Alijah Holder (born January 26, 1996) 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 with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

College career

Holder played as a cornerback for the Stanford Cardinals. He did not play during his freshman year in 2014. Holder's first active season was played during his sophomore year in 2015; before he missed nine games due to injury during his junior year in 2016. After recovery, Holder played only four games during his junior year. During his senior year in 2017, Holder was named part of the Pac-12 All-Academic second-team. He played a fifth season in 2018, starting 10 of 12 games. Holder earned honorable mention in the 2018 All-Pac-12. He also became a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic. While at Stanford, Holder majored in

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly ...

Professional career

Denver Broncos

Holder signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2019. He was waived on August 31, 2019, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 17, 2019. On September 5, 2020, Holder was waived by the Broncos, but was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on November 7, November 21, November 28, and December 5 for the team's weeks 9, 11, 12, and 13 games against 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, and

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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. On December 12, 2020, Holder was promoted to the active roster. On February, 2, 2021, the Broncos waived Holder.

Detroit Lions

On May 17, 2021, Holder signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. He was waived on August 30, 2021.

Houston Gamblers

Holder signed with the

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducing ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

on April 28, 2022.

Seattle Sea Dragons

The

Seattle Sea Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons (formerly known as the Seattle Dragons) are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The team is a franchise of the new XFL and plays its home games at Lumen Field in Seattle. Originally founded ...

selected Holder in the ninth round of the

2023 XFL Supplemental Draft The 2023 XFL Draft, is the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL, and the second draft in that league's history following the 2020 draft. The draft was held on November 15–17, 2022, with ...

on January 1, 2023. The Sea Dragons folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

Birmingham Stallions

On January 15, 2024, Holder was selected by the Birmingham Stallions in the second round of the Super Draft portion of the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

. He signed with the team on January 22.

San Antonio Brahmas

On January 22, 2024, Holder was traded to the

San Antonio Brahmas The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL, owned by RedBird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Alpha Acquico, LLC. History The XFL ...

in exchange for defensive back

Bubba Bolden Bubba Bolden (born May 29, 2000) is an American football strong safety for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). Bolden initially played college football at USC from 2017 to 2018 before transferring to Miami in 2019. He was ...

. He was waived on January 31, 2024.

References

External links

*
Stanford Cardinal bio
1996 births Living people Players of American football from Oceanside, California American football cornerbacks Stanford Cardinal football players Denver Broncos players Detroit Lions players Houston Gamblers (2022) players Seattle Sea Dragons players Birmingham Stallions (2022) players San Antonio Brahmas players {{Defensiveback-1990s-stub