Duke Dawson (born October 13, 1995) 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 back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. 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 ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Early life

Dawson is from Cross City, Florida, and went to Dixie County High School there.

College career

Despite speculation that he would forgo his senior season and declare for the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

, Dawson later announced that he would return to Florida for his senior year. During his senior season, he defended 13 passes, leading the Gators and tying for third in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC). His accomplishments lead him to be selected for the Coaches All-SEC First-team.

Professional career

New England Patriots

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 ...

selected Dawson in the second round with the 56th overall pick of the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

. On September 6, 2018, Dawson 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 ...

with a hamstring injury. On November 13, 2018, the Patriots activated Dawson off of injured reserve. Despite being taken off injured reserve Dawson was inactive for the rest of the season. He did not appear in a single game. The Patriots would go on to reach and win

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

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.

Denver Broncos

On August 30, 2019, Dawson and a seventh-round pick were traded to the

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 ...

for a sixth-round pick. In Week 14 of the 2020 season, Dawson suffered a torn ACL, and was placed on injured reserve on December 16, 2020. On September 1, 2021, Dawson was placed on the reserve/ physically unable to perform list to start the season. He was activated on November 8, then waived and re-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 ...

. His contract expired when the teams season ended on January 8, 2022.

Carolina Panthers

On July 29, 2022, Dawson signed with 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 placed on injured reserve on August 23. He was waived on August 25, 2022.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On October 12, 2022, Dawson was signed to 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 ...

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 10, 2023. However, he was waived/injured on August 14, and placed on injured reserve. He was released on August 21.

BC Lions

On February 20, 2024, it was announced that Dawson had signed with the

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 ...

. He was released on May 25, 2024.

References

External links

Player profile
at bclions.com
Prospect profile
at NFL.com
Collegiate profile
at FloridaGators.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Duke 1995 births Living people People from Dixie County, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football cornerbacks Florida Gators football players New England Patriots players Denver Broncos players Carolina Panthers players Pittsburgh Steelers players BC Lions players Players of Canadian football from Florida Canadian football defensive backs