Badara Traore (born March 12, 1997) 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

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 ...

(NFL). 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 ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

Early life

Traore was born to Bakary Traore and Rouguiatou Kaba, both African immigrants, and grew up in

Hyde Park, Massachusetts Hyde Park is the southernmost neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Situated 7.9 miles south of downtown Boston, it is home to a diverse range of people, housing types and social groups. It is an urban location with suburban chara ...

. He attended

Matignon High School The Cambridge Matignon School (originally Father Matignon High School) is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic college-preparatory school in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. The school is under the auspices of the ...

, where he played on the football and basketball teams and commuted two hours each way.

College career

Traore played two seasons at

ASA College ASA College is a private for-profit college in New York City and Hialeah, Florida. The college has three campuses: Midtown Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn in New York, and Hialeah in Florida. It offers bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. In 2018, he transferred to

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

to continue his collegiate football career, turning down offers from 26 schools, including Oklahoma, Auburn, and Texas. In his first season at LSU, he played in all 13 games, starting 2 of them, and was referred to as "one of the most improved players on the team" by head coach

Ed Orgeron Edward James Orgeron Jr. (; born July 27, 1961) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU), a position he held from midway through the 2016 season until the 2021 season. Orger ...

. Going into his senior year, Traore served as the backup right tackle to Austin Deculus and took snaps on special teams. During his final season at LSU, he played in 13 games and earned 3 starts against Georgia Southern, Ole Miss, and Arkansas (one at left tackle and two at right tackle).

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Traore was signed by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

following 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 d ...

on April 25, 2020. He was waived on September 5, 2020, and was signed to the

practice squad In sports, 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. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the following day. On October 10, 2020, Traore was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list after testing positive for

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 COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He signed a reserve/futures contract with the Bears on January 11, 2021. On August 24, 2021, he was waived by the Bears.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On August 25, 2021, Traore was claimed off waivers by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

. He was waived on August 31, 2021, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. Traore made his NFL debut on January 9, 2022, against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 10, 2022. On August 29, 2022, Traore was waived by the Jaguars.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 1, 2022, Traore was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

practice squad. On October 29, 2022, he was elevated to the active roster. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 11, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Traore was released by the Cardinals as part of final roster cuts before the start of the 2023 season.

Carolina Panthers

On December 18, 2023, Traore signed a letter of intent to join the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

for the upcoming 2024 season. The next day, Traore was signed to the

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024.

Personal life

Traore graduated from Louisiana State University in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies. He has a younger brother, Boubacar, who played defensive end at Catholic Memorial School in West Roxbury, MA; and began playing for Notre Dame in 2023.

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bioLSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traore, Badara 1997 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportspeople Sportspeople from Greater Boston Players of American football from Massachusetts American football offensive linemen LSU Tigers football players Chicago Bears players Jacksonville Jaguars players Arizona Cardinals players Carolina Panthers players