Travin Howard (born May 10, 1996) 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 ...
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, ...
who is a free agent. He played
college football at
TCU.
Early years
Howard was born in
Longview, Texas
Longview is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and county seat of Gregg County; a small part of Longview extends into the western portion of neighboring Harrison County. Longview is located in East Texas, where Interstate 20 and U.S. Highways ...
, where he became a star at
Longview High School
Longview High School (colloquially known as LHS) is a public high school located in the city of Longview, Texas, in Gregg County, United States and classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Longview Independent School District ...
. Playing
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 ...
, he earned District Defensive MVP honors as a senior for the Lobos in 2013. He verbally committed to play at
TCU and signed his national letter of intent with the
Horned Frogs on February 5, 2014.
College career
At TCU, Howard played sparingly as a freshman in 2014. After the first game of his sophomore season, Howard was moved to
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, ...
and led the Horned Frogs in tackles the next week against
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...
. He went on to start the next 11 games, and would end the season as the team's leading tackler. He also earned Defensive MVP honors in the Frogs' triple-overtime victory over
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
in the
2015 Alamo Bowl
The 2015 Alamo Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on January 2, 2015, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The 22nd edition of the Alamo Bowl featured the Kansas State Wildcats from the Big 12 Conference and the UCLA Bru ...
.
As a full-time starter in his junior and senior seasons in
Fort Worth, Howard again led the Horned Frogs in tackles - becoming the first player in program history to do so for three consecutive seasons. He was named first-team All-
Big 12
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...
in both seasons and again earned Defensive MVP honors in his final collegiate game, a win over
Stanford in the
2017 Alamo Bowl.
College statistics
Professional career
Los Angeles Rams
Howard was drafted by the
Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round (231st overall) of the
2018 NFL Draft. He was waived by the Rams on September 1, 2018. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 16, 2018. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Rams on February 6, 2019.
On September 5, 2020, Howard was placed on injured reserve. He was given an
exclusive-rights 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 ...
tender by the Rams on March 4, 2021, and signed it on March 26.
On November 2, 2021, Howard was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on December 21.
Against the
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 ...
in the
NFC Championship Game, Howard made the game-sealing interception on
Jimmy Garoppolo
James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed Jimmy G, is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Illinois, where he set the school r ...
in the final two minutes in the 20-17 win, sending the Rams to
Super Bowl LVI. The Rams went to beat the
Cincinnati Bengals 23-20.
On June 8, 2022, Howard was waived by the Rams, but was then re-signed less than a week later He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on August 30, 2022. He was designated to return from the reserve/non-football injury list on October 24, 2022. He was activated from the reserve/non-football injury list on November 5, 2022.
Buffalo Bills
On May 14, 2023, Howard signed with the
Buffalo Bills. He was released on August 29, 2023.
References
External links
TCU Horned Frogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Travin
1996 births
Living people
American football linebackers
American football safeties
Buffalo Bills players
Longview High School alumni
Los Angeles Rams players
Players of American football from Longview, Texas
TCU Horned Frogs football players