LaBryan Ray (born December 5, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

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for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

. He has been a member of the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

and Philadelphia Stars.

Early years

Ray attended

James Clemens High School James Clemens High School is a public high school in Madison, Alabama, United States. The school is a part of Madison, Alabama#Education, Madison City Schools. The school is named after James Clemens, the founder of Madison, Alabama. James Clem ...

Madison, Alabama Madison is a city located primarily in Madison County, Alabama, Madison County, near the northern border of the U.S. state of Alabama. Madison extends west into neighboring Limestone County, Alabama, Limestone County. The city is included in th ...

. He was a five-star recruit and received offers from Alabama,

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Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

College career

In his freshman season, Ray played in only six games due to suffering a foot injury. He recorded five tackles, 2.5 tackles for losses, and one sack for the season. In his second year, he played in all 15 games, and started one of them. In 2020, he recorded 39 tackles, which included 5.5 for losses, and 2.5 sacks. He also recorded two pass deflections, and two

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

hurries. He later suffered a season-ending lower leg injury in a game against South Carolina. He recorded nine tackles, 1.5 of which were for losses, one sack, and one forced fumble on the year. He was redshirted at the end of the season.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Ray was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent on May 9, 2022. He was waived on August 30, 2022, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 10, 2023. He was waived on February 17.

Philadelphia Stars

Ray signed with the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL on May 3, 2023. Ray finished the

2023 USFL season The 2023 USFL season was the second season of the United States Football League (2022), United States Football League. The regular season started on April 15 and ended on June 18. The postseason began on June 24 and ended with the 2023 USFL champ ...

with 10 tackles and 3 sacks through 7 games with 5 starts. He was released from his contract on July 29, 2023, to sign with an NFL team.

Carolina Panthers

On July 31, 2023, Ray signed with the

. On January 8, 2024, the Panthers signed Ray to a one-year contract extension. On April 21, 2025, Ray re-signed with the Panthers.

NFL career statistics

Legal issues

On January 11, 2019, Ray refused to leave an establishment located in a shopping center, due to him being intoxicated. He was subsequently arrested, and transferred to the Tuscaloosa County Jail, where he was held on a $500 bond.

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bio

Alabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, LaBryan Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen People from Madison, Alabama Players of American football from Madison County, Alabama American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Alabama Crimson Tide football players Carolina Panthers players New England Patriots players 1997 births Philadelphia Stars (2022) players