Rashaan Malik Gaulden (born January 23, 1995) is an

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 ...

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 ...

who is currently a member of the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

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 at

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and was drafted by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Early years

Gaulden attended Independence High School in

Thompson's Station, Tennessee Thompson's Station is a town in Williamson County, Tennessee. The population has grown from 2,194 at the 2010 Census to 7,485 in the 2020 Census. Several locations in Thompson's Station listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places inclu ...

. Along with football, he also participated in track and field and was named an All-American after finishing fourth nationally in the 4x400 relay. During his senior football season, he recorded 193 tackles. Gaulden committed to play football for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegi ...

on July 20, 2013, choosing the Volunteers over programs such as Vanderbilt and

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

College career

Gaulden played at the University of Tennessee from 2014 to 2017 under head coach

Butch Jones Lyle Allen "Butch" Jones Jr. (born January 17, 1968) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Arkansas State University. Jones previously served as a special assistant to the head coach and offensive analyst at the Univ ...

. As a true freshman in 2014, Gaulden played in 11 games, making seven total tackles. Gaulden missed the 2015 season due to a foot injury suffered during training camp in August and took a medical redshirt. Gaulden returned in 2016 as a redshirt sophomore and played in all 13 of Tennessee's games, recording 68 tackles (six for loss), four pass breakups and one forced fumble. As a redshirt junior in 2017, Gaulden played in all 12 games of the season, tallying 65 tackles, one interception, five pass deflections, and three forced fumbles. His interception was the first of his collegiate career and came against the Florida Gators in a 26–20 loss. After the season, he declared for the 2018 NFL Draft.

Professional career

On January 3, 2018, Gaulden released a statement through his

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account, announcing his decision to forgo his senior season and enter the 2018 NFL Draft. He attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

in Indianapolis and completed all of the combine and positional drills. His 40-yard dash time was described as "not great" by NFL analyst

Daniel Jeremiah Daniel Jeremiah (born December 5, 1977) is an analyst for the NFL Network, and a writer with NFL.com. He also serves as a color commentator for Los Angeles Chargers games on KFI radio. Jeremiah was a starting quarterback at Northeastern Louis ...

, but Gaulden managed to perform well and show his agility in positional drills. On March 19, 2018, Gaulden participated at Tennessee's pro day and weighed in at 191 lbs, which was six pounds lighter than his weight at the NFL Combine. He ran the 40-yard dash (4.69s), 20-yard dash (2.78s), 10-yard dash (1.64s), and short shuttle (4.26s). At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Gaulden was projected to be a second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the second best free safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com, was ranked the 10th best cornerback by

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 twi ...

, and was ranked the 13th best cornerback in the draft by Scouts Inc.

Carolina Panthers

The

selected Gaulden in the third round (85th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft, through a pick traded from the Buffalo Bills for

Kelvin Benjamin Kelvin Benjamin (born February 5, 1991) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He also played for ...

. He was the seventh safety drafted in 2018. On May 12, 2018, the Carolina Panthers signed Gaulden to a four-year, $3.44 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

that includes a signing bonus of $847,656. On November 25, 2019, Gaulden was waived by the Panthers.

New York Giants

On December 4, 2019, Gaulden was signed to the New York Giants practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 18, 2019. He was waived on August 2, 2020. Gaulden had a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 17, 2020, and with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

on August 23, 2020.

Las Vegas Raiders

On November 9, 2020, the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West div ...

signed Gaulden to their practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on December 17 and December 26 for the team's weeks 15 and 16 games against the

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

and

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 p ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 5, 2021. He was waived on June 4, 2021.

Calgary Stampeders

On September 27, 2022 Gaulden signed with the

of the

(CFL).

References

External links

New York Giants bioCarolina Panthers bioTennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaulden, Rashaan 1995 births Living people American football cornerbacks People from Spring Hill, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee Tennessee Volunteers football players Carolina Panthers players New York Giants players Las Vegas Raiders players