Darrell Daniels (born November 22, 1994) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. 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 ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and signed with 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2017.

Early life

Daniels played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Freedom High School in

Oakley, California Oakley is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is within the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. The population at the 2020 United States census was 43,357. Oakley was incorporated in 1999, making it the newest incorp ...

. He played

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

his junior year in 2011 and was named the Bay Valley Athletic League (BVAL) MVP. He caught 30 passes for 426 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2011. Daniels recorded 54 receptions, 947 receiving yards, 20 receiving touchdowns, 40 rushing attempts, and 332 rushing yards his senior season in 2012. He also recorded 38 tackles and 2 interceptions as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in 2012. He earned CalHiSports.com Third-team All-State, MaxPreps Second-team Division I All-State and BVAL Co-MVP honors in 2012. Daniels played in the 2013 Semper Fidelis

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 ...

Bowl.

College career

Daniels played for the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

from 2013 to 2016. He played in 11 games in 2013, recording 2 solo tackles and 1 tackle assist. He converted from wide receiver to tight end midway through the year. Daniels played in 11 games, starting 4, in 2014, catching 11 passes for 171 yards and 1 touchdown. He also totaled four solo tackles. He played in 13 games, starting 8, in 2015, catching 19 passes for 250 yards and 1 touchdown. Daniels also recorded four solo tackles and two tackle assists. He played in 14 games, starting 6, in 2016, catching 17 passes for 307 yards and 4 touchdowns. He earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 honors in 2016. He played in 49 games, starting 18, during his college career, catching 47 passes for 728 yards and 5 touchdowns. Daniels also recorded 10 solo tackles and 3 tackle assists.

Professional career

Daniels was rated the 25th best tight end in the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

by NFLDraftScout.com. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com predicted that he would be drafted in the seventh round or be a priority free agent, stating that "Daniels' combination of athletic ability and physical traits figures to land him as a third-day draft pick, but he will have to learn to run routes more effectively as a matchup tight end in the NFL or he will find himself stuck on the practice squad for a couple of seasons." Darrell Daniels

Indianapolis Colts

Daniels signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2017. During the Week 3 31–28 victory against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, he recorded his first career NFL reception, which was a six-yarder.

Seattle Seahawks

On September 1, 2018, Daniels was traded 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

for wide receiver Marcus Johnson. He was waived by the Seahawks on September 25, 2018, and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 3, 2018, following an injury to

Will Dissly Will Dissly (born July 8, 1996) is an American professional football tight end for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks of ...

. He was waived on November 24, 2018.

Arizona Cardinals

On November 26, 2018, Daniels was claimed off waivers by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. On August 31, 2019, Daniels was waived by the Cardinals and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 7, 2019, only to be waived two days later and re-signed back to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on September 21, 2019. He was waived again on September 28, 2019, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted again on October 5. In Week 14 against 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, Daniels forced a fumble on punter Jordan Berry during a fake punt attempt which was recovered by teammate Dennis Gardeck in the 23–17 loss. He was placed on injured reserve on December 28, 2019. In Week 9 of the 2020 season against 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 ...

, Daniels recorded 1 catch for a 21 yard touchdown during the 34–31 loss. This was Daniels' first career touchdown in the NFL. He was placed on injured reserve on November 28, 2020. He was activated on December 19, 2020. On March 25, 2021, Daniel re-signed with the Cardinals to a one-year contract.

Houston Texans

On May 23, 2022, Daniels signed with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. He was released on June 11.

Indianapolis Colts (second stint)

On November 9, 2022, Daniels signed with the practice squad of the

. He was released on November 15.

Detroit Lions

On August 2, 2023, Daniels signed with 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He was released on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 28. He was waived on October 21.

References

External links

Washington Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Darrell 1994 births Living people American football tight ends American football wide receivers Arizona Cardinals players Detroit Lions players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Indianapolis Colts players Players of American football from Pittsburg, California Seattle Seahawks players Washington Huskies football players 21st-century African-American sportsmen