Alterraun Ennis Verner (born December 13, 1988) 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 wit ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

. He played college football for the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

(UCLA). He was drafted by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

in the fourth round of the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the fir ...

. He has also played for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

and

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 pl ...

High school career

Verner attended

Mayfair High School Mayfair High School is a middle and high school in the Bellflower Unified School District in the city of Lakewood, California. The school first opened in 1959. The student population is approximately 3616 in grades 7 through 12. Mayfair serves s ...

Lakewood, California Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 80,048 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, a ...

, where he played wide receiver, defensive back, linebacker, and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. As a senior, he had 50 receptions for 907 yards and 13 touchdowns. On defense, he made 56 tackles and four interceptions (one returned for a 102-yard touchdown). Verner earned second-team All-

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CI ...

honors and was selected to play in Shrine All-Star Game. He played for legendary coach Andrew Slome. Verner also lettered all four seasons 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 ...

for coach Josh Barker. Prior to high school, Verner won a silver medal in the 1500 meters at the 1997 California State Game, and placed fourth in the 4×100 relay at the 2000 USATF Youth Nationals. As a freshman at Mayfair, he was selected as the team's Most Valuable Performer, and was the league champ in both the 110m and 300m hurdle (45.0) events. As a sophomore, he was the league champ in 4x400 relay, second in 110m high hurdles and high jump (6-2). As a junior, he served as team co-captain, earning Suburban League Academic All-League honors. He was the league champ in the high jump (6-4) and relay. As a senior, he had bests of 6-6 (1.98m) in the high jump, 20-10 (6.37m) in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, 10.7 in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

and 39.70 in the 300m hurdles. An excellent student, Verner held a 4.17

GPA Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

and achieved a 1740

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

score. He also served as a peer tutor to his high school football team in the subjects of math and history. Considered a three-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heck ...

, Verner was listed as the No. 49 cornerback prospect in the nation. He chose UCLA over

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifi ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

College career

In his

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

year at UCLA, Verner finished fourth among Bruins with 59 tackles and third on the team with two interceptions, while leading the team with 123 interception yards and two touchdowns. He was named co-Freshman of the Year for the Pac-10 Conference (alongside

Jairus Byrd Jairus Keelon Byrd (born October 7, 1986) is a former American football free safety. He played college football for the University of Oregon. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He is a three-time Pro B ...

and

Taylor Mays Taylor Mays (born February 7, 1988) is a former American football safety. He won Washington state titles in track in both the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash as a high school sophomore, before leaving track and field to dedicate himself to foo ...

), and was selected first-team Freshman All-America by

College Football News ''College Football News'' (''CFN'') is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includ ...

and Scripps/FWAA, as well as second-team by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'', Scout.com, and Rivals.com. As a sophomore, Verner appeared in all 13 games, while starting 10, and ranked fourth on the team with 75 tackles. He finished with 15 pass breakups and four interceptions. In his junior year, Verner was a starter in all 12 games, and was second on the team in tackles with 73. He was selected to the second-team All-Pac-10 squad chosen by the league's coaches. In November 2009, Verner was named one of the twelve semifinalists for the 2009

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Payc ...

. In his senior year, he started in all 13 games and finished with 72 tackles, of which 51 were solo. He also had five interceptions and 158 interception return yards, with one of them resulting in a touchdown. He also had another defensive touchdown as a fumble recovery. In 2011, Verner returned to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

during the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

off-season to complete his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics. He graduated later that year with a degree in mathematics/applied science.

Professional career

Verner attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

and performed all of the combine and positional drills. On March 30, 2010, he attended UCLA's pro day and ran all of the combine drills again, but opted to skip the short shuttle and three-cone drill. He was able to earn better times in the 40-yard dash (4.52s) and 20-yard dash (2.63s), while also adding height to his vertical (32.5"). At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, he was projected to be a fourth or fifth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 18th best cornerback prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and was also ranked the 24th best cornerback prospect in the draft by WalterFootball.com.

