cornerback, safety, and wide receiver and returned punts and kickoffs at Pensacola High School, earning all-state recognition as a senior and all-conference honors as a junior and senior. He helped lead the team to a Class 3A title as a senior in 2009, when the Tigers outscored their opponents 95–13 in the postseason. He also lettered all four years in baseball as a shortstop and four years in track & field, participating in the long jump (23'11") and the 4x100 relay (44.10 seconds).

College career[edit]

Randall played college baseball at Butler Community College for a year before transferring to Mesa Community College to play college football.[1] He saw his first action in 2012 and recorded 69 tackles, ten interceptions and five total touchdowns. The next year, he transferred to Arizona State University. He entered his first year at Arizona State and missed the first four games because of a lower leg injury and then started the rest of the season and recorded 71 tackles, three interceptions and a touchdown.[2][3] As a senior in 2014, Randall started all 13 games. He finished the year with a team-leading 106 tackles, three interceptions, 4 forced fumbles, one sack and a touchdown.[4]

Professional career[edit]

Pre-draft[edit]

On December 14, 2014, it was announced that Randall accepted his invitation to play in the 2015 Senior Bowl.[5] On January 24, 2015, Randall played in the Reese's Senior Bowl and recorded a tackle and a pass breakup as part of Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt's North team that defeated the South 34–13.[6] Randall was one of 54 defensive backs that attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed all of the combine drills and finished eighth among defensive backs in the vertical jump and tenth among his position group in the 40-yard dash and three-cone drill.[7] On March 6, 2015, Randall attended Arizona State's pro day, along with Jaelen Strong, Marcus Hardison, Jamil Douglas, Taylor Kelly, and eight other prospects. He chose to stand on his combine numbers and only ran positional drills for scouts and team representatives from all 32 NFL teams.[8] During the draft process, Randall attended private visits and workouts with 11 NFL teams, including the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, and Cleveland Browns.[9][10][11][12] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Randall was projected to be a late first round or second round pick by NFL draft experts and analysts.[13][14][15] He was ranked the top safety prospect in the draft by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, was ranked the top free safety in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, was ranked the second best safety by NFL analyst Charles Davis, and was ranked the seventh best safety by Sports Illustrated.[16][17][18][19]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
5 ft 10+7⁄8 in
(1.80 m) 		196 lb
(89 kg) 		30+1⁄4 in
(0.77 m) 		8+5⁄8 in
(0.22 m)		 4.46 s 1.55 s 2.58 s 4.07 s 6.83 s 38 in
(0.97 m)		 10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)		 14 reps 18[20]
All values from NFL Combine[13]

Green Bay Packers[edit]

2015[edit]

The Green Bay Packers selected Randall in the first round (30th overall) of the 2015 NFL draft.[21] He was the first safety selected in 2015 and was the highest draft pick from Arizona State since Terrell Suggs in 2003.[22] On June 16, 2015, the Packers signed Randall to a four-year, $7.91 million contract that includes $5.96 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $4.0 million.[23][24]

Randall during Green Bay Packers training camp in 2015

Although he played safety in college, the Packers drafted him with plans to strictly play him at cornerback.[25] He entered training camp slated as the third cornerback on the depth chart behind Sam Shields and Casey Hayward.[26] Head coach Mike McCarthy officially named him the third cornerback to start the regular season.[27]

He made his professional regular season debut in the Packers' season-opening at the Chicago Bears and recorded one tackle and two pass deflections during their 31–23 victory. On October 18, 2015, Randall earned his first career start and recorded a season-high seven solo tackles and deflected two passes during the Packers' 27–20 victory against the San Diego Chargers. During the game Randall deflected a game-tying touchdown pass by Philip Rivers and earned Castrol Edge Clutch Performer of the Week for his performance.[28] In Week 8, he made seven combined tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first career interception off a pass attempt by Peyton Manning in Green Bay's 29–10 loss at the Denver Broncos. The following week, Randall started at outside cornerback in place of Sam Shields, who suffered a shoulder injury the previous week.[29] Randall collected five solo tackles, deflected two passes, and intercepted Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton during a 37–29 loss. In Week 12, Randall made two solo tackles in a 17–13 loss to the Chicago Bears. He left the game after suffering a knee injury and was inactive for Week 13.[30] On December 20, 2015, he made his fifth start in place of Sam Shields and recorded seven combined tackles, deflected a pass, and returned an interception by Derek Carr for a 43-yard touchdown in the Packers' 30–20 victory at the Oakland Raiders. It marked the first touchdown of Randall's career. He finished his rookie season with a career-high 58 combined tackles (53 solo), 14 pass deflections, three interceptions, and a touchdown in 15 games and nine starts.[31]

