Dicaprio Bootle (born September 17, 1997) 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 ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

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

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

Early life and college

Bootle was born on September 17, 1997, in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. He attended Killian High School and Southridge High School, both in Miami. He was ranked in the top-60 in the nation at the cornerback position by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. Bootle received numerous scholarship offers, but only visited

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. Bootle

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 his first season and spent the year on Nebraska's scouting team. In his second year, he played in all 12 games as a redshirt freshman, compiling 15 tackles. His sophomore year, Dicaprio started in all 12 games, and totaled a career-high 39 tackles. He also had his first forced fumble. His 15 pass breakups in 2018 led all

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

teams. He was named third-team All-Big Ten for his sophomore performance. Bootle started the first 8 games of his junior year at cornerback, and finished the year starting at

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 ...

. Bootle recorded 31 tackles and six pass breakups in 2019. In his final season, he started every game again, bringing his streak to 32 consecutive starts, and recorded 25 tackles. His first and only career interception came against

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. Bootle chose to forgo remaining eligibility and declare for the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

College statistics

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

After going unselected in the 2021 NFL Draft, Bootle signed as an undrafted free agent with 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 ...

. He was waived on August 31, 2021. He was signed to the

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 ...

the next day. He was elevated from the practice squad via a standard elevation prior to their week four game against 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 ...

. Bootle was again elevated from the practice squad in week 16 against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

after the defense lost starters for the game due to COVID-19 protocols. He took advantage of the opportunity by leading the team in tackles for the game with seven. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Chiefs on February 2, 2022. On August 30, 2022, Bootle was waived by the Chiefs. He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 13, 2022. He was promoted to the active roster on October 15. He was waived on October 17 and re-signed to the practice squad. Bootle became a

Super Bowl champion The Super Bowl is the annual American football game that determines the champion of the National Football League (NFL). The game culminates a National Football League regular season, season that begins in the previous calendar year, and is the ...

when the Chiefs defeated the

Super Bowl LVII Super Bowl LVII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Confere ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract on February 15, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Bootle was waived by the Chiefs.

Carolina Panthers

On September 11, 2023, Bootle was signed to the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 11. He 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 ...

on November 22. On August 27, 2024, Bootle was waived by the Panthers.

Los Angeles Chargers

On September 11, 2024, Bootle was signed to the

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

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 21. On November 16, Bootle was waived by the Chargers and signed to the practice squad three days later.

Detroit Lions

On July 18, 2025, Bootle signed with the

References

External links

Los Angeles Chargers bioNebraska Cornhuskers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bootle, Dicaprio 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Miami Miami Southridge Senior High School alumni American football safeties American football cornerbacks Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Kansas City Chiefs players Carolina Panthers players Los Angeles Chargers players Detroit Lions players