Tedarrell Anthony "TJ" Slaton Jr. (born October 3, 1997) 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 tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for 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 ...

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

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

, and was selected by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the fifth round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

Early life

Slaton was born in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. He attended and played football at American Heritage School in nearby

Plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

, where one of his coaches was former

(NFL)

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

Patrick Surtain. His teammates included Surtain's son, Patrick II, and Tyson Campbell.

College career

Slaton played

at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. In four seasons with the Gators, he played in 45 games with 14 starts, recording 98 tackles (34 solo, 10 for loss), 3.5 sacks, nine quarterback hurries, one pass deflection, and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

On May 1, 2021, Slaton was selected 173rd overall by the

in the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 14. He was listed as second on the depth chart to begin the season, behind veteran Kenny Clark. He saw his first NFL action on September 12, 2021, against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, recording two solo tackles in the 38–3 loss. He recorded a half sack in the Packers' Week 3 victory against 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 ...

, and another half sack two weeks later in a win against the

. In a Week 7 game against 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. ...

, he blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt by Chris Blewitt. He saw extensive action in a Week 9 game against the defending

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 ...

champion

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 ...

, when he played most of the game in relief of an injured Kenny Clark, where he produced 3 "stops", tackles that were determined to be a failure for the opposing offense.

Cincinnati Bengals

On March 13, 2025, Slaton signed a two-year contract with the

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bioFlorida Gators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaton, Tedarrell 1997 births Living people American football defensive tackles Cincinnati Bengals players Florida Gators football players Green Bay Packers players Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida American Heritage School (Florida) alumni