Denico Autry (born July 15, 1990) 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 ...

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, p ...

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 hom ...

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 majo ...

(NFL). He attended Albemarle High School in

Albemarle, North Carolina Albemarle () is a small city and the county seat of Stanly County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,903 in the 2010 Census. Gerald R. "Ronnie" Michael (a former police chief in the city) serves as Mayor and Albemarle has a s ...

and first enrolled at

East Mississippi Community College East Mississippi Community College (EMCC), formerly East Mississippi Junior College, is a public community college in Scooba, Mississippi. EMCC serves and is supported by Clay, Kemper, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Noxubee and Oktibbeha counties in ...

. He then transferred to play

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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

, and was signed as an

undrafted 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 i ...

by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

Early years

Autry played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

for the Albemarle High School Bulldogs. He finished his senior season with 104 solo tackles, 38 assists, 9.0 sacks, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. He was named the All-SNAP Defensive Player of the Year, as well as the Rocky River Conference Defensive Player of the Year and played in the NCCA East-West All-Star game.

College career

Autry first played college football for the East Mississippi Lions of

, helping lead the Lions to a 12–0 record, state championship and

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

national title. He was named 2011 NJCAA Football All-America First-team. He transferred to play for the

Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I. Sports sp ...

from 2012 to 2013. Autry played in 26 games, starting 23. He recorded 73 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, six sacks and three forced fumbles in his two-year career.

College statistics

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Autry was signed by the

of the NFL on May 20, 2014, after going undrafted in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New ...

. He made his NFL debut on October 2, 2014, 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 Conferenc ...

, recording two tackles. He played in ten games for the Raiders in 2014, accumulating thirteen combined tackles. Autry played in fourteen games, starting eight, for the team during the 2015 season, totaling 22 combined tackles, three sacks, three passes deflections and one safety. The Raiders offered him a one-year exclusive rights tender on March 9, 2016, which Autry eventually signed. Autry was offered a restricted free agent tender after the conclusion of the 2017 season. He officially signed his tender on April 17, 2017.

Indianapolis Colts

On March 14, 2018, Autry signed a three-year, $17.8 million contract with 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 2008 ...

. In Week 14, Autry recorded a career-high three sacks and two forced fumbles in a 6–0 loss to 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 ...

. He followed that performance week two, with a pair of sacks in a 24–21 upset win over the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...

, earning him AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Autry finished the 2019 season with 32 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and a forced fumble in 14 games played. Autry sat out the last two games of the season after suffering a concussion in Week 15 of the season. Autry made his return from injury in Week 1 against the

. During the game, Autry recorded his first two sacks of the season on

Gardner Minshew Gardner Flint Minshew II (born May 16, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He began his college football career at Northwest Mississippi, winning the NJCAA National Footb ...

in the 27–20 loss. In Week 8 against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

, Autry recorded two sacks on

Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...

during the 41–21 win. Autry was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

list by the team on November 20, 2020, and activated on December 3. In the Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the

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 ...

, Autry sacked

Josh Allen Josh or Joshua Allen may refer to: * Josh Allen (offensive lineman) (born 1991), former American football player * Josh Allen (quarterback) (born 1996), American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills since 2018 * Josh Allen (defensi ...

1.5 times and forced a fumble during the 27–24 loss.

Tennessee Titans

On March 18, 2021, Autry signed a three-year, $21.5 million deal with the

Career statistics

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bioEast Mississippi Lions bioNFL Draft Scout
{{DEFAULTSORT:Autry, Denico Living people 1990 births Players of American football from North Carolina People from Albemarle, North Carolina American football defensive ends African-American players of American football East Mississippi Lions football players Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Oakland Raiders players Indianapolis Colts players Tennessee Titans players 21st-century African-American sportspeople