Cory Littleton (born November 18, 1993) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

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 ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. He signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

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 ...

in 2016.

College career

Littleton attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

2016 season

Littleton went undrafted in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. On May 4, 2016, the

signed Littleton to a three-year, $1.63 million contract that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $15,000 as an undrafted free agent. Throughout training camp, Littleton competed for a roster spot as a backup outside linebacker against

Josh Forrest Josh Forrest (born February 24, 1992) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Kentucky and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. College career Forrest played college foo ...

Cameron Lynch Cameron Ellis Lynch (born August 4, 1993) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Syracuse. He signed with the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2015. College career Lynch played college football for ...

Ian Seau Ian Seau (; ; born December 4, 1992) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end. He played college football for the Nevada Wolf Pack. Early years Seau was born to Mary Seau in Oceanside, California. He atten ...

, and Matthew Wells. Head coach Jeff Fisher named Littleton a backup outside linebacker to begin the regular season, behind Akeem Ayers and

Mark Barron Mark Barron (born October 27, 1989) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Alabama, where he was twice recognized as an All-American, and was a member of two BCS National Championship teams. He wa ...

. Littleton made his NFL debut in the season-opening 28–0 road loss against 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 ...

. During Week 13, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles during a 26–10 loss at the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. The following week, he earned his first NFL start and made one tackle in the Rams' 42–14 loss 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 ...

. Littleton finished his rookie year with 20 combined tackles (15 solo) in 16 games and one start. He was also won the Carroll Rosenbloom Memorial Award as the team's rookie of the year.

2017 season

On January 13, 2017, the Rams announced their decision to hire Washington Redskins' offensive coordinator

Sean McVay Sean McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 2017 ...

as their new head coach. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips installed a base 3-4 defense. During training camp, Littleton competed to be a backup inside linebacker against Josh Forrest and Bryce Hager. Head coach Sean McVay named Littleton a backup inside linebacker to begin the season, behind Mark Barron and

Alec Ogletree Alec Ogletree (born September 25, 1991) is an American football inside linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football for the University of Georgia and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He ha ...

. Littleton ended the season strong. During Week 16, he recorded seven combined tackles, deflected a pass, made his first NFL sack and interception during a 27–23 road victory against the Tennessee Titans. The following week, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles in a 34–13 loss to the

. Littleton finished the season with 36 combined tackles (22 solo), four pass deflections, one sack, and one interception in 16 games and four starts. The Rams finished the season atop the

NFC West The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinal ...

with an 11–5 record and qualified for the playoffs. On January 6, 2018, Littleton appeared in his first NFL playoff game and made one tackle during a 26–13 loss to the

in the NFC Wildcard Game.

2018 season

Littleton entered training camp slated as a starting inside linebacker after Alec Ogletree was traded to 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. Head coach Sean McVay named Littleton and Mark Barron the starting inside linebackers to start the regular season, alongside outside linebackers Matt Longacre and

Samson Ebukam Nnamka Samson Ebukam (born May 9, 1995) is a Nigerian–American football defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Washington and was drafted by the Los Angeles Ra ...

. Littleton started in the season-opener against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

and recorded 13 combined tackles (11 solo), broke up a pass, and made an interception in a 33–13 road victory. Two weeks later against the Los Angeles Chargers, he had 10 combined tackles (5 solo), a pass deflection, and blocked a punt in the end zone that was recovered by

Blake Countess Blake Countess (born August 8, 1993) is an American football cornerback for the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football for Michigan, using three years of eligibility between 2011 and 2014. He ...

for a touchdown in a 35–23 win. During a Week 7 39-10 road victory over the

, Littleton again had 10 total tackles (8 solo), including two sacks. He also was credited with the first safety of his pro career after blocking a punt out of the end zone during the second quarter. Littleton has earned high praise in his first season as a full-time defensive starter for the Rams. Head coach Sean McVay said, “Can't really understate what a great job and what an impact Cory Littleton's made.” Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips also remarked, “I don't know that any linebacker is playing as well as he is in both areas. He's way ahead of everybody in the league as far as pass coverage.” On December 18, 2018, Littleton was voted to the 2019 Pro Bowl as a special-teams starter. He finished the regular season with a then-career-high 125 tackles, a career-high four sacks, 13 pass deflections, three interceptions, a forced fumble, and an interception returned for a touchdown in 16 games and starts. In the playoffs, Littleton recorded seven tackles in a 30–22 victory against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and 12 tackles in a 26–23 overtime road victory 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in the

NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

to reach

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

where they lost 13–3 to the

. In the Super Bowl, he recorded 10 tackles, two passes defended, and an interception.

2019 season

On March 12, 2019, the Rams placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Littleton. On May 20, 2019, Littleton signed his tender for one year, $3.095 million. In the season-opener against the

, Littleton made 14 tackles and intercepted Cam Newton once in the 30–27 road victory. During 6 against the

, he recorded a team high 14 tackles and recovered a fumble forced on Jimmy Garoppolo in the 20–7 loss. In the next game against the

, Littleton recorded an interception off Matt Ryan in the 37–10 road victory. During Week 10 against the

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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, Littleton recorded a team high 14 tackles and recovered a fumble forced by

Nickell Robey-Coleman Nickell Earl Robey-Coleman (born January 17, 1992) is an American football cornerback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2013 after playing college fo ...

on wide receiver James Washington in the 17–12 road loss. In the regular-season finale against 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 ...

, he sacked Kyler Murray once and recovered a fumble lost by Murray during the 31–24 win. Littleton finished the 2019 season with a career-high 134 tackles, 3.5 sacks, nine pass deflections, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries in 16 games and starts.

Las Vegas Raiders

On March 25, 2020, Littleton signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. He was placed on the reserve/

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 ...

list by the team on November 12, 2020, and activated on November 25. He was released on March 15, 2022.

Carolina Panthers

On March 20, 2022, Littleton signed with the

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Las Vegas Raiders bio

Los Angeles Rams bio

Washington Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Littleton, Cory 1993 births Living people American football linebackers People from Spring Valley, San Diego County, California Sportspeople from San Diego County, California Players of American football from California Washington Huskies football players Los Angeles Rams players Las Vegas Raiders players Carolina Panthers players National Conference Pro Bowl players