Donald Darell Strickland (born November 24, 1980) 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 ...

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 ...

. He was drafted by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

in the third round of the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. 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 Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

. Strickland has also played for 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 ...

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 ...

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, and

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

Early years

Strickland attended

Archbishop Riordan High School Archbishop Riordan High School is a diocesan, co-ed Catholic high school established by the Society of Mary in San Francisco, California. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. It opened in fall 1949 as Riordan High Schoo ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. As a senior at Riordan, Strickland was a standout All-League

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. His uncle, Raymond Bell, played at UCLA and his cousin, Herb Ward, played at Southern California and in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. Strickland's father, Donald, is a retired photographer for the NBC affiliate, KRON-4 in the Bay Area.

College career

Strickland attended the University of Colorado. Strickland was a key part in the Buffaloes' run to a Big 12 Conference Championship in 2001. He had 78 tackles and two interceptions, both returned for touchdowns. In 2002, he had 86 tackles, and one interception returned 95 yards for a touchdown.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Strickland started for the

from

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until the first game of

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when he injured himself.

Philadelphia Eagles

He was picked up by the

later that season, playing in three games. The Eagles waived Strickland during the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

training camp.

San Francisco 49ers

The

acquired him as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on October 31, 2006. The 49ers released Strickland on February 26, 2007, but re-signed him on March 6, 2007 to a one-year deal. He re-signed with the 49ers on March 21, 2008 to a one-year contract.

New York Jets

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the 2009 offseason, Strickland signed with the

on March 25. He was released on March 5, 2010.

San Diego Chargers

Strickland signed with the

on March 12, 2010. After one season in San Diego, he was released on July 28, 2011.

Second stint with Jets

On July 30, 2011, Strickland was re-signed by the New York Jets.

References

External links

New York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strickland, Donald 1980 births Living people Players of American football from San Francisco African-American players of American football American football cornerbacks Colorado Buffaloes football players Indianapolis Colts players Philadelphia Eagles players San Francisco 49ers players New York Jets players San Diego Chargers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people