Danny Lee Jesus "D. J." Fluker (born March 13, 1991) 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

. He was selected by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

in the first round of the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

, where he was recognized as an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Early life

Born and raised in the Lower Ninth Ward of

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Fluker and his family left the city in the final hours before

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

roared ashore. They moved to

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

, and later

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, where Fluker attended McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. By eighth grade, he stood 6'3" and weighed 400 pounds, but later lost much of that weight. At McGill-Toolen, Fluker was a dominating defensive lineman. Family issues took Fluker back to Biloxi, for his junior year, where he remained at defensive tackle, after almost giving up on his football career. Prior to his senior year, Fluker moved back to Alabama—this time to the city of Foley. At Foley High School, head coach Todd Watson convinced Fluker to play on the offensive line to exploit his full potential. Foley finished the season with a 7–3 record, including a 24–17 win over Fluker's old McGill-Toolen team. Fluker earned high school All-American honors from ''

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'', ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'',

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, and ''SuperPrep''. He also received an invitation to the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. In addition to football, Fluker was also a member of the Foley

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

team, where he threw the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

, recording a top-throw of 16.27 meters (53 ft 1 in) at the 2009 Mobile Challenge, where he took 4th. Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Fluker was ranked No. 1 among offensive tackle prospects in the nation. Despite growing up an LSU Tigers fan, Fluker committed to Alabama.

College career

Fluker enrolled in the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

, where he was a member of coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. ( ; born October 31, 1951) is an American sportscaster and former Professional gridiron football, professional and college football coach. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's ''College GameDay (football TV program), Colleg ...

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The Alabama Crimson Tide, Crimson Tide competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the Nat ...

team from 2009 to 2012. Projected to play as true freshman at Alabama, he was a candidate to replace All-American Andre Smith at left tackle, although junior college transfer James Carpenter was considered to have better chances, and eventually got the starting nod. Fluker started the season as third-string right tackle, but eventually redshirted his first year. In 2010, Fluker started nine games at right tackle. He missed three games with an injury midseason. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

, Fluker started all 13 games for the Crimson Tide at right tackle on their way to the BCS National Championship victory over the LSU Tigers. As a junior, he started all 14 games at right tackle as Alabama repeated as BCS National Champions, this time against Notre Dame. He was selected Walter Camp and

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second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC. He has graded out at 98.6 percent on blocking assignments. Since he had graduated and was in his fourth year, Fluker was granted eligibity by 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 ...

to participate in the 2013 Senior Bowl.

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

The

selected Fluker in the first round (11th overall) of the

. He was the third of nine Crimson Tide players to be selected that year. He was the fourth Alabama offensive lineman selected in the first round within five years, after Andre Smith (

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

), James Carpenter (

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 ...

), and Chance Warmack (

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 ...

). During his rookie year, Fluker started in 15 games and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. In the 2014 season, he started all sixteen games for the first time in his professional career. For the 2015 season, he moved from right tackle to right guard. In the 2015 season, he started in 12 games and recovered one fumble. He missed some time on the season due to an ankle injury. In the 2016 season, he started in all 16 games. On March 7, 2017, Fluker was released by the Chargers, who had relocated to Los Angeles.

New York Giants

On March 11, 2017, Fluker signed a one-year, $3 million contract with 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He played in nine games, starting six at right guard before hurting his toe in Week 11 against 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on November 27, 2017.

Seattle Seahawks

On March 20, 2018, Fluker was signed by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. He played in 10 games, starting nine at right guard. On March 14, 2019, Fluker signed a two-year, $9 million contract extension with the Seahawks. He appeared in and started 14 regular season games and both of the Seahawks' playoff games in the 2019 season. Fluker was released by the Seahawks on April 27, 2020.

Baltimore Ravens

On May 11, 2020, Fluker was signed by 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 ...

. He was placed on the reserve/

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list by the team on November 28, 2020, and activated two days later. He appeared in all 16 regular season games and started eight. He appeared in the Ravens' two playoff games.

Miami Dolphins

Fluker signed with the

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

on April 20, 2021. He was placed on injured reserve on July 29, 2021, after undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus. He was released on August 2, 2021. Fluker was suspended six weeks by the NFL on September 15, 2021, and reinstated on October 19.

Las Vegas Raiders (first stint)

On October 20, 2021, Fluker was signed 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 ...

of the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

. He was released on December 2, 2021.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 31, 2021, Fluker was signed to 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

practice squad, but was released three days later.

Las Vegas Raiders (second stint)

On December 11, 2023, Fluker was signed to the Raiders practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024, but released on April 5.

DC Defenders

On March 6, 2025, Fluker signed with the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

of the United Football League (UFL). He was released on March 20, 2025.

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fluker, Dj 1991 births Living people Players of American football from New Orleans American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Alabama Crimson Tide football players San Diego Chargers players New York Giants players Seattle Seahawks players Baltimore Ravens players Miami Dolphins players Las Vegas Raiders players Jacksonville Jaguars players