Sterling Moore (born February 3, 1990) is an American former 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

and coach who is a defensive assistant for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

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

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

Early life

Moore attended Deer Valley High School, where he played as a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. He also practiced basketball. He moved on to

Laney College Laney College is a public community college in Oakland, California. Laney is the largest of the four colleges of the Peralta Community College District which serves northern Alameda County. Laney College is named after Joseph Clarence Laney. ...

, where he became a starter at

, appearing in 10 games as a freshman, while making 30 tackles, five interceptions, 9 passes defensed and one forced fumble. The next year, he received All-JUCO honors. After his sophomore season, he transferred to

. He finished his college career after appearing in 19 games, while posting 59 tackles, 2 interceptions, 18 passes defensed, 2 sacks and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

On July 28,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, he was signed by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He was waived on September 3 and re-signed the next day to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was released on September 26.

New England Patriots

On October 5,

, he was signed by 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 ...

to their practice squad. On October 15, he was signed to the active roster and made his NFL debut against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

on November 13, starting every snap at

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the Patriots. On December 10, 2011, Moore was released by New England. On December 14, 2011, he was re-signed to the Patriots practice squad and on December 23, 2011, he was promoted to the active roster. On January 1, 2012, in Week 17 of the 2011–12 NFL season, Moore recorded two interceptions against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, returning one for a touchdown. Late in the AFC Championship against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, as the Ravens were driving toward a potential game clinching touchdown, Moore struck Lee Evans' arm on a pass to the end zone, almost certainly preventing a touchdown that could have sent the Ravens to Super Bowl XLVI. After the incomplete pass,

Billy Cundiff William Ambrose Cundiff (born March 30, 1980) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Drake University, and was signed by ...

missed a game-tying field goal as the Patriots went on to win 23–20, earning for Moore an AFC Championship ring. On October 31,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, he was waived and re-signed to the Patriots practice squad two days later.

Dallas Cowboys

On November 30,

, he was signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

from the

practice squad to replace an injured Orlando Scandrick. He played in the last five games of the season mostly in passing situations. Moore was released on August 31,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, in favor of rookie fourth round draft choice B. W. Webb. The team brought him back on November 25, to play as the fourth corner in passing situations. In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, after being mostly relegated to a reserve role during his career, he was named the team's nickel back during Orlando Scandrick's suspension and kept the role after Morris Claiborne suffered a season ending knee injury. He played in 16 games (7 starts), registered 49 tackles and led all Cowboys defensive backs with 14 passes defensed.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 19,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Moore signed with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. He was used as the nickel cornerback in the first four games of the season, before being passed on the depth chart by Alterraun Verner and moved to a backup role. He was named the starting left cornerback in the seventh game of the season and had eight starts, before coming from the bench in the season finale. He registered 45 tackles, one interception, 6 passes defended, and 3 forced fumbles.

Buffalo Bills

Moore signed with the

on April 5,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. On September 2, he was released as part of final roster cuts.

New Orleans Saints

On September 6,

, Moore was signed by the

to replace the recently released Cortland Finnegan. He played in 13 games with 12 starts for the Saints, recording career-highs with 56 tackles, 13 passes defensed along with two interceptions. On March 23, 2017, Moore re-signed with the Saints. With the emergence of their younger cornerbacks, the Saints released Moore on October 25, 2017. He was re-signed on November 20, 2017. He was released again on December 14, 2017. He was re-signed on December 21, 2017.

Detroit Lions

On August 20, 2018, Moore signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He was released on August 31, 2018.

Arizona Hotshots

Moore was signed by the Arizona Hotshots of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

on January 17, 2019. The league ceased operations in April 2019. In October 2019, Moore was selected by the Seattle Dragons in the 10th round during phase 4 of the 2020 XFL draft.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching career

New Orleans Saints

In March 2022, Moore joined the

coaching staff as a defensive assistant.

References

External links

SMU Mustangs bioTampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Sterling 1990 births Living people American football cornerbacks American football safeties Arizona Hotshots players Buffalo Bills players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players Laney Eagles football players New England Patriots players New Orleans Saints players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Antioch, California SMU Mustangs football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New Orleans Saints coaches Coaches of American football from California