Desmond Trufant (born September 10, 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

who is a free agent. He was drafted by the

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

in the first round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall ...

. He played

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 ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Early years

Trufant attended Woodrow Wilson High School in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

. He was named first-team all-state by the ''Seattle Times'' following his senior season, and also earned a spot on the ''Seattle Times'' preseason all-state team. He was named to the All-Narrows League first team as both a running back and cornerback as a senior, after posting 47 tackles and eight interceptions as a junior, when he was an All-Narrows League first-team cornerback. Trufant was also a standout long jumper and triple jumper on the Rams' track team, and took second place in the Class 4A state track meet in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

(46 feet, 5.75 inches) and 11th in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

(21 feet, 2.25 inches) as a junior in 2008. He also played basketball at Wilson, earning second-team all-league as a junior. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Trufant was rated the 56th best

in the nation. He accepted a scholarship to

over offers from Arizona State,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...

, brother Marcus' alma mater.

College career

Trufant attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

, where he played for the

Washington Huskies football The Washington Huskies football team represents the University of Washington in college football. Washington competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Husky Stadium, located on camp ...

team from 2009 to 2012. As a senior, he was a first-team All-

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisi ...

selection. The Huskies were ranked No. 16 in the nation (second in the Pac-12) in pass defense (188.9 yards allowed per game) at the end of the regular 2012 college football season.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

2013

The

selected Trufant in the first round (22nd overall) of the

. He was the third cornerback selected in 2013, behind Alabama's

Dee Milliner DeMarcus Armon "Dee" Milliner (born September 14, 1991) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alabama, and was recognized as a conse ...

(9th overall) and

Houston's Houston's Restaurant is part of a group of upscale American casual dining restaurants, owned by Hillstone Restaurant Group, whose main corporate headquarters is in Phoenix, Arizona. There are 44 Hillstone locations in 12 states. Company profile ...

D. J. Hayden (12th overall), and was also the first of two cornerbacks the Falcons selected, along with second round pick Robert Alford (60th overall). On July 24, 2013, the Atlanta Falcons signed Trufant to a four-year, $8.16 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 $6.94 million guaranteed and a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $4.31 million. Throughout training camp, he competed for a job as a starting cornerback against Asante Samuel,

Robert McClain Robert "Reggie" McClain (born July 22, 1988) is a former American football cornerback. McClain was a cornerback, punt returner, and kick returner with the Connecticut Huskies football, University of Connecticut Huskies. He was a co-captain in ...

, and Robert Alford. Head coach Mike Smith named Samuel and Trufant the starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Atlanta Falcons' season-opener at the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and made five combined tackles and a pass deflection in a 23–17 loss. In Week 7, Trufant recorded a season-high seven combined tackles and broke up a pass during a 31–23 victory against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

. On November 3, 2013, Trufant recorded five combined tackles, a pass deflection, and his first career interception off a pass by quarterback

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NF ...

in the Falcons' 34–10 loss at 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. ...

. On December 15, 2013, Trufant tied his season-high with seven combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by quarterback Kirk Cousins in their 27–26 victory against the

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) ...

. He finished his rookie season in with a career-high 70 combined tackles (55 solo), a career-high 17 pass deflections, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries in 16 games and 16 starts.Desmond Trufant Stats
pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2016. He exceeded expectations, being ranked eighth out of all cornerbacks in the league by

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

and allowed a 53.% completion percentage and a quarterback rating of 75.2 to opposing quarterbacks in pass coverage.Khaled
2013 PFF Defensive Rookie of the Year
Pro Football Focus. Retrieved August 9, 2016.

2014

Trufant became the Falcons' No. 1 cornerback after they released Asante Samuel. He was officially named the starting cornerback, alongside Robert Alford, to begin the regular season. On November 9, 2014, Trufant recorded a season-high seven combined tackles and a pass deflection during their 27–17 victory at the

. The following week, he made a season-high two pass deflections and intercepted a pass by Cam Newton in a 19–17 victory at the

. On December 29, 2014, the Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Mike Smith after the Falcons did not qualify for the playoffs after finishing with a 4–12 record. Trufant finished the season with 61 combined tackles (53 solo), 16 pass deflections, and three interceptions in 16 games and 16 starts.

2015

New head coach Dan Quinn retained Trufant and Alford as the starting cornerback duo. In Week 11, Trufant recorded four combined tackles, two pass deflections, and his first career sack on quarterback

Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College and was drafted in the sixth r ...

during a 21–24 loss to 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 ...

. The following week, he collected a season-high six solo tackles in the Falcons' 20–10 loss to the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

. He finished the season with 42 combined tackles (35 solo), 11 pass deflections, a sack, and an interception in 16 games and 16 starts. That season, Trufant received his first Pro Bowl selection when was named an alternate to the

2016 Pro Bowl The 2016 Pro Bowl (branded as the 2016 Pro Bowl presented by USAA for sponsorship reasons) was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2015 season, which was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 31, 2016. As of ...

