Derek Newton (born November 16, 1987) 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

. He was drafted by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

in the seventh round of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

and played for the team until knee injuries halted his career in 2016. He also played for 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 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 ...

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage l ...

, and

Hinds Community College Hinds Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Raymond, Mississippi and branches in Jackson and Vicksburg. The Hinds Community College District includes Hinds County, Claiborne County, part of Copiah County, Ran ...

before that.

Early years

A native of

Utica, Mississippi Utica is a town in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 820 at the 2010 census, down from 966 at the 2000 census. Utica is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Utica was originally an area known as ...

, Newton attended

Hinds County Agricultural High School Hinds County Agricultural High School or Hinds Agricultural High School (HAHS) was a public secondary school in unincorporated Hinds County, Mississippi, United States, south of Utica. It was located on the Utica campus of Hinds Community College ...

, where he was an All-Metro and All-District lineman as a senior, after playing only two years of

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 ...

. He helped the team to a 10–0 regular-season record during senior season. However, Newton went unregarded by national recruiting services like

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

and

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

. Despite drawing some interest from

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wor ...

and

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, he decided to attend

Raymond, Mississippi Raymond is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,933; in 2020, its population was 1,960. Raymond is one of two county seats of Hinds County (along with Jackson) and is the home of the ...

(2006–2007).

College career

A two-star recruit coming out of junior college, Newton went on to

, where he

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2008. He became a starter in 2009, earning Second-team All-

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

honors. In 2010, he earned First-team honors.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Projected as a fifth-round selection, Newton was ranked as the No. 16 offensive tackle available in the

. ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' described him as "a solid athlete and a terrific developmental prospect who could eventually break into a starting lineup". Newton was eventually selected 214th overall by the

. He was the first offensive lineman to be drafted out of Arkansas State since Ray Brown in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. During his rookie season, Newton appeared in 14 games as a backup to veteran right tackle

Eric Winston Eric Joseph Winston (born November 17, 1983) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played in college at the University of Miami and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Winston has also play ...

. After Winston was cut following the 2011 NFL season, Newton competed with veteran

Rashad Butler Rashad Jamaal Butler (born February 10, 1983) is a former American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Miami. College care ...

for the starting right tackle spot, eventually winning out. After starting every game of the 2012 season, Newton injured his right knee during the Texans' win over the

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 ...

on November 22. He was replaced in the starting line-up by Ryan Harris. On March 7, 2015, Newton re-signed with the Texans to a five-year, $26.5 million contract. On October 24, 2016, Newton went down with an injury in a Week 7 game against the Denver Broncos and was carted off the field with air casts attached to both legs. It was eventually revealed that both patellar tendons were torn, effectively ending his 2016 season. On May 12, 2017, Newton was placed on Reserve/ PUP as a result of his knee injuries suffered in 2016. On April 12, 2018, the Texans released Newton.

New Orleans Saints

On December 11, 2018, Newton signed a two-year contract with the

, two years after his devastating knee injuries. He was released on December 20, 2018, but was re-signed a week later. On May 22, 2019, Newton was released by the Saints.

References

External links

Houston Texans bioArkansas State Red Wolves football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Derek 1987 births Living people People from Utica, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi American football offensive tackles Arkansas State Red Wolves football players Hinds Eagles football players Houston Texans players New Orleans Saints players