Dalton Keene (born April 14, 1999) 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 wi ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

for the Houston Texans 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 at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

Early life and high school

Keene grew up in

Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...

and attended Chatfield High School, where he played middle linebacker and running back on the football team and also ran track. He was named first-team All-State as a senior after rushing for 1,175 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.

College career

Keene started 12 games as a true freshman and caught 10 passes for 167 yards. He was named honorable mention All- Atlantic Coast Conference after recording 28 receptions for 341 yards and three touchdowns in his sophomore season. As a junior, Keene caught 21 passes for 240 yards and five touchdowns. Following the end of the season, Keene announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility to enter the 2020 NFL Draft. Keene finished his collegiate career with 59 receptions for 748 yards and eight touchdowns in 39 games played.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Keene was selected in the third round with the 101st overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. The Patriots acquired the pick from a division rival, the New York Jets, trading two fourth-round picks in the 2020 draft and a sixth-round pick in 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 from April 29 to May 1, 202 ...

. It was the first time in

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...

's 20 years as head coach of the Patriots that the team included a future draft pick to move up in a draft. He made his NFL debut in Week 7, recording one catch for eight yards. He was placed on injured reserve on November 10, 2020, with a knee injury. He was activated on December 5, 2020. On August 7, 2021, Keene was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. On August 21, 2022, the Patriots waived Keene.

Philadelphia Eagles

On September 6, 2022, Keene was signed to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

practice squad. He was released on October 4.

Denver Broncos

On October 15, 2022, Keene was signed to 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 headquar ...

practice squad. He was released three days later. On December 27, 2022, Keene was re-signed by the Broncos to their practice squad. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 8, 2023.

Philadelphia Eagles (second stint)

On January 20, 2023, Keene was signed to a reserve/future contract by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was waived on July 26, 2023.

Houston Texans

On August 1, 2023, Keene signed with the Houston Texans. He was waived on August 29, 2023 and re-signed to the practice squad.

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bioVirginia Tech Hokies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keene, Dalton 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Colorado Sportspeople from the Denver metropolitan area Sportspeople from Littleton, Colorado American football tight ends Virginia Tech Hokies football players New England Patriots players Philadelphia Eagles players Denver Broncos players Houston Texans players