Delvin Lionel Breaux (born October 25, 1989) is a former American professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
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cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

who played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) and

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 attended

McDonogh 35 High School McDonogh 35 Senior High School is a charter public high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a part of New Orleans Public Schools and InspireNOLA charter operator. The school was named after John McDonogh.Woyshner and Bohan, "Introduction." P ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
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. He was a member of the Louisiana Bayou Vipers,

New Orleans VooDoo Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretis ...

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

and

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 ...

Early years

Breaux fractured his C4, C5 and C6

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic i ...

during a kickoff return in a

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

game on October 27, 2006. His doctor said it was "like a miracle" that he was neurologically fine. He had earlier received a scholarship to play football for the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...

. The Tigers honored his scholarship and he arrived at

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 December 2008 but was never cleared to play. He was a player-coach for the Tigers. Breaux eventually stopped going to practice and later left LSU.

Professional career

Gridiron Developmental Football League

Louisiana Bayou Vipers

Breaux played for the Louisiana Bayou Vipers of the

Gridiron Developmental Football League The Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL) is a low-level american football minor league based in Memphis, Tennessee, using the franchise model. , the league has 63 teams. The GDFL plays a playoff format similar to NCAA tournament, as 16 ...

(GDFL) in 2012 and was named an All-Star.

Arena Football League

New Orleans VooDoo

Breaux was signed by the

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL) on November 5, 2012. He was placed on Other League Exempt by the VooDoo on May 22, 2013. His AFL rights were assigned to the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...

on October 16, 2015.

Canadian Football League

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Breaux signed with the

on May 24, 2013. He played for two seasons and was named to the CFL All-Star team in

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National Football League

New Orleans Saints

Breaux was released by Hamilton so he could sign with the Saints. He signed with the New Orleans Saints on January 24, 2015. In his first game with the Saints on September 13, he recovered a fumble 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 ...

. Breaux 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 ...

during the Saints' 39–17 loss 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 plays ...

. He was the Saints' recipient of the

Ed Block Courage Award The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to a player from each team in the National Football League (NFL) who are voted for by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a ...

for the 2015 season. Breaux finished his first year in the

NFL 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 major ...

with 45 tackles and 3 interceptions. He was voted the team's defensive MVP by a fan vote on the Saints' website. He suffered a broken

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

during the team's first game of the 2016 season on September 11. He missed the next six games then suffered a shoulder injury in Week 14. He was placed on injured reserve on December 23. 2016. On August 16, 2017, Breaux suffered a fractured fibula yet again, to the same leg, and was ruled out for six weeks. He was initially diagnosed with a leg contusion by two orthopedic doctors on the Saints' medical staff, but later underwent an x-ray after making no substantial progress in the injury healing. The Saints subsequently fired two doctors over the misdiagnosis. He was placed on injured reserve on September 5, 2017.

Canadian Football League (second stint)

Second stint with Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On June 18, 2018, Breaux returned to the CFL when he signed a one-year deal with the

. Breaux's contract with Hamilton made him the highest paid defensive back in the Canadian league, making a little less than $200,000 before incentives. Breaux announced his retirement from football on March 24, 2021. However, after sitting out the

2021 CFL season The 2021 CFL season was the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. The regular season began on August 5, 2021, and ended November 20, 2021. Each team played 14 regular sea ...

, Breaux was re-activated on January 17, 2022.

References

External links

Official websiteJust Sports StatsHamilton Tiger-Cats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breaux, Delvin 1989 births Living people African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football American football defensive backs Canadian football defensive backs Hamilton Tiger-Cats players New Orleans Saints players New Orleans VooDoo players Players of American football from New Orleans Players of Canadian football from New Orleans Tampa Bay Storm players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people Ed Block Courage Award recipients