David Lamont Long Jr. (born October 12, 1996) is an American professional football

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

. He played college football at

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

Early life

When Long was seven years old, he was on the back of a bike being pedaled by his older brother when he was hit by a car driven by someone who was not paying attention. He was treated at the hospital with head and arm injuries. He attended

Winton Woods High School Winton Woods High School is a public high school located in Forest Park, just north of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Winton Woods City School District. Winton Woods High School serves about 1,560 students from ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

and finished his career with 283 career

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...

, six

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), an Ir ...

s, and six

interception 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 ...

s. Long was a high school teammate of safety Mike Edwards, who was selected by 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 ...

in the third round of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April ...

College career

Long

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 ...

in 2015 and made his collegiate debut as a redshirt freshman for the 2016 team in the season-opener against

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

on September 3 with four tackles as a reserve. Long missed the first month of the season due to a summer knee injury. As a redshirt sophomore for the 2017 Mountaineers, his best statistics were his 18-tackle (including a school record 7 for a loss (meaning the offense lost yardage as a result of his tackle)) effort against the

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National Col ...

on October 28 and his 2.5-quarterback sack performance in the December 26,

2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl The 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 26, 2017, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. It was one of the 2017–18 bowl games concluding the 2017 FBS football season. The 8th edition of the ...

against the

Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' ...

. Among his best games as a redshirt junior for the 2018 team were his 15-tackle (3 for a loss) effort against

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas ...

on September 29 and his 3-sack performance on November 10 against

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

. That season, he was named as a 2018 first-team

All-Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

selection and as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, after leading the Big 12 in

for a loss. Long is the second Mountaineer to be named a conference defensive MVP (

Canute Curtis Canute J. Curtis (born August 4, 1974) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons during the 1990s and early 2000s. He played college football for We ...

, 1996

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

), and first since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12. Long earned

2018 College Football All-America Team The 2018 College Football All-America Team includes those players of American college football who have been honored by various selector organizations as the best players at their respective positions. The selector organizations award the "All-A ...

second-team recognition by the

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of foo ...

, and 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 ...

. On December 30, 2018, Long announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for the

Professional career

Tennessee Titans (first stint)

Long was selected 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 sixth round (188th overall) of the

. During Week 10 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

, Long forced a

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

off running back

Damien Williams Damien Williams (born April 3, 1992) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He has also played for the Kansas Cit ...

which was recovered by teammate

Rashaan Evans Alan Rashaan Evans (born November 8, 1995) is an American football linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He played college fo ...

for a 53-yard touchdown in the 35–32 win. He finished his rookie season with 15 tackles as a backup linebacker and

special teamer 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 ...

. Long played 14 games during the 2020 season, making five starts at the end of the season, recording 54 tackles and a forced fumble. 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 November 16, 2020, and activated on November 28. Long entered the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

as the starting

for the Titans, playing only 10 games due to injuries. He recorded 75 tackles and two interceptions. David Long 2021

Long continued the 2022 season as a starter for the Titans. He suffered a hamstring injury in Week 13 and 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 th ...

on December 10, 2022. He finished the season with 86 tackles and two interceptions.

Miami Dolphins

On March 17, 2023, Long signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the

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 ...

. He started all 17 games for the Dolphins in the

2023 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, recording a career-high and team-leading 113 tackles. Long returned as a starter for six games in the 2024 season, but lost his starting job in Week 8, only playing on special teams for two more games before being released on November 13, 2024. He made 38 tackles during his season with the Dolphins.

Detroit Lions

On November 18, 2024, Long signed to 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 ...

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 27. Long played five games with the Lions during the 2024 season, making seven tackles and a fumble recovery. He was released on December 24.

Tennessee Titans (second stint)

On December 25, 2024, Long was claimed off waivers by the

, set to return to the team that originally drafted him. However, he was waived the next day after a failed physical.

NFL statistics

Personal life

Long is the son of David and Deon Long. He is one of 12 children. David’s father, David Sr., is a former professional boxer who went 12-5-2 as a heavyweight. He once fought future world champ

Deontay Wilder Deontay Leshun Wilder (; born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, making 10 successful defenses. By winning the title, Wilder became the first American world heavyweight cha ...

References

External links

West Virginia Mountaineers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, David Jr. 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Cincinnati American football linebackers West Virginia Mountaineers football players Tennessee Titans players Miami Dolphins players Detroit Lions players