The Packers finished second in the NFC North the 2015 season with a 10–6 record. On January 10, 2016, Randall started in his first career playoff game and recorded eight combined tackles and defended a pass in a 35–14 win at the Washington Redskins in the NFC Wildcard game. The following week, he made three combined tackles, deflected a pass, and intercepted a pass attempt by Carson Palmer during a 26–20 loss at the Cardinals in the NFC Divisional round.[31]

2016[edit]

Throughout training camp, Randall competed against Quinten Rollins and LaDarius Gunter for the vacant starting cornerback position after Casey Hayward departed for the San Diego Chargers in free agency.[32][33] He was named the starting cornerback along with Sam Shields to start the regular season.[34]

He started the Packers' season-opener at the Jacksonville Jaguars and recorded a season-high six solo tackles and two pass deflections during a 27–23 victory. On September 25, 2016, he made two combined tackles, defended a pass, and returned an interception by Matthew Stafford 44-yards in the Packers' 34–27 victory against the Detroit Lions. He suffered a groin injury in Week 4 and was inactive the following week. On October 16, 2016, Randall made two solo tackles in a 30–16 loss to the Cowboys. He aggravated his groin injury and missed the next five games (Weeks 7–11) after undergoing surgery.[35] On December 11, 2016, Randall made five combined tackles, deflected two passes, and intercepted Seahawks' quarterback Russell Wilson twice during a 37–10 victory.[36] Randall finished the 2016 season with 39 combined tackles (35 solo), nine pass deflections, and three interceptions in ten games and nine starts.[37]

The Packers finished atop the NFC North with a 10–6 record. On January 8, 2017, Randall made five combined tackles three pass deflections, and an interception during their 38–13 NFC Wildcard victory over the Giants. After defeating the Cowboys, the Packers were defeated by the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship.[37]

2017[edit]

Head coach Mike McCarthy named Randall the starting cornerback, along with Davon House, after the Packers chose not to re-sign Sam Shields.[38]

He started the Packers' season-opener against the Seahawks and recorded a season-high six solo tackles and a pass breakup in their 17–9 victory. On October 8, 2017, Randall made one tackle, deflected a pass, and returned an interception by Dak Prescott for a 21-yard touchdown during the Packers' 35–31 victory at the Cowboys. In Week 7, he collected three combined tackles, broke up a pass, and made an interception during a 26–17 loss to the New Orleans Saints. It was his third consecutive game with an interception.[39] On December 22, 2017, the Packers placed Randall on injured/reserve for the remainder of the season after he suffered a knee injury.[40] He finished the 2017 season with 47 combined tackles (38 solo), nine pass deflections, four interceptions, and a touchdown in 14 games and 12 starts.[39]

Cleveland Browns[edit]

Randall playing for the Browns in 2019.

On March 9, 2018, the Packers agreed to trade Randall to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for DeShone Kizer and a swap of both fourth and fifth-round draft picks.[41] The deal became official on March 14, 2018, at the start of the NFL year.[42] On April 30, 2018, the Browns exercised the fifth-year option on Randall's contract.[43] In week 4 against the Oakland Raiders, Randall intercepted quarterback Derek Carr and made 6 tackles in the 45–42 overtime loss.

On November 14, 2019, Randall was ejected after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson. The Browns still celebrated a 21–7 win over the Steelers.[44]

Las Vegas Raiders[edit]

On April 7, 2020, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Randall to a one-year contract.[45] He was released on September 4, 2020.[46]

Seattle Seahawks[edit]

On September 30, 2020, Randall was signed to the Seahawks' practice squad.[47] He was elevated to the active roster on October 3 and October 10 for the team's weeks 4 and 5 games against the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[48][49] He was promoted to the active roster on October 21.[50] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on January 2, 2021,[51] and activated four days later.[52]

The Seahawks re-signed Randall on April 9, 2021, and moved him to cornerback.[53] He was released on August 31, 2021.[54]

Los Angeles Rams[edit]

On December 18, 2021, Randall was signed to the Los Angeles Rams practice squad. He was later released from the practice squad before the Rams won Super Bowl LVI.

