DeMarquis Larenz Gates (born March 7, 1996) 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

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 ...

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 ...

for the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893. Originally known as th ...

Early years

Gates attended Lovejoy High School in

Hampton, Georgia Hampton is a city in southwestern Henry County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,987, up from 3,857 at the 2000 census. By 2018 the estimated population was 7,922. "Hampton" mailing addresses outside t ...

. As a junior at Lovejoy, Gates made 132 tackles and was named All-Region. He missed his senior season with a torn ACL. Ranked the No. 16 outside linebacker in his class by 247 Sports, Gates signed with Ole Miss on March 28, 2013.

College career

Gates played linebacker at

. In November 2015, Gates made his second career start against

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 ...

in place of the injured

Denzel Nkemdiche Denzel-Ray N. Nkemdiche (born February 15, 1993) is a former American football linebacker. He attended and played for the University of Mississippi. High school career A native of Loganville, Georgia, Nkemdiche attended Grayson High School, whe ...

. Gates finished with 14 tackles, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week. He led the team in tackles from 2015 to 2017, becoming the first Ole Miss player to do so since Abdul Jackson from 1992 to 1994. Prior to the 2017 season, he was named to the Dick Butkus Award watchlist. During his senior season in 2017, Gates made 114 tackles, including an SEC-best 70 solo tackles that ranked 13th in FBS. He became the first Ole Miss player with more than 100 tackles since

Patrick Willis Patrick L. Willis (born January 25, 1985) is an American former football middle linebacker who played his entire eight-year career with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the 49ers in the first roun ...

in 2006. In 49 career games, Gates made 282 tackles, nine pass breakups, six sacks, four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

After going undrafted in the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

, Gates was signed by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

on May 22, 2018. He was waived on June 14.

Memphis Express

Gates joined the

Memphis Express The Memphis Express was a professional American football franchise based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a member of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) during its single season in 2019. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadi ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(AAF). On March 28, 2019, Gates was named AAF Defensive Player of the Week. The AAF abruptly folded on April 2 after eight games. Gates led the AAF in tackles with 52 and forced fumbles with five.

Washington Redskins

On April 11, Gates was signed by 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 ...

. He was waived on June 11.

Houston Roughnecks

Gates was selected by the

Houston Roughnecks The Houston Roughnecks are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and plays its home games at TDECU Stadium. History ...

in Phase 3 Round 8 of the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

. Before the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Gates had 32 tackles (second on the team) and 2.0 sacks (tied for the team lead) for the Roughnecks. He had a game-winning fumble recovery against the

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

and forced a fumble late versus the

Seattle Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons (formerly known as the Seattle Dragons) are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The team is a franchise of the new XFL and plays its home games at Lumen Field in Seattle. Originally founded ...

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 25, Gates signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. He was waived on August 13, 2020.

TSL Blues

Gates was selected by the Blues of

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

during its player selection draft on October 12, 2020.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

He signed with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

of the CFL on December 17, 2020. He played in five games during the CFL’s shortened 2021 regular season, recording five tackles and three special teams tackles.

Birmingham Stallions

Gates was selected with the second pick of the 29th round of the

2022 USFL Draft The 2022 USFL Draft, also known as the 2022 USFL Player Selection Meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released throug ...

by the

Birmingham Stallions The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their h ...

. He was ruled inactive for the team's game against the

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal o ...

on May 7, 2022. He was moved back to the active roster on May 14.

Chicago Bears

On August 6, 2022, Gates signed with the

. He was waived on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day. On January 4, 2023, the Bears signed him to the active roster.

Statistics

References

External links

Ole Miss Rebels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, DeMarquis 1996 births Living people American football linebackers Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Hampton, Georgia Sportspeople from Henry County, Georgia Ole Miss Rebels football players Memphis Express (American football) players Houston Roughnecks players Minnesota Vikings players The Spring League players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Cleveland Browns players Birmingham Stallions (2022) players Chicago Bears players