Carolina Panthers | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Assistant special teams coordinator | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | November 27, 1990||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Olive Branch (Olive Branch, Mississippi) | ||||||||||
College: | Auburn | ||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2013 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
|
Daren Weston Bates [1] (born November 27, 1990) is an American former professional football linebacker and current assistant special teams coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. He played college football for Auburn and was signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He has also played for the Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans, and Tennessee Titans. He previously coached for the Seattle Seahawks and is co-host of the Raw Room podcast.
Bates played his freshman through junior year at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, Tennessee. While there, Bates was a 2-time first-team Tennessee All-State safety. His senior year, Bates played at Olive Branch High School in Mississippi for coach Scott Samsel. He collected 90 tackles and four interceptions and had nearly 900 yards of total offense as a senior and was named MHSAA All-Region 1 Class 5A team.
In 2009, Bates was tied for 39th in the SEC in tackles per game, with 5.4. In 2009, he started all 13 games at safety and totaled 70 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. In 2010, he appeared in 12 games with nine starts and was 8th on team with 48 tackles. Bates was made the Freshman All SEC team and also was a second-team Freshman All American. Bates made his first collegiate start at linebacker in the season opener vs. Arkansas State after playing safety the previous years. In 2011 Bates started all 13 games and led the team with 104 tackles and was third on team with 8.5 tackles for loss (-30), 2.5 quarterback sacks (-15), and nine quarterback hurries. In 2012 Bates made 94 tackles (39) solo and 5.5 for losses he also batted away 4 passes and recovered 2 fumbles and intercepted a pass.
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 ft 10+5⁄8 in (1.79 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) | 9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 4.53 s | 1.65 s | 2.68 s | 4.53 s | 7.28 s | 33.5 in (0.85 m) | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) | 15 reps | |
All values from Auburn Pro Day [2] [3] |
Bates was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent and made the final 53-man squad on September 1, 2013. He has been used primarily as a special teams player for the Rams providing a valuable contribution. On October 13, 2013 against the Houston Texans, Bates returned a fumbled kickoff return for a touchdown to score the first touchdown of his career.
In a December 21, 2014 game against the New York Giants, Bates leaped over the Giants' long snapper during a field goal attempt and blocked the kick, which was recovered by Will Herring for the Rams. [4]
On September 11, 2015, Bates was named one of the five captains for the 2015 season for the Rams, the first time in his career. [5]
Bates registered back-to-back seasons (2014-2015) of double-digit special team's tackles.
Bates signed with the Oakland Raiders on March 14, 2016. [6]
On March 10, 2017, Bates signed a three-year, $6 million contract with the Tennessee Titans. [7] In 2017, Bates set a career high and ranked second on the team with 16 special teams' tackles.
On September 3, 2018, Bates was announced to be the special teams captain and tallied 10 special teams' tackles. [8]
After becoming a free agent in March 2020, Bates had a tryout with the Houston Texans on August 20, 2020. [9] He signed with the team three days later. [10] He was waived on August 31, 2020. [11]
On September 14, 2020, Bates was signed to the Titans' practice squad. [12] He was elevated to the active roster on October 13 and October 17 for the team's weeks 5, 6, and 7 games against the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, and Pittsburgh Steelers, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. [13] [14] [15] He was promoted to the active roster on October 27, 2020. [16]
On October 18, 2021, Bates was signed to the Atlanta Falcons practice squad. [17] He was promoted to the active roster on November 2, 2021. [18] He was placed on injured reserve on November 18. [19] He was activated on December 25.
Brooks Reed is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats and was selected by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft.
John Simon is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football at Ohio State, and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft. He also played for the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Victor Ramon Beasley Jr. is an American professional football linebacker for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). After playing college football for Clemson University, Beasley was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with the eighth overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft.
William Earl Compton III is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. Compton co-hosts the Barstool Sports podcast, Bussin' With The Boys with former Titans offensive tackle Taylor Lewan.
Justin March-Lillard is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at the University of Akron.
Cory Littleton is an American professional football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football for the Washington Huskies. He signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
Zachary Daniel Cunningham is an American professional football linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Vanderbilt Commodores and was selected in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Houston Texans. He also played for the Tennessee Titans and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jayon Lee Brown is an American football middle linebacker who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft, after playing college football at UCLA.
Breon Borders is an American professional football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Duke. He has been a member of 13 different NFL teams.
LaTroy Rayshawn Lewis is a former American football linebacker who is currently a graduate assistant at the University of Michigan. He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers.
Dylan McKalob Cole is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Missouri State, and went undrafted in the 2017 NFL draft.
Alan Rashaan Evans is an American professional football linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. Evans has also played for the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys.
Gimel DeShaun President is a former American football defensive end. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He played college football at Auburn and Illinois.
Dane Ashton Cruikshank is an American professional football safety for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona. Cruikshank was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft.
Sharif Jarel Gregory Wayne Finch is an American professional football defensive lineman who is a free agent. He played college football for Temple, where he played 53 career games, which is tied for the most career games in Temple football history. He signed with the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent following the 2018 NFL draft. He has also been a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Sea Dragons, and Calgary Stampeders.
John Robert Spillane is an American professional football linebacker for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Michigan.
Luke Gifford is an American professional football linebacker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nebraska.
Chance Dixon Campbell is an American professional football linebacker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland and Ole Miss.
Jack Gibbens is an American professional football linebacker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Abilene Christian and Minnesota, and was signed by the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2022.
David Anenih is an American professional football linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Houston, and originally signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Anenih has also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, and Arizona Cardinals.