NFL career statistics[edit]

Regular season statistics
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR
2015 GB 15 9 58 53 5 0.0 0 14 3 47 15.7 43 1 0 0
2016 GB 10 9 39 35 4 0.0 0 9 3 91 30.3 44 0 0 0
2017 GB 14 12 47 38 9 0.0 0 9 4 35 110.6 21 1 0 0
2018 CLE 15 15 85 72 13 0.0 0 9 4 59 14.8 50 0 0 0
2019 CLE 11 11 61 45 16 2.5 0 6 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Total 65 56 290 243 47 2.5 0 47 14 232 16.6 50 2 0 0
Source: NFL.com
Postseason statistics
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR
2015 GB 2 2 11 7 4 0.0 0 2 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2016 GB 3 1 12 11 1 0.0 0 3 1 78 78.0 78 0 0 0
Total 5 3 23 18 5 0.0 0 5 2 78 39.0 78 0 0 0
Source: pro-football-reference.com

Personal life[edit]

Early in his tenure with the Browns, Randall incited anger from Clevelanders by openly cheering for the Golden State Warriors to defeat the hometown Cavs in the NBA Finals. As a make-good, he offered to purchase jerseys for everyone who retweeted one of his posts if the Cavs did indeed go on to win the championship (they did not win[55]).[56] That tweet became the most re-tweeted ever for a professional athlete,[57] and in 2020 is the 23rd most re-tweeted tweet of all time.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Senior Bowl player Randall says switch from baseball to football 'best decision in my life'". January 19, 2015.
  2. ^ "Most important player: Arizona State". June 10, 2014.
  3. ^ "Sun Devils expect breakout season from free safety Randall". August 11, 2014.
  4. ^ "ASU's Jaelen Strong, Damarious Randall make SI.com All-America team".
  5. ^ "2015 NFL Draft: Senior Bowl, Shrine Game, and Other All-Star Game Invite Tracker". thesportsdaily.com. December 14, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  6. ^ "2015 Senior Bowl: North Vs. South". profootballfocus.com. January 25, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  7. ^ Adam Stites (February 23, 2015). "NFL Combine 2015: Full results for defensive backs". sbnation.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  8. ^ Gil Brandt (March 6, 2015). "Jaelen Strong catches everything at Arizona State's pro day". NFL.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  9. ^ "Jaelen Strong, Damarious Randall make good of ASU football pro day". foxsports.com. March 6, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  10. ^ Brandon Lee Gowton (March 14, 2015). "2015 NFL Draft: Eagles to host safety Damarious Randall for a visit". bleedinggreennation.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  11. ^ Ed Valentine (March 20, 2015). "2015 NFL Draft: Safety Damarious Randall gets private workout with Giants". bigblueview.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  12. ^ David Moore (April 6, 2015). "Future Cowboys? 14 national players scheduled to visit Valley Ranch in pre-draft visits". sportsday.dallasnews.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "NFL Events: Draft Player Profiles - Damarious Randall". NFL.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  14. ^ Mayock, Mike (April 29, 2015). "Mock draft 1.0: Titans don't trade No. 2 pick". NFL.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  15. ^ Brooks, Bucky (April 23, 2015). "Mock draft 5.0: Mariota lands with Rams". NFL.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  16. ^ Mayock, Mike (April 17, 2015). "Mike Mayock's 2015 NFL Draft position rankings 4.0". NFL.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  17. ^ "Damarious Randall, DS #1 FS, Arizona State". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  18. ^ Charles Davis (April 1, 2015). "2015 NFL Draft prospect rankings by position". NFL.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  19. ^ Doug Farrar (April 14, 2015). "2015 NFL Draft Positional Rankings: Safeties". si.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  20. ^ "Green Bay Packers picks in the 2015 NFL draft". JSOnline.com. April 30, 2015. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  21. ^ James Brady (April 30, 2015). "NFL Draft Picks 2015: Damarious Randall taken by Packers at No. 30". sbnation.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  22. ^ "Football Database: Arizona State NFL draft History". footballdb.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  23. ^ Demovsky, Rob (June 17, 2015). "Breaking down Damarious Randall's contract with the Packers". ESPN. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  24. ^ "Spotrac.com: Damarious Randall contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  25. ^ "Green Bay Packers 'set' on playing Damarious Randall at cornerback, not safety". FoxSports.