Tennessee Titans

The

selected Verner in the fourth round (104th overall) of the

. He was the 13th cornerback drafted in 2010. The Tennessee Titans traded running back

LenDale White LenDale Anthony White (born December 20, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (45th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks and Den ...

, defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson, their fourth round pick (111th overall) in 2010, and their sixth round pick (185th overall) in 2010 to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

in exchange for the Seahawks' fourth (104th overall) and sixth round picks (176th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft. The Titans selected quarterback Rusty Smith with their sixth round pick, while Seattle drafted

Walter Thurmond Walter Riley Thurmond III (born August 12, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He won Supe ...

and

Anthony McCoy Robert Anthony McCoy (born December 28, 1987) is a former American football tight end. He was selected by Seattle in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at USC. Early life McCoy attended Bullard High School in Fre ...

2010

On June 15, 2010, the Tennessee Titans signed Verner to a four-year, $3.16 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to ...

and also include a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $790,035. Throughout training camp, Verner competed for a job as a starting cornerback against veterans

Jason McCourty Jason McCourty (born August 13, 1987) is a former American football cornerback who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round, 203rd overall, in the 2009 NFL Draft, he also played f ...

and Ryan Mouton. Head coach

Jeff Fisher Jeffrey Michael Fisher (born February 25, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach and general manager for the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL). He is a former cornerback and return specialist. He ...

named Verner the third cornerback on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind veterans

Cortland Finnegan Cortland Temujin Finnegan (born February 2, 1984) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Samford, and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Finnegan also played for t ...

and Jason McCourty. He made his professional regular season debut in the Tennessee Titans' season-opener against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

and was credited with two tackles in their 38–13 victory. The following week, Verner and teammate Patrick Bailey tackled

Antonio Brown Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent, and an American rapper. Raised in Liberty City, Miami, Brown attended Miami Norland High School. He played college ...

during an 18-yard return for Verner's first physical tackle of his career during a 19–11 loss to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

. He finished the game with two combined tackles. On October 3, 2010, Verner earned his first career start after Jason McCourty suffered a broken right forearm the previous week and would have to undergo surgery. McCourty missed the next four games (Weeks 4–7). Verner finished his first start with a season-high 11 solo tackles and three pass deflections during a 26–20 loss to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. The following week, Verner made nine combined tackles, a pass deflection, and made his first career interception off a pass by

Tony Romo Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illin ...

in the Titans' 34–27 victory at 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

in Week 5. His interception occurred in the fourth quarter off a screen pass originally intended for tight end

Martellus Bennett Martellus Demond Bennett (born March 10, 1987) is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at Texas A&M and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second ...

. In Week 14, Verner collected 12 combined tackles (ten solo) in the Titans' 30–28 loss to the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 20 ...

. The following week, Verner made ten combined tackles (four solo), deflected a pass, and intercepted a pass by

Matt Schaub Matthew Schaub (born June 25, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the ...

during a 31–17 victory to the Houston Texans. He finished his rookie season with 101 combined tackles (85 solo), 11 pass deflections, three interceptions, and a forced fumble in 16 games and 12 starts.

2011

On January 28, 2011, the Tennessee Titans announced the firing of head coach Jeff Fisher after they finished fourth in the

AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned ...

with a 6–10 record in 2010. Defensive coordinator

Jerry Gray Jerry Don Gray (born December 16, 1962) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Gray played college footbal ...

held a competition between Verner and McCourty to name a starting cornerback. Head coach

Mike Munchak Michael Anthony Munchak (born March 5, 1960) is an American professional football coach and former player. A graduate of Penn State, Munchak played left guard for the Houston Oilers from 1982 until 1993 and was a nine-time selection to the Pro ...

named Verner the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind Cortland Finnegan and Jason McCourty. In Week 2, Verner made one tackle, broke up a pass, and intercepted quarterback

Joe Flacco Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Delaware after transferring from Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Balt ...

in the Titans' 26–13 victory against 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 ...

. On December 11, 2011, Verner collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (nine solo) during a 22–17 loss to 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in Week 14. Verner finished the season with 49 combined tackles (43 solo), eight pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and three starts.

