Deon L. Lacey (born July 18, 1990) 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

at the University of West Alabama. He was a member of 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 ...

Edmonton Eskimos / Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

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 ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

Early life

Lacey was born on July 18, 1990, in

Indianapolis 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 ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He lettered in football and track and field at

Hueytown High School Hueytown High School is a four-year State school, public high school in the Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama suburb of Hueytown, Alabama, Hueytown. It is one of fourteen high schools in the Jefferson County Schools (Alabama), Jefferson ...

Hueytown, Alabama Hueytown is a city in western Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area, and was part of the heavy industry development in this area in the 20th century. The population was 16,776 at the 2020 ce ...

. He was named All-state, Super All-Metro, Old Spice Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year while playing for the Golden Gophers football team. He also set the school record in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

with a time of 52.57.

College career

Lacey played football for the

West Alabama Tigers The West Alabama Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of West Alabama, located in Livingston, Alabama, in intercollegiate sports at the NCAA Division II, Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCA ...

from 2008 to 2012. He was named the

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the ...

Defensive Player of the Year in 2011, recording 97

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 ...

, nine

tackles for loss The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

, four sacks, two

interceptions 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 bu ...

, four

pass deflections In American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, f ...

, and 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 ...

recovery. He finished his college career with 267 tackles, nine sacks, six forced fumbles and five interceptions.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Lacey was signed by the

of the NFL on April 28, 2013, after going undrafted in the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. Lacey played in three preseason games for the Cowboys, contributing with five tackles. He was released by the Cowboys on August 27, 2013.

Edmonton Eskimos

LAcey signed with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

of 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) on February 26, 2014. Lacey made an immediate impact with the Eskimos on

special teams 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 ...

and increasingly became an important member of their starting defensive unit. In three years with the Eskimos, Lacey played in all 54 games, racking up 144 defensive tackles, 68 special teams tackles, 7 sacks, 3 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles and 1

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 ...

. In December 2016, Lacey had workouts with various NFL teams, including; 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

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 ...

, and

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. On January 3, 2017, the Eskimos granted Lacey an early release so he would be eligible to sign with an NFL team.

Miami Dolphins (first stint)

On January 10, 2017, Lacey signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He was waived on September 2, 2017.

Buffalo Bills (first stint)

On September 3, 2017, Lacey was claimed off waivers by the

. He was waived by the Bills on October 18, 2017, but was re-signed the next day. He finished the 2017 season having contributed nine tackles. In the following off-season, on February 20, 2019, Lacey signed a one-year contract extension with the Bills. Lacey appeared in all four preseason games in 2019, and totaled 18 tackles. He was released during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Miami Dolphins (second stint)

On September 1, 2019, Lacey was claimed off waivers by the Dolphins.

Saskatchewan Roughriders (first stint)

Lacey signed with the

of the CFL on May 21, 2020. After the CFL canceled the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Lacey chose to opt-out of his contract with the Roughriders on August 25, 2020.

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

On September 17, 2020, Lacey was signed to the Bills

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was elevated to the active roster on September 19 for the team's week 2 game against the Dolphins, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was elevated again on September 26 for the team's week 3 game against 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 ...

, and reverted to the practice squad again following the game. He was promoted to the active roster on October 12, 2020. He was waived on October 27 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on January 1, 2021.

Saskatchewan Roughriders (second stint)

Lacey re-signed with the Roughriders on June 15, 2021.

Edmonton Elks

Lacey returned to the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

in free agency on February 8, 2022.

References

External links

Stats Crew profileEdmonton Eskimos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacey, Deon 1990 births Living people American football linebackers Buffalo Bills players Canadian football linebackers Dallas Cowboys players Edmonton Elks players Hueytown High School alumni Miami Dolphins players Players of American football from Indianapolis Saskatchewan Roughriders players West Alabama Tigers football players Players of Canadian football from Indianapolis