Donald Wayne Stephenson (born September 30, 1988) is a former

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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

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 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 ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. Stephenson was drafted by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

in the third round of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He was also a member of the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

and briefly with 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 ...

before retiring in July 2018.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Stephenson was drafted by the

in the 3rd round of the

. On August 22, 2014, it was announced that Stephenson violated league rules for performance-enhancing drugs and he served a four-game suspension. During his four seasons with the

, he started 21 games at both tackle spots and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

Denver Broncos

On March 9, 2016, Stephenson signed a three-year contract with the

worth $14 million with $10 million guaranteed. In the 2016 season, Stephenson was the Broncos' starting right tackle for most of the season. In 2017, Stephenson started four of the final five games of the season after losing the starting right tackle job to

Menelik Watson Menelik Watson (born 22 December 1988) is an English former professional American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State. Early l ...

and the primary backup job to

Allen Barbre Allen Wade Barbre (born June 22, 1984) is a former American football offensive guard. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football for Missouri Southern State University. He was al ...

Cleveland Browns

On March 15, 2018, Stephenson signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the

. On June 15, 2018, Stephenson was suspended for he first two games of the regular season for violating the league's Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. On July 6, 2018, the Browns placed Stephenson on their reserve/retired list after skipping voluntary OTAs and mandatory minicamp and after being given the two-game suspension.

References

External links

NFL Combine profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Donald 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Kansas City, Missouri American football offensive tackles Oklahoma Sooners football players Kansas City Chiefs players Denver Broncos players Cleveland Browns players