2012

Verner entered training camp in 2012 slated as a starting cornerback after

departed in free agency. Head coach Mike Munchak officially named Verner and McCourty the starting cornerbacks to open the regular season, ahead of Ryan Mouton and Coty Sensabaugh. He started the Tennessee Titans' season-opener against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and recorded nine combined tackles in their 34–13 loss. The following week, Verner collected six combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by

Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was s ...

during a 38–10 loss at the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in Week 2. On December 30, 2012, Verner collected a season-high ten combined tackles (eight solo) in the Titans' 38–20 victory against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

in Week 17. He finished the season with 81 combined tackles (64 solo), nine pass deflections, two interceptions, and a forced fumble in 16 games and 16 starts. The Tennessee Titans did not qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season after finishing last in their division with a 6–10 record.

2013

During minicamp, defensive coordinator Jerry Gray chose to try Verner at free safety. He returned to his job at starting cornerback in training camp and saw minor competition from Coty Sensabaugh,

Blidi Wreh-Wilson Blidi Bertrand Wreh-Wilson ( ; born December 5, 1989) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at University of Connecticu ...

, and Tommie Campbell. Head coach Mike Munchak retained Verner and McCourty as the starting cornerback duo to open the 2013 season. He started in the Tennessee Titans' season-opener at the

and recorded three combined tackles, two pass deflections, and an interception in their 16–9 victory. In Week 2, he made six combined tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, an interception, and scored his first career touchdown in the Titans' 30–24 loss at the Houston Texans. During the fourth quarter, Verner intercepted a pass by quarterback

, that was intended for

DeAndre Hopkins DeAndre Rashaun Hopkins (born June 6, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first roun ...

, and returned it 23-yards to mark the first touchdown of his career. On September 29, 2013, Verner recorded two tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted two pass attempts by

Geno Smith Eugene Cyril "Geno" Smith III (born October 10, 1990) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at West Virginia, leading the Mountaineers to multiple bowl gam ...

in their 38–13 victory. It marked Verner's first game of his career with multiple interceptions. On December 8, 2013, Verner collected a season-high nine combined tackles and broke up two passes in the Titans' 51–28 loss at the

in Week 14. On December 27, 2013, Verner was announced as one of the players voted to the 2014 Pro Bowl. It marked Verner's first career Pro Bowl selection. He was voted second-team All-Pro and became the first Titans player to be selected for the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

since 2010. He finished the season with 57 combined tackles (49 solo), a career-high 22 pass deflections, a career-high five interceptions, and a touchdown in 16 games and 16 starts. Pro Football Focus gave Verner the 12th highest overall grade among cornerbacks in 2013. On March 3, 2014, it was reported by the Tennessean that the Tennessee Titans elected to not use their franchise tag on Alterraun Verner. The Titans and Verner attempted to work on a long-term deal, but were unable to agree to terms on a contract. Verner was considered as a top free agent and reportedly drew interest from multiple teams, including the New York Jets,

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

, and 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) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

among others.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 11, 2014, the

signed Verner to a four-year, $25.75 million contract that includes $14 million guaranteed.

2014

Verner entered training camp slated as the No. 1 cornerback on the Buccaneers' depth chart, replacing recently departed Pro Bowler

Darrelle Revis Darrelle Shavar Revis (born July 14, 1985) is an American former football cornerback who played in National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college football at Pittsburgh and was selected in ...

. Verner was sidelined for a portion of training camp and the preseason due to a hamstring injury. Head coach

Lovie Smith Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 to 2016, he served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an ...

officially named Verner the starter to begin the regular season, alongside Mike Jenkins. On October 5, 2014, Verner made a season-high three pass deflections, five combined tackles, and intercepted a pass by

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...

during a 37–31 loss at the

in Week 5. He was sidelined for two games (Weeks 10–11) after suffering a hamstring injury. On December 21, 2014, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles in the Buccaneers' 20–3 loss to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

in Week 16. He finished his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 76 combined tackles (58 solo), nine pass deflections, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles in 14 games and 14 starts.

