Douglas O'Neal Middleton Jr. (born September 25, 1993) is a former

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, field with goalposts at e ...

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 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 Appalachian State, and signed with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Early years and college career

Middleton attended Parkland High School in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, and

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

, where he played

for the Appalachian State Mountaineers. As a junior in 2014, Middleton was named First-team All-

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

Professional career

New York Jets

Middleton signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2016. He was waived on September 3, 2016, and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 8, 2016. He scored his first and only career NFL touchdown in Week 17 against the Buffalo Bills, recovering a kickoff in the Bills' end zone. On August 16, 2017, Middleton was waived/injured by the Jets after suffering a torn pectoral and placed on injured reserve. Middleton entered the 2018 season slated as the backup free safety to Marcus Maye. He played in seven games with four starts in place of the injured Maye, before suffering another torn pectoral in Week 7. He was placed on injured reserve on October 23, 2018. On September 1, 2019, Middleton was released by the Jets.

Miami Dolphins

On September 18, 2019, Middleton was signed by the

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 ...

. He was released on October 12, and re-signed to the practice squad on October 31. He was released on November 12.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On November 26, 2019, Middleton was signed to 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 ...

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 18, 2019. On August 8, 2020, Middleton was released by the Jaguars.

Tennessee Titans

Middleton had a tryout with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

on August 18, 2020, and with 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 ...

on August 23, 2020. He signed with the Titans on September 2, 2020, but was released three days later.

Jacksonville Jaguars (second stint)

On September 18, 2020, Middleton was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 3, 2020. He was released on October 5 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was placed on the practice squad/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the team on October 17, 2020, and was activated back to the practice squad on October 22. He was promoted to the active roster on November 7. He was waived on November 9, and re-signed to the practice squad two days later. He was promoted to the active roster again on November 14. He was waived again on November 21, and re-signed to the practice squad again three days later. He was promoted to the active roster again on November 25. He was released after the season on May 4, 2021.

Carolina Panthers

On August 4, 2021, Middleton was signed by 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 ...

. He was waived on August 28, 2021. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 13, but released the next day.

San Francisco 49ers

On December 1, 2021, Middleton was signed to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

practice squad. He was released on January 26, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Doug 1993 births Living people American football safeties Appalachian State Mountaineers football players Carolina Panthers players Jacksonville Jaguars players Miami Dolphins players New York Jets players San Francisco 49ers players Tennessee Titans players Players of American football from Winston-Salem, North Carolina