Dashon Hugh Goldson (born September 18, 1984) is a former
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 ...
in 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 ...
at 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 ...
, and was drafted by 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 ...
in the fourth round of the
2007 NFL Draft. He also played for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
,
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
, and
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 ...
.
Early life
Goldson was born in
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...
. He started playing football with the Tri-City Falcons which is a
Pop Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...
team in
Harbor City, California
Harbor City is a highly diverse neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, with a population upward of 36,000 people. Originally part of the Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant, the Harbor City was brought into Los Angeles as ...
. He played high school football at
Narbonne High School
Nathaniel Narbonne High School (NHS) is a school located at 24300 South Western Avenue, in the Harbor City area of Los Angeles, California. Narbonne serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Narbonne serve ...
in Harbor City, CA where as a senior he totaled 130 tackles and six interceptions, with two returned for touchdowns.
College career
Goldson had a short stint at Coffeyville community college before enrolling at 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 ...
, where he played for the
Washington Huskies football
The Washington Huskies football team represents the University of Washington in college football. Washington competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Husky Stadium, located on cam ...
team from 2003 to 2006. He played in 43 games and recorded a total of 293 tackles, six interceptions, two forced fumbles and one sack. He graduated from the University of Washington in June 2006 with a degree in American Ethnic Studies.
Professional career
San Francisco 49ers
Goldson was selected by 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 ...
in the fourth round (126th overall) in the
2007 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, he played in ten games, recording 15 tackles as a backup to then-starting safety Mark Roman. In his second year with the 49ers, Goldson recorded 21 tackles as a backup.
2009 season
In 2009, the 49ers front office announced that Goldson would be the starter for free safety going into next season, while giving current starter
Mark Roman
Mark Emery Roman (born on March 16, 1977) is a former American football player safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at Louisia ...
permission to seek a trade. Although at the time this move was highly questioned, Goldson quickly proved doubters wrong.
Goldson made his NFL debut as a starter against the divisional rival
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 ...
on September 13, where the 49ers were victorious on the season opener, winning 20–16 against the reigning NFC conference champions. In Week 2, Goldson recorded his first career
interception
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
by diving under a pass that was tipped by
Nate Burleson
Nathaniel Eugene Burleson (born August 19, 1981) is a Canadian-born television host, American football commentator, and former wide receiver. He played college football for the University of Nevada, Reno and was drafted into the National Footb ...
. The 2009 season would prove to be a productive season, where Goldson led all San Francisco defenders in interceptions with four, and he also forced three fumbles. Goldson finished his first year as an NFL starter with 94 tackles, two sacks, six pass defenses and four interceptions. This was the beginning of Goldson's arrival in the league.
2010 season
![Dashon Goldson at 49ers training camp 2010-08-11 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Dashon_Goldson_at_49ers_training_camp_2010-08-11_1.JPG)
Goldson struggled during much of the 2010 season, missing tackles and not forcing turnovers like he did in 2009, finishing with 59 tackles and one interception. Although the San Francisco 49ers team as a whole struggled this year, they showed strides leading up to the 2011 campaign.
2011 season
Prior to the 2011 season, Goldson was an unrestricted free agent and visited with 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 ...
. He ultimately decided to sign a one-year contract and re-sign with the 49ers. He was named to his first career Pro Bowl, coming in second in the NFC in voting behind
Earl Thomas
Earl Winty Thomas III (born May 7, 1989) is an American former football free safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. During his time with the Sea ...
. He had a career-high 6 interceptions and 9 pass deflections during the regular season and is now known to be one of the hardest hitting safeties in the NFL. In the playoffs, he intercepted a
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is the NFL leader in ...
pass and returned it near the goal line which resulted in an
Alex Smith
Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 20 ...
touchdown pass to
Michael Crabtree
Michael Alex Crabtree Jr. (born September 14, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Texas Tech, where he was a two-time unanimous All-Am ...
to give the 49ers a first-quarter 14–0 lead.
2012 season
On October 26, 2012, Goldson was fined $7,875 for taunting the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
in Week 7. On December 20, 2012, he was fined $77,500 for uniform violations and a helmet-to-helmet collision with Patriots tight end
Aaron Hernandez
Aaron Josef Hernandez (November 6, 1989 April 19, 2017) was an American football tight end. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons with the New England Patriots until his career came to an abrupt end after his arrest ...
.
In the 2012 season, Goldson and the 49ers appeared in
Super Bowl XLVII
Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
. In the game, he had nine combined tackles as the 49ers fell to the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
by a score of 31–34.
He was named to the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
and was named to the
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...
team for the first time in his career.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2013 season
On March 13, 2013, Goldson signed a five-year, $41.25 million contract, including $22 million guaranteed with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
. He joins newly arrived cornerback
Darrelle Revis
Darrelle Shavar Revis (born July 14, 1985) is an American former football cornerback who played in National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college football at Pittsburgh and was selected in the ...
and 43rd overall draft pick
Johnthan Banks
Johnthan Shuntay Banks (born October 3, 1989) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Mississippi State Bulldogs football, Mississippi State, where he received All-America honors. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay ...
. On September 16, 2013, Goldson was suspended for one game for his helmet-to-helmet hit on
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 ...
running back
Darren Sproles
Darren Lee Sproles (born June 20, 1983) is an American football executive and former running back and return specialist who is a personnel consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football a ...
the previous day. Upon appeal, however, the suspension was overturned and Goldson's penalty for the hit reduced to a $100,000 fine.
2014 season
In 2014, Goldson recorded 81 combined tackles, of which 63 were solo.
Washington Redskins
2015 season
On April 3, 2015, Goldson was traded to the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
, along with a seventh round pick, for a sixth round pick 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 ...
. At the start of the
2015 season, he was voted as the team's
defensive captain.
Goldson was released on March 7, 2016 after just one season with the team.
Atlanta Falcons
2016 season
On August 28, 2016, Goldson was signed by 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 ...
to fill a backup role due to safety
Keanu Neal
Keanu Neal (born July 26, 1995) is an American football safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the 17th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He played college footbal ...
injuring his knee. In four games, Goldson made one tackle, coming in a 24–26 loss to the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
in Week 6. On October 19, 2016, he was released by the Falcons. On December 20, 2016, he was re-signed by the Falcons. Goldson was inactive for the Falcons' 28–34 overtime loss to 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 ...
in the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
.
NFL statistics
References
External links
Washington Redskins bioTampa Bay Buccaneers bioSan Francisco 49ers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldson, Dashon
1984 births
Living people
People from Carson, California
African-American players of American football
American football safeties
National Conference Pro Bowl players
Coffeyville Red Ravens football players
Washington Huskies football players
San Francisco 49ers players
Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Washington Redskins players
Atlanta Falcons players
Players of American football from California
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American people