Michael Dunn (born August 28, 1994) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

. He made his NFL debut in 2020 with the Browns.

Early and personal life

Dunn was born and grew up in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

, and is Jewish. His parents are David and Tamara Dunn, and he has two siblings, Renee and Eitan."Michael Dunn,"
umterps.com. He attended Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda. Competing for the school's football team, Dunn played offensive tackle and guard. As a senior, he was named second-team all-county. Dunn attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, graduating in 2016 with a degree in Economics."Michael Dunn: Living Out a Dream,"
umterps.com. While there he played

starting 48 games from 2013-16 for the Terrapins, including 37 consecutive games. He was 2x Honorable Mention All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

(2015 and 2016), and 3x All-Big Ten Academic Selection (2014, 2015, and 2016). After his senior season, he had labrum surgery, which prevented him from participating in

Pro Day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. Dunn married ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

'' podcast producer Marissa Morris, whom he started dating in 2016, in February 2022. They have a daughter who was born in 2023.

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

After going undrafted in the 2017 NFL draft, Dunn had a rookie

minicamp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

tryout with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in May 2017. He signed with the team on June 15, 2017. He was waived during final roster cuts on September 2, 2017, and signed to the Rams'

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the following day. Dunn was released from the Rams' practice squad on September 5, 2017. Dunn re-signed with the Rams on February 22, 2018. He was waived on June 5, 2018.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Dunn signed with 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

on July 31, 2018. He was waived during final roster cuts on September 1, 2018, and signed to the team's practice squad on September 19, 2018. He was released on October 16, 2018, and re-signed to the practice squad on November 27, 2018.

Birmingham Iron

Dunn signed with the Birmingham Iron of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

(AAF) on January 15, 2019.

Miami Dolphins

After the AAF suspended league operations eight weeks into its season, Dunn was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

on April 9, 2019. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Seattle Dragons

Dunn was selected by the

Seattle Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons were a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The Sea Dragons competed in the second incarnation of the XFL (2020), XFL. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment as the Seat ...

of the XFL in the sixth round of the second phase of the 2020 XFL Draft on October 15, 2019. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Cleveland Browns

Dunn was signed by the

on August 9, 2020. He was waived during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, and signed to their practice squad the next day. Dunn was elevated to the active roster on November 14, November 21, November 28, and December 19 for the team's weeks 10, 11, 12, and 15 games against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, Jaguars, and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was signed to the Browns' active roster on December 23, 2020. Dunn's first career start came on January 10, 2021, in the Browns' 48-37 playoff victory 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. Dunn started after left guard Joel Bitonio tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Dunn did not allow a single pressure in pass protection. On January 12, 2021, Dunn was placed on injured reserve. On August 31, 2021, Dunn was named in the Browns 53-man opening day roster for the 2021 season. The Browns placed an exclusive-rights free agent tender on Dunn on March 7, 2022. He was placed on injured reserve on November 19. On August 29, 2023, Dunn was released by the Browns and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 12. He was placed on injured reserve on October 17, with a calf injury. He was activated on November 18. On March 14, 2024, Dunn re-signed with the Browns. He was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list to start the season. He was activated on October 5.

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bioMaryland Terrapins bioInstagram page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Michael 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Bethesda, Maryland American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Maryland Terrapins football players Los Angeles Rams players Jacksonville Jaguars players Birmingham Iron players Miami Dolphins players Seattle Dragons players Cleveland Browns players Jewish American players of American football 21st-century American Jews Walt Whitman High School (Maryland) alumni Jews from Maryland