Damien Wilson (born May 28, 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 wi ...
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, ...
who is a free agent. He played
college football at
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, and was selected by 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 divi ...
in the fourth round of the
2015 NFL Draft. He has also played for the
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 ...
and 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 pla ...
.
Early years
Wilson attended
Amite County High School in
Liberty, Mississippi
Liberty is a town in Amite County, Mississippi. It is part of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. It has a population of 728 according to the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Amite County.
The town can be accessed via I-5 ...
, where he was a teammate of
Gabe Jackson
Gabriel C. Jackson (born July 12, 1991) is an American football guard who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mississippi State.
Early years
A nati ...
. He accepted a scholarship from
Alcorn State University, but transferred to
Jones County Junior College
Jones College is a public community college in Ellisville, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and serves its eight-county district consisting of Clarke, Covington, Gre ...
after his freshman season.
College career
As a sophomore
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are two slightly dif ...
, Wilson was named the Region 23 Defensive MVP, after ranking fourth in the nation with 122 tackles (6 for loss), 2 sacks and 2 passes defensed. As a sophomore, he registered 119 tackles (10.5 for loss). At the end of the year, he transferred to the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
.
As a junior, he was converted to
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, ...
, finishing with 12 starts, 78 tackles (second on the team), one sack and 5.5 tackles-for-loss. In his last year he registered 12 starts, 119 tackles (led team), 4 sacks (tied for team lead), 10.5 tackles-for-loss (led the team), one interception, 3 passes defensed, one forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries.
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
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 divi ...
selected Wilson in the fourth round with the 127th overall pick in the
2015 NFL Draft. He was the 13th linebacker selected in 2015.
On May 28, 2015, the Dallas Cowboys signed Wilson to a four-year, $2.74 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $466,315.
As
Anthony Hitchens
Anthony Hitchens (born June 10, 1992) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Iowa.
Early life
Hitch ...
did before him, the coaches decided to make Wilson learn all three linebacker positions in
training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...
. On
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 ...
he tied for the team lead in tackles (9) with
Kyle Wilber
Kyle Wilber (born April 26, 1989) is a former American football linebacker and coach who is the special teams quality control coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the four ...
and
Jeff Heath
John Geoffrey Heath (April 1, 1915 – December 9, 1975) was a Canadian-born American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his career for the Cleveland Indians.
He was one of the American League's most promising power ...
. As a rookie he registered a total of 16 tackles. 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 ...
, he saw extensive play and performed well replacing an injured
Andrew Gachkar. He played the season mostly on special teams.
In 2016, he suffered a serious offseason injury on his right eye while playing
paintball
Paintball is a competitive team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called paintballs that break upon impact. Paintballs are usually shot using low-energy a ...
, missing the first two weeks of
training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...
after being placed on the non-football injury list. In week 6 of the season, he passed Kyle Wilber on the depth chart and went on to start 5 games at
strong-side linebacker. He posted 35 tackles (4 for loss).
In 2017, he began the season as the backup at strongside linebacker, before passing Wilber on the depth chart in the seventh game against 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 ...
. He tallied 39 tackles (eleventh on the team), five quarterback hurries, one sack and seven special teams tackles (sixth on the team).
Kansas City Chiefs
200px, Wilson playing for the Chiefs in 2019.
On March 14, 2019, Wilson signed a two-year, $5.75 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. Wilson won
Super Bowl LIV
Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...
with the Chiefs after they defeated 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 ...
31–20.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Wilson signed with 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 pla ...
on April 2, 2021. He had a career year in 2021, starting all 17 games, finishing second on the team with 106 tackles, along with three sacks, five passes defensed, an interception and a forced fumble.
Carolina Panthers
On March 17, 2022, Wilson signed a two-year, $6.9 million contract with 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. ...
. He played in 17 games with five starts, recording 38 tackles and two sacks.
On March 10, 2023, Wilson was released by the Panthers.
Personal life
On July 4, 2017, Wilson was arrested at
Toyota Stadium on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon during an
Independence Day celebration. He was then released on a $10,000 bond for each count.
On April 19, 2022, Wilson was arrested in Frisco, Texas for allegedly threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend. He was released on a $5,000 bond
References
External links
Kansas City Chiefs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Damien
1993 births
Living people
Alcorn State Braves football players
American football linebackers
Carolina Panthers players
Dallas Cowboys players
Jacksonville Jaguars players
Jones County Bobcats football players
Kansas City Chiefs players
Minnesota Golden Gophers football players
People from Gloster, Mississippi
Players of American football from Mississippi