Dante Trader Jr. (born February 13, 2003) 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 ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

and was selected by the Dolphins in the fifth round of the

2025 NFL draft The 2025 NFL draft was the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Lambeau Field and its adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025 ...

Early life

Trader grew up in

Delmar, Delaware Delmar is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States, on the Maryland border along the Transpeninsular Line. Its motto is "The Little Town Too Big for One State." The population was 1,597 at the 2010 census, an increase of 13.5% over t ...

and attended Delmar Senior High School before transferring to

McDonogh School McDonogh School is a private, coeducational, PK-12, non-denominational school situated on an 800-acre campus in Owings Mills, Maryland, United States. McDonogh enrolls 1,460 students, approximately 75 of whom participate in the Upper School's ...

during his junior year. He committed to the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

on November 19, 2019.

College career

Trader committed to Maryland to play in both lacrosse and football but, chose to play football instead of lacrosse for his freshman year. In his first season, Trader appeared in 12 out of the 13 games and had 16 total tackles (12 of which were solo), one tackle for loss, and one pass breakup. Trader returned to Maryland for his sophomore year and was expected to be a leader of the safeties group of the team with teammate

Beau Brade Beau Brade (born January 29, 2002) is an American professional American football, football Safety (gridiron football position), safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland Terrapin ...

. The stats for his sophomore year were 62 total tackles (34 solo), four defended passes, and two

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

with 46 total yards for the interception returns. Following the regular season, Trader played in his first Bowl Game the 2022 Duke's Mayo Bowl. Following the Bowl game Trader announced that he was planning to join the

Maryland Terrapins Men's Lacrosse The Maryland Terrapins men's lacrosse team represents the University of Maryland, College Park, University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (NCAA), Division I college lacrosse, lacrosse as a member of the B ...

. In the lacrosse season, he had 14 turnovers caused by the team (third most on the team), 16 shots on the goal with a total of five goals and seven points, 17 groundballs, and four turnovers to the other team. For his junior year, he was again projected along with his teammate Brade to be leaders of the safeties group. In the regular season, Trader has had 52 total tackles (37 solo), two interceptions for 21 yards, and five pass deflections.

Professional career

Trader was selected in the fifth round, with the 155th pick of the

by the

References

External links

Miami Dolphins bioMaryland Terrapins football bioMaryland Terrapins lacrosse bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trader Jr., Dante 2003 births Living people Players of American football from Delaware Sportspeople from Sussex County, Delaware American football safeties Maryland Terrapins football players Maryland Terrapins lacrosse Miami Dolphins players