Delvin Lionel Breaux (born October 25, 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

who played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) and

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 was a member of the Louisiana Bayou Vipers,

New Orleans VooDoo The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were members of the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2015. The VooDoo were the second team to play in the Arena Football League and play in ...

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

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 ...

, and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

Early life

Breaux attended

McDonogh 35 High School McDonogh 35 College Preparatory Charter High School is a charter public high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a part of New Orleans Public Schools and InspireNOLA charter operator. The school was named after John McDonogh.Woyshner and Bo ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. He fractured his C4, C5 and C6

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

during a kickoff return in a

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 ...

game on October 27, 2006. His doctor said it was "like a miracle" that he was neurologically fine. He had earlier received a scholarship to play football for the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

. The Tigers honored his scholarship and he arrived at

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in December 2008 but was never cleared to play. He was a player-coach for the Tigers. Breaux eventually stopped going to practice and later left LSU.

Professional career

Louisiana Bayou Vipers

Breaux played for the Louisiana Bayou Vipers of the

Gridiron Developmental Football League The Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL) is a low-level American football minor league based in Memphis, Tennessee, using the franchise model. The GDFL acts as an umbrella group that encompasses teams from across the contiguous United St ...

(GDFL) in 2012 and was named an All-Star.

New Orleans VooDoo

Breaux was signed by the

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) on November 5, 2012. He was placed on Other League Exempt by the VooDoo on May 22, 2013. His AFL rights were assigned to the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

on October 16, 2015.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (first stint)

Breaux signed with the

of the

(CFL) on May 24, 2013. He played for two seasons and was named to the CFL All-Star team in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

New Orleans Saints

Breaux was released by Hamilton so he could sign with the

. He signed with the New Orleans Saints on January 24, 2015. In his first game with the Saints on September 13, he recovered a fumble against 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 ...

. Breaux recorded his first career

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, 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 ...

during the Saints' 39–17 loss 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 ...

. He was the Saints' recipient of the

Ed Block Courage Award The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to a player from each team in the National Football League (NFL) who are voted for by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a ...

for the 2015 season. Breaux finished his first year in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

with 45 tackles and 3 interceptions. He was voted the team's defensive MVP by a fan vote on the Saints' website. He suffered a broken

fibula The fibula (: fibulae or fibulas) or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. ...

during the team's first game of the 2016 season on September 11. He missed the next six games then suffered a shoulder injury in Week 14. He was placed on injured reserve on December 23. 2016. On August 16, 2017, Breaux suffered a fractured fibula yet again, to the same leg, and was ruled out for six weeks. He was initially diagnosed with a leg contusion by two orthopedic doctors on the Saints' medical staff, but later underwent an x-ray after making no substantial progress in the injury healing. The Saints subsequently fired two doctors over the misdiagnosis. He was placed on injured reserve on September 5, 2017.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (second stint)

On June 18, 2018, Breaux returned to the CFL when he signed a one-year deal with the

. Breaux's contract with Hamilton made him the highest paid defensive back in the Canadian league, making a little less than $200,000 before incentives. Breaux announced his retirement from football on March 24, 2021. However, after sitting out the

2021 CFL season The 2021 CFL season was the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. The regular season began on August 5 and ended November 20. Each team played 14 regular season games o ...

, Breaux was re-activated on January 17, 2022. He was released on February 8, 2022.

BC Lions

Breaux signed with the

of the CFL on February 9, 2022. He started nine games, but suffered a season-ending injury. He again announced his retirement from football in November 2022.

References

External links

Official websiteStats Crew profileHamilton Tiger-Cats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breaux, Delvin 1989 births Living people American football defensive backs Canadian football defensive backs BC Lions players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players New Orleans Saints players New Orleans VooDoo players Players of American football from New Orleans Players of Canadian football from New Orleans Tampa Bay Storm players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Gridiron Developmental Football League players