2015

Defensive coordinator

Leslie Frazier Leslie Antonio Frazier (born April 3, 1959) is an American football coach and former cornerback who is the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the he ...

retained Alterraun Verner and

Johnthan Banks Johnthan Shuntay Banks (born October 3, 1989) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Mississippi State, where he received All-America honors. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of th ...

as the starting cornerback duo to start the 2015 regular season. He started the first two regular season games before losing his job to Tim Jennings and was demoted to being the fourth cornerback on the depth chart, behind

Tim Jennings Timothy DeShawn Jennings (born December 24, 1983) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Georgia, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Jennings has also played f ...

, Mike Jenkins, and Johnthan Banks. After losing his job, he began competing against Sterling Moore to be the Buccaneers' nickelback. On November 8, 2015, Verner collected a season-high eight solo tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest son o ...

during a 32–18 loss at the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

in Week 9. He finished his second season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 56 combined tackles (45 solo), four pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and six starts. He received a career-low overall grade of 42.6 from Pro Football Focus for the season.

2016

On January 6, 2016, it was reported that Buccaneers' general manager Jason Licht fired head coach

after the Buccaneers finished fourth in their division with a 6–10 record. Throughout training camp, he competed for a job as the starting cornerback against

Brent Grimes Brent Omar Grimes (born July 19, 1983) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Shippensburg University and signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2006. Grimes was allocated to the Hamburg ...

and rookie first round pick

Vernon Hargreaves Vernon Hargreaves III (born June 3, 1995) is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Florida and was drafted 11th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2016 NFL Draft. Early years Ha ...

. Defensive coordinator Mike Smith named Verner the starting cornerback, opposite Brent Grimes, to start the regular season. He started the first two games, but was later demoted to being the fourth cornerback on Tampa Bay's depth chart. He was listed on the depth chart behind Brent Grimes, Vernon Hargreaves, and Jude Adjei-Barimah. In Week 11, he collected a season-high three solo tackles and two pass deflections during a 19–17 win at the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

. On November 27, 2016, Verner chose to play in the Buccaneers' Week 12 matchup against the

after having his father die two days prior from a sudden heart attack. He finished the Bucs' 14–5 victory with two combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

. He finished the season with 16 combined tackles (15 solo), seven pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and three starts.

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

gave him an overall grade of 76.6, ranking 48th among all qualified cornerbacks in 2016.

2017

On February 23, 2017, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers released Verner to clear $6.5 million in cap space.

Miami Dolphins

On July 25, 2017, the

signed Verner to a one-year, $980,000 contract with an $80,000 signing bonus. Throughout training camp, he competed for a job as a starting cornerback against

Xavien Howard Xavien Howard (born July 4, 1993) is an American football cornerback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Baylor and was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Dolphins. ...

Byron Maxwell Byron S. Maxwell (born February 23, 1988) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, where he was a member of the Seahawks' defensive group known as the Legion of Bo ...

, Bobby McCain, Tony Lippett, and Cordrea Tankersley. Head coach

Adam Gase Adam Joseph Gase (born March 29, 1978) is a former American football coach in the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos from 2013 to 2014, whose offense set the NFL record fo ...

named Verner the fourth cornerback on the Dolphins' depth chart to start the season, behind Xavien Howard, Byron Maxwell, and Bobby McCain. On November 26, 2017, Verner recorded a season-high three solo tackles during a 35–17 loss at the

. In Week 14, he had a season-high two pass deflections and three combined tackles in the Dolphins' 27–20 win against the New England Patriots. He finished the season with 15 combined tackles (12 solo) and four pass deflections in 16 games and two starts. Pro Football Focus gave Verner an overall grade of 50.7 for the 2017 season.

Retirement

On March 18, 2019, Verner announced his retirement from the

. On April 16, 2019, Verner signed a one-day contract to retire as a Tennessee Titan.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Tennessee Titans bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verner, Alterraun 1988 births Living people American football cornerbacks Miami Dolphins players People from Lakewood, California Players of American football from California Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Sportspeople from Orange, California Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Tennessee Titans players UCLA Bruins football players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players