Deatrich Wise Jr. (born July 26, 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Washington Commanders 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) East division ...

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

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

and was selected by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft.

Early life

Wise was born on July 26, 1994, in

Suffolk, Virginia Suffolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of 2020, the population was 94,324. It is the List of cities in Virginia, 10th-most populous city in Virginia, the largest city in Virginia by bou ...

, as the eldest of three sons to Sheila and former football player Deatrich Wise. He attended Hebron High School in

Carrollton, Texas Carrollton is a city in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas, Denton County, Texas, Denton, and Collin County, Texas, Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 133,434, making it the ...

, where he played defensive end for the Hebron Hawks football team. The overall rating consensus from Scout.com, Rivals.com and

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

ranked Wise as one of the top 40 defensive ends in the nation."Arkansas Razorbacks"
Profile. Retrieved December 20, 2024. His three-star recruitment prospect rating earned Wise offers from Arkansas,

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, Vanderbilt,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

and Wake Forest."247Sports"
Recruitment Profile. Retrieved December 20, 2024.

College career

Wise played

for the

. He accepted an invitation to play in the 2017 East–West Shrine Game. Wise recorded eight combined

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, 1.5 sacks, four quarterback pressures, and a forced

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 ...

during their 10–3 victory over the East. His dominant performance and game-high eight tackles raised his draft stock with multiple draft experts reporting his rise up draft boards. He was one of 59 defensive linemen invited to the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. On March 15, 2017, he opted to participate at Arkansas' Pro Day. Wise made the First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll for the 2012–2013 semester. He graduated in 2016 with a degree in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

Professional career

New England Patriots

The

selected Wise in the fourth round (131st overall) of the 2017 NFL draft. On May 18, 2017, the New England Patriots signed Wise to a four-year, $2.97 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $575,883. He recorded his a sack 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 ...

in his first career NFL game. Wise finished his rookie season with 26 tackles and 5 sacks. In the playoffs, the Patriots defeated 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

in the Divisional Round with Wise recording 2 sacks. The Patriots then went on to defeat 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 ...

in the

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

Championship Game to advance to

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...

where they would go on to lose 41–33 to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. Wise finished 2018 season with 30 tackles (15 solo) and 4.5 sacks. Wise helped the Patriots reach Super Bowl LIII where they beat the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

13–3. In Week 3 of the 2020 season against 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 ...

, Wise strip sacked Derek Carr and recovered the football in the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on the opposite side of the field ...

for his first career

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

during the 36–20 win. On March 19, 2021, Wise re-signed with the Patriots on a four-year, $22 million deal. Wise had a career year in 2022, starting 16 games, recording a career-high 7.5 sacks and 59 tackles.

Washington Commanders

On March 19, 2025, Wise signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the

Personal life

His father Deatrich Wise and younger brother Daniel have also played professional football. His mother, Shiela Wise, served 22 years as a nurse in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. Wise is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

and became a part time owner of Veggie Galaxy, a resturante in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, in 2024. He was also inducted into the Hebron High School Hall of Fame the same year.Dussault, Mike (February 8, 2024
"Deatrich Wise to be Inducted into Hebron High School Hall of Fame"
Patriots.com (Sports News). Retrieved December 20, 2024. Wise and his family operate a non-contact youth program called Wise Big Man Camp, opened to 7th–12th graders interested in learning the basics of football."About the Wise Big Man Camp"
Retrieved December 20, 2024.

References

External links

Washington Commanders profileArkansas Razorbacks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise Jr., Deatrich 1994 births 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American football defensive ends Arkansas Razorbacks football players Living people New England Patriots players Players of American football from Carrollton, Texas Washington Commanders players