Cameron Dantzler Sr. (born September 3, 1998) is an

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 ...

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

of the

National Football League 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 ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

and was selected in the third round of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

by the

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 ...

Early years

Dantzler attended Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in

Hammond, Louisiana Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States, located east of Baton Rouge and northwest of New Orleans. Its population was 20,019 in the 2010 U.S. census, and 21,359 at the 2020 population estimates program. Hammo ...

. He played cornerback and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

in high school. As a senior, he passed for 1,381 yards and 11

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

and rushed for 1,901 yards and 26 touchdowns. He committed to

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

to play college football.

College career

Dantzler

redshirted 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 ...

his true freshman season at Mississippi State. He played in all 13 of the Bulldogs' games as a redshirt freshman, finishing the season with 25 tackles (two for loss) with four passes defended and an interception. Dantzler entered his redshirt sophomore season as a starter, finishing the season with 43 tackles (two for loss), a sack, two interceptions and a team-leading 11 passes defended and was named second-team All-SEC 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. n ...

. Additionally, Dantzler was one of only four cornerbacks in the conference not to surrender a touchdown pass and had a 41.1 passer rating allowed according to

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 ...

. Dantzler entered his redshirt junior season on the watchlists for the Bednarik, Nagurski and

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 ...

s and was named a preseason All-American by

Phil Steele Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, pr ...

. After a 2019 season where he had 2 interceptions and 10 passes defend, Dantzler decided to forgo his last year of eligibility and declared for the

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Dantzler was drafted in the third round (89th overall) by the

in the

. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

list by the team on October 28, 2020, and activated three days later.

2020 season

Heading into his first training camp, Dantzler was listed as a starting cornerback opposite Mike Hughes. He faced competition from fellow rookie

Jeff Gladney Jeff Gee Gladney (December 12, 1996 – May 30, 2022) was an American football cornerback of the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons. He played college football at the Texas Christian University and was a twice all-conference sel ...

for his starting job. At the end of training camp, head coach

Mike Zimmer Michael Zimmer (born June 5, 1956) is an American football coach for the Colorado Buffaloes. Prior to this, Zimmer was with Jackson State, both college programs being led by Deion Sanders. He previously also served as the head coach of the Minn ...

named Dantzler the starting left cornerback opposite Hughes. Dantzler made his first career start and NFL debut in the Vikings' season-opening 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 ...

. He recorded four tackles in the 34-43 loss. Dantzler missed Weeks 2 and 3 with a rib injury before returning as a starter in Week 4 against the Houston Texans, recording four tackles in the 31-23 win. Dantzler started in the Vikings' Week 5 and Week 6 games against 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 ...

and Atlanta Falcons, but was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list after coming into close contact with a teammate who tested positive for the virus. He missed Week 7 before returning in the Vikings' Week 8 win against the Packers. Dantzler started the game and recorded 2 solo tackles before being carted off the field and taken to the hospital due to a serious neck injury. However, he was able to return in time for the Vikings' Week 11 contest against 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 the Vikings' Week 13 contest 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 ...

, Dantzler recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by

Mike Glennon Michael Joseph Glennon (born December 12, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at NC State and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also ...

and forced a fumble on

Chris Conley Christopher Lane Conley (born February 29, 1980) is an American musician who is the lead-singer/rhythm guitarist of the rock band Saves the Day. He was the only remaining original member as well as major artistic contributor throughout their ca ...

which he also recovered during the 27–24 overtime win. Dantzler finished his rookie season appearing in 11 games (10 starts) and recording 2 interceptions, 46 combined tackles, four passes defended, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

2021 season

In a surprise move, the Vikings chose to make Dantzler a healthy inactive in the 2021 season opener against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

. Following Week 3, head coach

stated he would be speaking with Dantzler over the latter venting his frustration over his lack of playing time on his Twitter account.

2022 season

On November 12, 2022, Dantzler was placed on injured reserve due to an ankle injury and was later reactivated on December 10. He was released by the Vikings on March 10, 2023.

Washington Commanders

On March 13, 2023, Dantzler was claimed off waivers by the

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

. He was released on May 30, 2023.

Buffalo Bills

On June 7, 2023, Dantzler was signed by the

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

to a one year contract. On July 27, 2023, Dantzler was released with an injury designation.

Houston Texans

On August 22, 2023, Dantzler signed with the Houston Texans. He was waived on August 29, 2023.

New Orleans Saints

On September 20, 2023, Dantzler signed with the

practice squad.

References

External links

New Orleans Saints bioMississippi State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dantzler, Cameron 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Hammond, Louisiana Players of American football from Louisiana American football cornerbacks Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Minnesota Vikings players Washington Commanders players Buffalo Bills players Houston Texans players New Orleans Saints players