Patrick A. Dennis (born June 30, 1978) 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 wi ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

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 ...

(NFL) for the

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 ...

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 divi ...

, Houston Texans, and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He played college football at the

University of Louisiana at Monroe The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Cen ...

Early years

Dennis was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he attended Southwood High School; he played for the school as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and defensive back. As a junior, he earned honorable-mention All-state honors at defensive back. As a senior, he received All-state and All-district honors at

. He accepted a football scholarship from the

, where he was a three-year starter at

. As a freshman, he registered 65 tackles (3 for loss), 3 interceptions, 8 passes defensed and one sack. The next year, he led the nation with 7 interceptions (school record), while tallying 18 passes defensed (school record), 75 tackles and 2 interceptions returned for

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s. As a junior, he made 40 tackles, 3 interceptions (tied for the team lead) and 10 passes defensed (led the team). He declared for the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

after his junior season, finishing his college career with 180 tackles, 13 interceptions (tied for third all-time) and 36 passes defensed (school record).

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Dennis was selected by the

in the fifth round (162nd overall) of the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

. As a rookie, he started the final 13 games at left cornerback in place of an injured

James Hasty James Edward Hasty (born May 23, 1965) is a former professional American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Oakland Raiders from 1988 to 2001. Career Footb ...

, while registering 70 tackles, 7 passes defensed, 2 fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, one interception and 10

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles. In 2001, he suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee during the third pre-season game against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

. On September 2, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He was waived injured on October 2.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 3, 2001, Dennis was claimed off waivers by the

. He appeared in 11 games in the team's nickel defense after recovering from his right knee injury, posting 14 tackles, 8 passes defensed and 8

tackles. He was released on September 1, 2002.

Houston Texans

On September 2, 2002, he was claimed off waivers by the Houston Texans, becoming a part of the franchise inaugural season. He suffered a torn ACL in the sixth game of the year against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

. On October 22, he was placed on the

, finishing with 5

tackles and one defensive tackle. On June 18, 2003, he had to undergo a second knee surgery on the same knee he tore the ACL. On August 26, he was placed on the

. He was released April 27, 2004.

Washington Redskins

On October 13, 2004, he was signed 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 ...

by the

after

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

Matt Bowen was lost for the season. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the year.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

ULM "22 for 22" countdown: Pat Dennis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennis, Pat 1978 births Living people Players of American football from Shreveport, Louisiana American football cornerbacks Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football players Kansas City Chiefs players Dallas Cowboys players Houston Texans players Washington Redskins players