Tarell Basham (born March 18, 1994) 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 wit ...

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pla ...

for 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 h ...

of 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 ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

from 2013 to 2016. 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 20 ...

in the third round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

Early years

Basham attended Franklin County High School in

Rocky Mount, Virginia Rocky Mount is a town in and the county seat of Franklin County, Virginia, United States. The town is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area, and had a population of 4,903 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the Roanoke Region of ...

, where he had 82 tackles and 16 sacks in his career. Following high school, Basham attended military school for a year, before committing to Ohio University.

College career

Following high school, Basham spent one year at

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private school, private, all-male, Military school, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Chris ...

Chatham, Virginia Chatham is a town in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Pittsylvania County. Chatham's population was 1,269 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Danville, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town w ...

, a military post-graduate school, before enrolling in Ohio University, where he played for the

Ohio Bobcats football The Ohio Bobcats football team is a major intercollegiate varsity sports program of Ohio University. The team represents the university as the senior member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), playing at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdiv ...

team from 2013 to 2016. As a senior, he was awarded the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twe ...

Defensive Player of the Year and recorded a school record 11.5 sacks. During his career, Basham made 152 tackles and a school record 29.5 sacks.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Basham was drafted by the

in the third round (80th overall) of the

. On October 4, 2018, Basham was waived by the Colts.

New York Jets

On October 5, 2018, Basham was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets. In week 16 of the 2019 season against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

, Basham recorded an interception off a pass thrown by Devlin Hodges during the 16–10 win. This was Basham's first career interception in the NFL.

Dallas Cowboys

On March 22, 2021, Basham signed a two-year contract with 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 divis ...

. Basham was placed on injured reserve on September 17, 2022. He was activated on November 9. The Cowboys waived him on November 29.

Tennessee Titans

On December 5, 2022, Basham signed with the

Personal life

Basham is the cousin of

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

defensive end

Carlos Basham Jr. Carlos "Boogie" Basham Jr. (born December 16, 1997) is an American football linebacker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wake Forest, and was drafted by the Bills in the second round of ...

He has three siblings; Thaddeus Basham, Kamiyah Ford and Tajia Dawson.

References

External links

Ohio Bobcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basham, Tarell 1994 births Living people People from Rocky Mount, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia African-American players of American football American football linebackers American football defensive ends Ohio Bobcats football players Indianapolis Colts players New York Jets players Dallas Cowboys players Hargrave Military Academy alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople Tennessee Titans players