.McClure, Vaughn
Pro Bowl alternate Desmond Trufant feels underrated
ESPN. December 24, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2016.

2016

He started the Atlanta Falcons' season-opener against the

and collected a season-high five combined tackles, broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass by

Jameis Winston Jameis Lanaed Winston ( ; born January 6, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, where he became the youngest player to win the H ...

during a 31–24 loss. On October 16, 2016, Trufant made five combined tackles and a sack on

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

in the Falcons' 26-24 loss at the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

. In Week 9, Trufant made four solo tackles before leaving the Falcons' 43–28 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first half after suffering a shoulder injury. On November 29, 2016, the Atlanta Falcons placed Trufant on injured reserve after they discovered he would require shoulder surgery.

gave Trufant an overall grade of 78.9, ranking 30th among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2016. He finished the season with 31 combined tackles (25 solo), four pass deflections, two sacks, and an interception in nine games and nine starts. The Atlanta Falcons went to

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New ...

after finishing atop the

NFC South The National Football Conference – Southern Division or NFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created prior to the 2002 NFL season, when ...

with an 11–5 record and defeating the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round and the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

in the NFC Championship. On February 5, 2017, the Atlanta Falcons lost 34–28 in overtime to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in Super Bowl LI after leading 28–9 going into the fourth quarter.

2017

On April 8, 2017, the Atlanta Falcons signed Trufant to a five-year, $68.5 million contract that includes $41.52 million and $15 million signing bonus. New defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel who replaced Rick Smith after the Falcons' collapse in Super Bowl LI. In Week 2, Trufant recorded two solo tackles, broke up a pass, an interception, and recovered a fumble off a strip sack by

Vic Beasley Victor Ramon Beasley Jr. (born July 8, 1992) is an American football linebacker for the Vegas Vipers of the XFL. After playing college football for Clemson University, Beasley was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with the eighth overall pick in ...

and returned it 15-yards for a touchdown during a 34–23 victory against the

on '' NBC Sunday Night Football''. His performance earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week. On November 20, 2017, Trufant made five solo tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Russell Wilson during a 34–31 victory at the

. Trufant was inactive for the Falcons' Week 13 loss to the

due to a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration ...

he received he previous week. He finished the season with 41 combined tackles (36 solo), 12 pass deflections, two interceptions, a sack, a fumble recovery, and a touchdown in 15 games and 15 starts. Pro Football Focus gave Trufant an overall grade of 84.9, which ranked 19th among all qualified cornerbacks in 2017.

2018

Desmond Trufant, Josh Doctson (43907048680)

In 2018, Trufant started all 16 games, recording 66 tackles, one sack, a team-high 12 passes defensed, and no interceptions.

2019

In Week 2 against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

, Trufant intercepted quarterback Carson Wentz twice in the 24–20 win. Trufant missed four games in the middle of the season due to a toe injury he suffered during Week 5 against 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 ...

. In Week 11 against the

, Trufant recorded 6 tackles and an interception in the 29–3 win. In Week 12 against the

, Trufant had two passes defended and an interception. Trufant broke his forearm in Week 14, during the win against the

, and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Trufant started 9 games during the season, recording 18 tackles, 7 passes defended, and a career-high four interceptions. On March 18, 2020, Trufant was released by the Falcons after seven seasons.

Detroit Lions

On March 25, 2020, Trufant signed a two-year, $21 million contract with 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 ...

. In Week 9 against the

, Trufant recorded his first sack as a Lion on Kirk Cousins during the 34–20 loss. In Week 11 against the

, Trufant recorded his first interception as a Lion off a pass thrown by

P. J. Walker Phillip "P. J." Walker (born February 26, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Indiana ...

during the 20–0 loss. He was placed on injured reserve on December 2, 2020. On March 17, 2021, Trufant was released by the Lions.

Chicago Bears

Trufant signed a one-year contract with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

on March 20, 2021. On August 13, Trufant left Bears camp to be with his father, who was critically ill. On August 31, Trufant was released by the Bears.

New Orleans Saints

On September 7, 2021, Trufant signed with the

. He played in two games before being released on October 12.

Las Vegas Raiders

On October 19, 2021, Trufant signed with 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 ...

Career statistics

Personal life

Trufant's brothers, Marcus and

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

, have both played cornerback in the NFL. Marcus Trufant had a ten-year career with nine seasons as a member of the

(-) and Isaiah Trufant was a journeyman with multiple teams during a five-year career, three of which he spent with the

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

(-). On August 15, 2021, Trufant's father died, and Trufant left the Chicago Bears training camp to be with his family.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trufant, Desmond 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Tacoma, Washington American football cornerbacks Washington Huskies football players Atlanta Falcons players Detroit Lions players Chicago Bears players New Orleans Saints players Las Vegas Raiders players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players