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  26. ^ Evan Massey (June 21, 2015). "Green Bay Packers 2015 Training Camp Profile: DB Damarious Randall". rantsports.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  27. ^ "Ourlads.com: Green Bay Packers' depth chart: 10/01/2015". Ourlads.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  28. ^ "Damarious Randall named Clutch Performer of Week". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  29. ^ "The Latest: Sam Shields out with shoulder injury". usatoday.com. Associated Press. November 1, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  30. ^ rotowire (November 27, 2015). "Packers' Damarious Randall: Picks up knee injury". cbssports.Com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  31. ^ a b "NFL Player stats: Damarious Randall (2015)". NFL.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  32. ^ "Meanwhile, Casey Hayward is tearing it up". totalpackers.com. September 28, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  33. ^ Tom Silverstein (August 1, 2016). "Quinten Rollins making a strong case to start". PackersNews.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  34. ^ "Packers 2016 Depth Chart Projection for Week 1". acmepackingcompany.com. September 6, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  35. ^ Evan Western (October 24, 2016). "Damarious Randall Injury: Packers CB likely out several weeks after groin surgery". acmepackingcompany.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  36. ^ "NFL Game Center: Week 14-2016: Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers". NFL.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  37. ^ a b "NFL Player stats: Damarious Randall (2016)". NFL.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  38. ^ Evan Western (September 4, 2017). "Packers projected depth chart following 2017 final cuts". acmepackingcompany.com. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  39. ^ a b "NFL Player stats: Damarious Randall (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  40. ^ Zach Kruse (December 22, 2017). "Packers add top cornerback Damarious Randall to injury report". packerswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  41. ^ "Packers trading Damarious Randall for Browns' Kizer". NFL.com. March 9, 2018.
  42. ^ Gribble, Andrew (March 14, 2018). "Browns land versatile DB Damarious Randall, trade QB DeShone Kizer to Green Bay". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  43. ^ Teope, Herbie (April 30, 2018). "Cleveland Browns pick up Damarious Randall's option". NFL.com.
  44. ^ "Browns, Steelers brawl at end of Cleveland's 21-7 win". www.espn.com. November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  45. ^ Crabtree, Curtis (April 3, 2020). "Report: Damarious Randall to sign one-year deal with Raiders". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  46. ^ Gantt, Darin (September 4, 2020). "Raiders releasing Damarious Randall". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  47. ^ Boyle, John (September 30, 2020). "Seahawks Promote Ryan Neal From Practice Squad; Sign Two To Practice Squad". Seahawks.com.
  48. ^ Boyle, John (October 3, 2020). "Seahawks Elevate S Damarious Randall & CB Gavin Heslop From Practice Squad". Seahawks.com. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  49. ^ Boyle, John (October 10, 2020). "Seahawks Elevate Safety Damarious Randall From Practice Squad". Seahawks.com. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  50. ^ Boyle, John (October 21, 2020). "Seahawks Promote Damarious Randall From Practice Squad; Sign Mychal Kendricks To Practice Squad". Seahawks.com. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  51. ^ Boyle, John (January 2, 2021). "Seahawks Activate CB Tre Flowers From IR; Two Placed On Reserve/COVID-19 List". Seahawks.com. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  52. ^ Boyle, John (January 6, 2021). "Seahawks Activate Safety Damarious Randall From COVID-19 List; Sign CB Jordan Miller To Practice Squad". Seahawks.com. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  53. ^ "Seahawks Re-Sign CB Damarious Randall". www.seahawks.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  54. ^ Boyle, John (August 31, 2021). "Seahawks Reduce Roster To 52 Players". Seahawks.com.
  55. ^ "The 2018 NBA Finals were Historically Good and Bad". Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  56. ^ "Browns' Damarious Randall on the hook for millions if Cavs win". ESPN.com. May 29, 2018.
  57. ^ "Damarious Randall now owns most retweeted tweet by athlete". 247sports.com. May 31, 2018.

External links[edit]

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