Daren Weston Bates (born November 27, 1990) is an American former 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

and current assistant special teams coordinator for 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 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

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

and was signed by 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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2013. He has also played for 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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 previously coached for 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 ...

and is co-host of the Raw Room podcast.

Early life

Bates played his freshman through junior year at Christian Brothers High School in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. While there, Bates was a 2-time first-team Tennessee All-State safety. His senior year, Bates played at Olive Branch High School in Mississippi for coach Scott Samsel. He collected 90 tackles and four interceptions and had nearly 900 yards of total offense as a senior and was named MHSAA All-Region 1 Class 5A team.

College career

In 2009, Bates was tied for 39th in the SEC in tackles per game, with 5.4. In 2009, he started all 13 games at safety and totaled 70 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. In 2010, he appeared in 12 games with nine starts and was 8th on team with 48 tackles. Bates was made the Freshman All SEC team and also was a second-team Freshman All American. Bates made his first collegiate start at linebacker in the season opener vs.

Arkansas State Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the state. The university ...

after playing safety the previous years. In 2011 Bates started all 13 games and led the team with 104 tackles and was third on team with 8.5 tackles for loss (-30), 2.5 quarterback sacks (-15), and nine quarterback hurries. In 2012 Bates made 94 tackles (39) solo and 5.5 for losses he also batted away 4 passes and recovered 2 fumbles and intercepted a pass.

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

Bates was signed by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

as an undrafted free agent and made the final 53-man squad on September 1, 2013. He has been used primarily as a

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 for the Rams providing a valuable contribution. On October 13, 2013 against the

, Bates returned a fumbled kickoff return for a touchdown to score the first touchdown of his career. In a December 21, 2014 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 ...

, Bates leaped over the Giants' long snapper during a field goal attempt and blocked the kick, which was recovered by

Will Herring William Ronald Herring (born August 28, 1983) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football at Auburn. College career At Auburn University, ...

for the Rams. On September 11, 2015, Bates was named one of the five captains for the 2015 season for the Rams, the first time in his career. Bates registered back-to-back seasons (2014-2015) of double-digit special team's tackles.

Oakland Raiders

Bates signed with the

on March 14, 2016.

Tennessee Titans (first stint)

On March 10, 2017, Bates signed a three-year, $6 million contract with the

. In 2017, Bates set a career high and ranked second on the team with 16 special teams' tackles. On September 3, 2018, Bates was announced to be the special teams captain and tallied 10 special teams' tackles.

Houston Texans

After becoming a free agent in March 2020, Bates had a tryout with the

on August 20, 2020. He signed with the team three days later. He was waived on August 31, 2020.

Tennessee Titans (second stint)

On September 14, 2020, Bates was signed to the Titans'

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 ...

. He was elevated to the active roster on October 13 and October 17 for the team's weeks 5, 6, and 7 games against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, and

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 ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on October 27, 2020.

Atlanta Falcons

On October 18, 2021, Bates was signed to the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 2, 2021. He was placed on injured reserve on November 18. He was activated on December 25.

References

External links

Auburn Tigers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Daren 1990 births Living people American football linebackers St. Louis Rams players Oakland Raiders players Tennessee Titans players Auburn Tigers football players Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Atlanta Falcons players 21st-century African-American sportsmen Coaches of American football from Tennessee