DeJon "D.J." Gomes (born November 17, 1989) is an American former 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 ...

. He was selected in the fifth round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

by the

Washington Redskins 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. Gomes 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

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

. He was also a member of 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 ...

Early life

Dejon Gomes attended high school at

James Logan High School James Logan High School (also known as JLHS or Logan) is a public high school located in Union City, California. It is part of the New Haven Unified School District in the San Francisco Bay Area. Awards In 1994 and 1998, Logan was recognized as ...

Union City, California Union City is a city in Alameda County, California, United States in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population in the 2020 census was 70,143, up from 69,628 in the 2010 census. It is located approximately south of Oakland, from San Franci ...

where he started for one year on the varsity football team, after sitting out the previous year with an injury. After graduating in 2007, he did not receive any top scholarship offers, so he decided to attend

City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a public community college in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded as a junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local role, enrolling as many as 1 in 35 San Franc ...

College career

While at the City College of San Francisco, Gomes lead the state in interceptions, tackles, and fumble returns. Later on, Gomes transferred to Nebraska. Once Gomes started his career at Nebraska, he quickly became a starter for two years and lead the team in interceptions and tackles. He was billed as one of the top

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 ...

prospects for the

by many NFL Draft experts and analysts.

Professional career

Washington Redskins

2011 season

Gomes was selected by the

146th overall in the

, joining college teammates,

Roy Helu Roy Ziegler Helu Jr. (born December 7, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL draft. ...

, who was drafted earlier in the fourth round, and

Niles Paul Niles Paul (born August 9, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football tight end who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a wide receiver at the University of Nebraska ...

, who was drafted after him. Throughout the season, he played as the backup to both

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

Oshiomogho Atogwe Oshiomogho Isaac "O.J." Atogwe (born June 23, 1981) is a Canadian former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 2005 NFL draft. He pla ...

, and

strong safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free sa ...

LaRon Landry LaRon Louis Landry (born October 14, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for LSU Tigers, and earned consensus All-American honors. The Wash ...

, splitting the responsibility with

Reed Doughty Reed Doughty (born November 4, 1982) is an American former professional football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round, with the 173rd overall pick, of the 2006 NFL ...

. Gomes made his NFL debut in Week 1 against 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 then had his first career start as a free safety in Week 11 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, where he made 14 tackles. After Landry was put on injured reserve, Gomes became the starting strong safety for the rest of the season. On December 24, 2011, while playing against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, Gomes tackled

Adrian Peterson Adrian Lewis Peterson (; born March 21, 1985) is an American former professional football running back who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football hist ...

which resulted in Peterson tearing his ACL and MCL. Gomes finished the 2011 season playing 15 games, starting five of them, and recording 35 tackles and two pass breakups.

2012 season

By the start of the 2012 season, Gomes was made the starting strong safety in place of an injured

Brandon Meriweather Brandon Meriweather (born January 14, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, and was selected by the New England Pat ...

. In the season opener win against 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, he recorded his first pass deflection and first interception on

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is sec ...

. By Week 4 of the 2012 season, he lost the starting strong safety position to

. After Meriweather was placed on injured reserve, Gomes was made the starting strong safety again in the Week 12 win against the

, where he recovered a fumble after Josh Wilson stripped the ball and recorded six tackles. Gomes was waived during the final roster cuts before the start of the 2013 season on August 31, 2013.

Detroit Lions

Gomes was claimed off waivers by the

on September 1, 2013. On August 26, 2014, the Lions placed Gomes 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 ...

due to a neck and shoulder injury he suffered in the second preseason game against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

when he took on a helmet-to-helmet collision with Raiders tight end Scott Simonson. Three days later, the Lions released him off injured reserve with an injury settlement.

References

External links

*
Detroit Lions bio

Nebraska Cornhuskers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomes, Dejon 1989 births Living people American football safeties City College of San Francisco Rams football players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Washington Redskins players Detroit Lions players Players of American football from Hayward, California Players of American football from Union City, California James Logan High School alumni