Saahdiq Charles (born July 26, 1999) 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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for 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 ...

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

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

and was selected by the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the fourth round of the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

. Charles was a member of the LSU team that won the

2020 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game played on January 13, 2020 (which was the latest calendar date for the game until 2025), at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The six ...

Early life

Charles grew up in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

until his family was displaced by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

in 2005, living in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, Valdosta metropolitan statistical area, ...

, and

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

, before settling in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. Charles attended

Madison-Ridgeland Academy Madison-Ridgeland Academy (MRA, Madison-Ridgeland) is a private, co-educational school in Madison, Mississippi, for students from K-3 through 12th grade. There are 4 divisions; the Kindergarten (K3-K5), the Elementary (1st–5th grade), the Middl ...

, where he played offensive and defensive line on the football team. A 4-star recruit according to rivals.com, Charles committed to play

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

over offers from

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 ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, among others.

College career

Charles played in all 13 of the Tigers' games with nine starts as a true freshman in 2017 and was named to 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) All-Freshman team. He started ten games at

left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

as a sophomore. During his junior season, Charles was suspended for the entirety of the Tigers' non-conference schedule due to a violation of team rules, but started the final nine games of the season at left tackle as the Tigers won the 2020 National Championship. Following the end of the season, Charles declared for the

, forgoing his senior season.

Professional career

Washington Redskins / Football Team / Commanders

Charles was selected by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the fourth round, 108th overall, of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on July 22, 2020. After missing the first five games of the season due to injury, Charles made his NFL debut in the Week 6 game against 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 ...

. Despite taking reps in training camp at

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

, the team started him at

left guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

replacing

Wes Martin Wesley Martin (born May 9, 1996) is an American professional American football, football offensive guard. He played college football at Indiana Hoosiers football, Indiana and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 201 ...

, who had struggled in first five games as the starter. Charles left the game in the first quarter due to a dislocated knee cap, and 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 October 24, 2020, ending his rookie season. Charles had his second career start and his first at tackle in a Week 8 game against 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 ...

in 2021. He was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list on November 9, 2021, but was placed back on the active roster seven days later. In the Week 15 and Week 16 games 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 ...

and

, respectively, Charles started at right guard in place of

Brandon Scherff Brandon Scherff (born December 26, 1991) is an American professional football guard who is a free agent. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, earning unanimous All-American honors. He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the f ...

who was on the team's COVID-19 reserve list. He appeared in ten games during the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. In Week 4 of the 2022 season, Charles took over at right guard after starter Trai Turner was benched. Following the game, Charles started at right guard for three straight games before Turner returning to the starting lineup in Week 8. On January 6, 2023, he was placed on injured reserve. He played 13 games during the 2022 season. In the 2023 offseason, Charles beat out

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and "the Point God", is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded by some as one of the greatest p ...

and won the starting left guard position. He suffered a calf injury in Week 7 and was placed on injured reserve on October 28, 2023. He was activated on December 15. He played 11 games during the 2023 season, all as starter.

Tennessee Titans

On March 15, 2024, Charles signed a one-year $1.5 million deal 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 ...

. He was awarded the starting right guard position at the beginning of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, but Charles unexpectedly retired from football just a few days later for unknown reasons. The Titans placed him on the reserve/retired list on August 6. On March 12, 2025, it was announced Charles was coming out of retirement. Upon his reinstatement in the NFL, the Titans chose to release him; making him a free agent in the 2025 offseason.

Dallas Cowboys

On April 9, 2025, Charles signed a one-year deal with the

References

External links

*
Dallas Cowboys bio

LSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Saahdiq 1999 births Living people American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Dallas Cowboys players LSU Tigers football players Players of American football from Jackson, Mississippi Players of American football from New Orleans Washington Commanders players Washington Football Team players Tennessee Titans players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen