Douglas Free (born January 16, 1984) 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 ...
in 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 ...
for 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 ...
. He was drafted by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the
2007 NFL Draft. 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
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...
.
Early years
Free attended
Lincoln High School in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. As a junior, he received All-
Fox Valley Conference
The Fox Valley Conference is an IHSA recognized high school extracurricular conference including the following schools, generally located in the northern part of the Fox River basin in Illinois. The conference regularly produces strong athlet ...
honors.
As a
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
, he was named
Defensive Line
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...
man of the Year, All-state, and All-
Fox Valley Conference
The Fox Valley Conference is an IHSA recognized high school extracurricular conference including the following schools, generally located in the northern part of the Fox River basin in Illinois. The conference regularly produces strong athlet ...
on both offense (
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
) and defense (
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
). He tallied 64 tackles, 8 sacks, 6 fumble-cause hits, 5 passes defensed, 2 fumble recoveries, 7 blocked kicks, 6 receptions for 141 yards, one touchdown.
College career
Free accepted a football scholarship from
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...
, with the plan of being converted into an
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 ...
. As a
redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi
* Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...
freshman, he was forced to start at
left tackle
Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...
, when sophomore tackle Shea Fitzgerald was killed along with 12 others, in a back porch collapse during a party in
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...
, in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
. He had 10 starts at
left tackle
Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...
and 2 at
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
.
As a sophomore, he developed into an athletic player that earned him the nickname "Doug Freak" among his teammates. He settled at
left tackle
Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...
with 12 starts and was named second-team
All-MAC.
As a junior, he started 12 games at
left tackle
Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...
, receiving first-team All-MAC and honorable mention
All-American honors.
Professional career
Free was selected in the fourth round (122nd overall) of the
2007 NFL Draft by 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 ...
. As a rookie, he was named a starter in his first preseason game, but suffered a knee sprain that would delayed his development and contributed to him being inactive for the first 15 games of the season, until playing at right tackle during the fourth quarter of the last game.
He was declared inactive during the first 13 weeks of the
2008 season. The next year, a season-ending injury to
Marc Colombo
Marc Edward Colombo (born October 8, 1978) is a former American football offensive tackle and coach who was most recently the offensive line coach for the New York Giants. He played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Ch ...
pushed him into starting seven games at right tackle, performing at a high level while allowing only one sack. After the April 1,
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
release of
Flozell Adams
Flozell Jootin Adams (born May 18, 1975) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football for Michigan State University. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft, and also played ...
, Free became the starting
left tackle
Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...
.
On July 26,
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, the Cowboys avoided him testing the
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 ...
market and rewarded him with a four-year, $32 million contract, with
$17 million guaranteed.
In
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, the team decided to move him back to right tackle after his play regressed; exchanging positions with
Tyron Smith
Tyron Jerrar Smith (born December 12, 1990) is an American football offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC where he won the Morris Trophy, recognizing the best offensiv ...
. He was still seen as a liability even with the change, so the team gave more playing time to
Jermey Parnell
Jermey Alexander Parnell (born June 20, 1986) is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars. He was signed by the New Orleans Sa ...
in the final four games of the season.
After having to share his playing time and giving up seven sacks, five holding penalties and seven false starts, he accepted a reduced salary in order to avoid being waived before the start of the
2013 season.
In
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, he was a starter in what was arguably considered the best
offensive line
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
in the league and also emerged as the unit's leader. In October, he suffered a sprained right foot in the last minutes of the Week 6 win against the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
, causing him to miss three games. He also missed the team's last four games (including two in the playoffs) with a left ankle stress fracture, which led him to have off season surgery.
On March 7,
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
, Free re-signed with the Cowboys on a three-year, $15 million contract. He started all 16 games and although he was a solid contributor at right tackle, he led the team in penalties (nine).
In
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, he was a part of what was considered the best
offensive line
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
in the
NFL. He started all 16 games, even though he was limited with foot and ankle injuries. On March 11,
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, Free announced his retirement from the NFL after 10 seasons.
References
External links
Northern Illinois bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Free, Doug
1984 births
Living people
People from Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Players of American football from Wisconsin
American football offensive tackles
Northern Illinois Huskies football players
Dallas Cowboys players