Tariq Quinton Castro-Fields (born January 14, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

for the

Washington Commanders 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High ...

. Castro-Fields was selected by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-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 of the league's National ...

in the sixth round of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

, but was released prior to start of the season and was claimed off waivers by Washington.

Early years

Castro-Fields grew up in

Upper Marlboro, Maryland Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the seat of Prince George's County, Maryland. Aso of the 2020 census, the population was 652. although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger. Etymology Upper Marlboro was establ ...

and attended the

Riverdale Baptist School Riverdale Baptist School is a private Christian school located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, serving students from Pre-K to 12. It is located in Prince George's County, Maryland, and is accredited through Middle States Association of Colleges and ...

. Castro-Fields was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at

after considering offers from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

College career

Castro-Fields played in 12 games as a freshman and finished the season with 10 total tackles, three passes broken up, and one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

. As a junior, Castro-Fields had 52 tackles and led the team with two interceptions and eight passes broken up. He played in three games during Penn State's

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

-shortened 2020 season, missing the rest due to injury. Castro-Fields decided to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

and return to Penn State for a fifth season.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Castro-Fields was selected in the sixth round of the

by the

. He was waived on August 30, 2022.

Washington Commanders

On August 31, 2022, Castro-Fields was claimed by the

. 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 th ...

on October 21. On August 29, 2023, Castro-Fields was waived by the Commanders and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 3.

References

External links

Washington Commanders bio

Penn State Nittany Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro-Fields, Tariq 1999 births Living people American football cornerbacks Penn State Nittany Lions football players Sportspeople from Upper Marlboro, Maryland Players of American football from Prince George's County, Maryland San Francisco 49ers players Washington Commanders players