Dannell Antonio Ellerbe (born November 29, 1985) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

. He was signed by the

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

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

in 2009 and has also played for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. He played college football at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Early years

Ellerbe attended Richmond Senior High School in

Rockingham, North Carolina Rockingham is a city in Richmond County, North Carolina, United States, named after the Marquess of Rockingham. The population was 9,558 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Richmond County. The city is the home of Rockingham Speedway, f ...

, where he was a two-sport star in football and track. He was named All-State by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

. He was named the Defensive MVP of the 2003 Shrine Bowl (NC-SC All-Star Game), in which he had nine tackles, three pass break-ups, and one interception. He made 124 tackles and five sacks as a junior and 165

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

and nine sacks as a senior. Regarded as a four-star recruit by ''

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

.com'', Ellerbe was listed as the No. 7 outside linebacker nationally. He also lettered in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, recording a 1.98-meter (6 ft, 6 in) high jump as a junior. In addition, he also ran a 4.4-second

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...

, bench-pressed 280 pounds, squatted 480 and had a 42-inch

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

College career

Ellerbe went to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

for five years. He played for four seasons after a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

freshman year. During his SEC career, he played in 43 games, totaling 148 tackles, 8.5 sacks, three interceptions, two recovered fumbles, and one forced fumble.

Awards

Earned 2nd-team All-SEC honors by the Associated Press,

Southeastern conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

coaches and Rivals.com as a junior. Accepted invitation to play in 2009 East-West Shrine game after his senior season.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Ellerbe was signed as an undrafted free agent during the 2009 season by the

. He had a large role that year for the Ravens. While starting three games, he recorded 41 tackles and an interception which he returned 28 yards in a Week 17 win against the Oakland Raiders. In a 2010 preseason win against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

, Ellerbe returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown but was yelled at on the sidelines by head coach

John Harbaugh John William Harbaugh (born September 23, 1962) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia Eagles and served ...

for showboating. Ellerbe had held the ball in front of him twice during the return. Ellerbe made the roster as a backup

behind

Jameel McClain Jameel Lashawn McClain (born July 25, 1985) is a former American football linebacker who is currently the Director of Player Engagement for the Baltimore Ravens. After playing college football for Syracuse University, he was signed by the Ravens a ...

, who also was signed by

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

as an undrafted free agent. Dannell Ellerbe's tackles dropped to 31, but he recorded his first career sack. In 2011, Ellerbe played in 9 games, starting 3 in Ray Lewis' absence due to injury. He recorded 19 tackles. Going into the 2012 season as a restricted free agent, Ellerbe was re-signed to a one-year, $1.927 million contract. On November 9, 2012, Ellerbe was fined $10,000 for his hit on

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

running back

Trent Richardson Trenton Jamond Richardson (born July 10, 1990) is an American football running back for the Caudillos de Chihuahua of Fútbol Americano de México. He played college football for the University of Alabama, was recognized as an All-American, an ...

in Week 9. On January 20, 2013, in the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots, Ellerbe intercepted a pass from

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

that had been tipped by

Pernell McPhee Pernell McPhee (born December 17, 1988) is an American football outside linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Ravens in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Mississippi State. He has also played for the Chicago ...

in the 4th quarter with 6:49 remaining in the game. This was one of the three turnovers by the Patriots that allowed the Ravens to win 28-13 and advance to

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

, where they would defeat the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

34-31.

Miami Dolphins

Ellerbe signed with the

on March 12, 2013. In his first season with the Dolphins, he finished the year with 101 total tackles, 2 interceptions, and 1 sack. The 2014 season was a wash for Ellerbe as he was on injured reserve for the majority of the season.

New Orleans Saints

On March 13, 2015, Ellerbe was traded along with a third round pick to the

in exchange for wide receiver

Kenny Stills Kenneth Lee Stills Jr. (born April 22, 1992) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma and was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Early years ...

. Ellerbe was injured most of the year, but recorded 13 tackles and forced a fumble in a Week 5 game against the Atlanta Falcons. In 2016 he played in 9 games and was credited with 4 sacks. On July 25, 2017, Ellerbe was placed on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury. He was released on August 25, 2017.

Philadelphia Eagles

On November 12, 2017, Ellerbe signed with the

, reuniting him with former teammates

Corey Graham Corey Dewayne Graham (born July 25, 1985) is a former American football free safety. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at New Hampshire. He played for the Baltimore Ravens, ...

and

Torrey Smith Torrey may refer to: * Torrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Torrey, Utah * Torrey, New York See also * , a supertanker wrecked off Cornwall in 1967 * Torrey pine * Torrey Pines High School * Torrey Pines Golf Course * Torre ...

. Ellerbe won his second

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...

when the Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33 in

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conferen ...

NFL statistics

References

External links

*
Philadelphia Eagles bioBaltimore Ravens bioGeorgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellerbe, Dannell 1985 births Living people People from Hamlet, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina American football linebackers Georgia Bulldogs football players Baltimore Ravens players Miami Dolphins players New Orleans Saints players Philadelphia Eagles players