Deon L. Lacey (born July 18, 1990) is a

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

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

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

of 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). 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 West Alabama The University of West Alabama (UWA) is a public university in Livingston, Alabama. Founded in 1835, the school began as a church-supported school for young women called Livingston Female Academy. The original Board of Trustees of Livingston F ...

. He has also been a member of 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 divisi ...

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

, and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Early years

Lacey was born on July 18, 1990 in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in football and track and field at

Hueytown High School Hueytown High School is a four-year public high school in the Birmingham, Alabama suburb of Hueytown. It is one of fourteen high schools in the Jefferson County School System. Hueytown competes in AHSAA Class 6A athletics. According to the websi ...

Hueytown, Alabama Hueytown is a city near Bessemer in western Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area, and was part of the heavy industry development in this area in the 20th century. At the 2020 census, the popu ...

. He was named All-state, Super All-Metro, Old Spice Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year while playing for the Golden Gophers football team. He also set the school record in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

with a time of 52.57.

College career

Lacey played football for the

West Alabama Tigers The West Alabama Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of West Alabama The University of West Alabama (UWA) is a public university in Livingston, Alabama. Founded in 1835, the school began as a church-supported school fo ...

from 2008 to 2012. He was named the

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the Mid ...

Defensive Player of the Year in 2011, recording 97 tackles, nine tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions, four pass deflections, and a fumble recovery. He finished his college career with 267 tackles, nine sacks, six forced fumbles and five interceptions.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Lacey was signed by the

of the NFL on April 28, 2013 after going undrafted in the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. Lacey played in three preseason games for the Cowboys, contributing with five tackles. He was released by the Cowboys on August 27, 2013.

Edmonton Eskimos

He signed with the CFL's

on February 26, 2014. Lacey made an immediate impact with the Eskimos on special teams and increasingly became an important member of their starting defensive unit. In three years with the Eskimos, Lacey played in all 54 games, racking up 144 defensive tackles, 68 special teams tackles, 7 sacks, 3 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles and 1 touchdown. In December 2016, Lacey had workouts with various NFL teams, including; 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 ...

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 ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

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 headquart ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

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 tea ...

, and

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. On January 3, 2017 the Eskimos granted Lacey an early release so he would be eligible to sign with an NFL team.

Miami Dolphins

On January 10, 2017, Lacey signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He was waived on September 2, 2017.

Buffalo Bills

On September 3, 2017, Lacey was claimed off waivers by the

. He was waived by the Bills on October 18, 2017, but was re-signed the next day. He finished the 2017 season having contributed nine tackles. In the following off-season, on February 20, 2019, Lacey signed a one-year contract extension with the Bills. Lacey appeared in all four preseason games in 2019, and totaled 18 tackles. He was released during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Miami Dolphins

On September 1, 2019, Lacey was claimed off waivers by the

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Lacey 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 May 21, 2020. After the CFL canceled the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Lacey chose to opt-out of his contract with the Roughriders on August 25, 2020.

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

On September 17, 2020, Lacey was signed to the Buffalo Bills practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on September 19 for the team's week 2 game against the

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was elevated again on September 26 for the team's week 3 game against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

, and reverted to the practice squad again following the game. He was promoted to the active roster on October 12, 2020. He was waived on October 27 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on January 1, 2021.

Saskatchewan Roughriders (second stint)

Lacey re-signed with the Roughriders on June 15, 2021.

Edmonton Elks

Lacey returned to the

in free agency on February 8, 2022.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsEdmonton Eskimos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacey, Deon 1990 births Living people African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football American football linebackers Buffalo Bills players Canadian football linebackers Dallas Cowboys players Edmonton Elks players Hueytown High School alumni Miami Dolphins players Players of American football from Indianapolis Saskatchewan Roughriders players West Alabama Tigers football players