Jaydon Mickens (born April 21, 1994) 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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

of the United Football League (UFL). 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

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

, and signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2016. Mickens won a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

title as part of the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

College career

Mickens played

at Washington, where he appeared in the majority of his career by changing his jersey number from 4 to 1 during his junior and senior years before he qualified for the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. He had good, but unspectacular numbers, leading the team in receptions and receiving yards his junior and senior seasons but never cracking the Top 10 in the conference; he was the Huskies

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

his freshman year, but only returned four punts over his college career, recording no

touchdowns 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 either role.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Mickens signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2016. He was waived by the Raiders on September 3, 2016, and 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. After spending the entire 2016 season on the practice squad, he signed a reserve/future contract with the Raiders on January 9, 2017. He was waived by the team on September 2, 2017.

Jacksonville Jaguars (first stint)

On September 19, 2017, Mickens signed with 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 October 21, 2017. In Week 9, against the

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 ...

, he recorded a 63-yard

punt return Punt or punting may refer to: Boats * Punt (boat), a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow developed on the River Thames * Falmouth Quay Punt, a small sailing vessel hired by ships anchored in Falmouth harbour * Norfolk Punt, a type of racing ...

touchdown in the fourth quarter in a 23–7 win, earning him

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

(AFC)

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 ...

Player of the Week. In Week 14, Mickens had a 72-yard punt return, but was stopped on the one-yard line, which set up a touchdown to give the Jaguars a 14-point lead over the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, again winning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. As a receiver, he recorded one reception prior to Week 15, but had four for 61 yards and two second quarter touchdowns in a 45–7 win over the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. On October 15, 2018, Mickens was placed on injured reserve after suffering a fractured ankle in Week 6.

Carolina Panthers

On July 24, 2019, Mickens 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 during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On December 19, 2019, Mickens was signed to the

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 24, 2019. He was waived on July 31, 2020, but re-signed on August 9. He was placed on the reserve/

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 November 14, 2020, and activated on November 30. He was waived on December 7, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad two days later. On December 30, 2020, Mickens was signed to the active roster. Mickens was the Buccaneers' kick returner for

, a 31–9 victory over 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 ...

. On August 31, 2021, Mickens was released by the Buccaneers and re-signed to the practice squad. He was signed to the active roster on September 10, 2021. He was waived on October 18 and re-signed to the practice squad.

Jacksonville Jaguars (second stint)

On November 24, 2021, Mickens was signed by the Jaguars off the Buccaneers practice squad. In the 2021 season, Mickens mainly contributed on special teams for the Buccaneers and Jaguars in 11 total games.

New York Giants

On December 14, 2022, Mickens was signed to the

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

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 22, 2023. He was released on August 27, 2023.

Indianapolis Colts

On December 19, 2023, Mickens was signed to 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 ...

practice squad. He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent upon the expiration of his practice squad contract.

DC Defenders

On January 30, 2025, Mickens signed with the

of the United Football League (UFL).

Personal

Mickens was arrested in

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on a felony

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

charge on March 11, 2021.

References

External links

Washington Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mickens, Jaydon 1994 births Living people American football wide receivers Carolina Panthers players Indianapolis Colts players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Giants players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Los Angeles Susan Miller Dorsey High School alumni Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Washington Huskies football players DC Defenders players