Darnell Sankey

Last updated

Darnell Sankey
2024, 01, Darnell Sankey.jpg
Sankey with the Montreal Alouettes in 2024
Profile
Position Linebacker
Personal information
Born (1994-10-11) October 11, 1994 (age 31)
San Jose, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school Branham
(San Jose, California)
College Sacramento State
NFL draft 2016: undrafted
Career history
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Awards and highlights
Career CFL statistics
Total tackles 251
Sacks 5
Interceptions 2
Forced fumbles 4
Stats at CFL.ca
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Darnell Sankey (born October 11, 1994) is an American professional football linebacker. He most recently played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent after the 2016 NFL draft. He played college football at Sacramento State.

Contents

Professional career

Denver Broncos

On July 26, 2016, Sankey was signed to the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent. [1] He was waived on August 29, 2016. [2]

Oakland Raiders

On September 28, 2016, Sankey was signed to the Oakland Raiders' practice squad. [3] On October 4, he was waived but re-signed the next day, only to be released a week later. [4] [5]

Kansas City Chiefs

On December 5, 2016, Sankey was signed to the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad. [6] He was released on January 3, 2017. [7]

Minnesota Vikings

On July 29, 2017, Sankey was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. [8] He was waived on August 20, 2017. [9]

Indianapolis Colts (first stint)

Three days after he was cut by the Vikings, Sankey was signed by the Indianapolis Colts on August 23, 2017. [10] He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the Colts' practice squad the next day. [11] [12] He was promoted to the active roster on September 16, 2017. [13] He was waived on September 18, 2017. [14] He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 29. [15] He was promoted back to the active roster on October 9, 2017. [16] He was waived again on November 15, 2017. [17]

Baltimore Ravens

On November 29, 2017, Sankey was signed to the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad. [18]

Indianapolis Colts (second stint)

On January 11, 2018, Sankey signed a reserve/future contract with the Colts. [19] He was waived by the Colts on May 1, 2018. [20]

Detroit Lions

On July 26, 2018, Sankey signed with the Detroit Lions. [21] He was waived on September 1, 2018, and was signed to the practice squad the next day. [22] [23] He was released on September 5, 2018. [24]

New Orleans Saints

On September 19, 2018, Sankey was signed to the New Orleans Saints' practice squad. [25]

Sankey signed a reserve/future contract with the Saints on January 21, 2019. [26] He was waived during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019. [27]

Calgary Stampeders

Sankey signed with the Calgary Stampeders on February 10, 2020. [28] After the CFL canceled the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sankey chose to opt-out of his contract with the Stampeders on August 31, 2020. [29] He opted back in to his contract on January 12, 2021. [30]

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Sankey signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on February 8, 2022. [31]

Arlington Renegades

Sankey signed with the Arlington Renegades of the XFL in February 2023. He won the 2023 XFL Championship on May 13, 2023. He was granted his release on August 3, 2023. [32] [33]

Montreal Alouettes

On September 11, 2023, it was announced that Sankey had signed with the Montreal Alouettes. [34] In 2023, he played in six regular season games, starting in five, where he had 31 defensive tackles, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. [35] In the 110th Grey Cup, Sankey had eight defensive tackles and one sack as the Alouettes defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28–24. [36]

In the 2024 season, Sankey played in all 18 regular season games where he had 107 defensive tackles, one sack, four pass knockdowns, one interception, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. [36] In the East Final, he had four defensive tackles, one pass knockdown, and one interception in the loss to the Toronto Argonauts. [36] In 2025, Sankey played in 18 regular season games where he recorded 101 defensive tackles, two sacks, five pass knockdowns, and one fumble recovery. [37] He was named a CFL East All-Star in both 2024 and 2025. As a pending free agent, he was granted an early release on December 11, 2025. [38]

References

  1. ↑ Mason, Andrew (July 26, 2016). "Broncos sign rookie LB Darnell Sankey; waive long snapper Nathan Theus". DenverBroncos.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  2. ↑ Mason, Andrew (August 29, 2017). "Broncos part ways with 11 as 75-man deadline nears". DenverBroncos.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Raiders Sign G Denver Kirkland To Active Roster". Raiders.com. September 28, 2016. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Raiders Sign LB Perry Riley Jr.; Heeney To Reserve/Injured List". Raiders.com. October 4, 2016. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Oakland Raiders Announce Transactions". Raiders.com. October 12, 2016. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  6. ↑ Bouda, Nate (December 5, 2016). "Chiefs Sign LB Darnell Sankey To Practice Squad". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  7. ↑ Bouda, Nate (January 3, 2017). "Chiefs Sign OT Isaiah Battle To Futures Deal, Add DE David King To PS". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Vikings Sign Former Broncos LB Darnell Sankey". Vikings.com. July 29, 2017. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Vikings Sign Former Gophers QB Mitch Leidner". Vikings.com. August 20, 2017. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Colts Activate Brian Schwenke; Sign Linebacker Darnell Sankey". Colts.com. August 23, 2017. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  11. ↑ Walker, Andrew (September 2, 2017). "Colts Announce Final 2017 Roster Cuts". Colts.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  12. ↑ Walker, Andrew (September 3, 2017). "Colts Add Seven To Initial 2017 Practice Squad". Colts.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  13. ↑ Walker, Andrew (September 16, 2017). "Colts Sign Inside Linebacker Darnell Sankey From Practice Squad". Colts.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Roster Move: Colts Re-Sign WR Matt Hazel; Add To Practice Squad". Colts.com. September 18, 2017. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Roster Move: Colts Sign Linebacker Darnell Sankey To Practice Squad". Colts.com. September 29, 2017. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Colts Sign Linebacker Darnell Sankey To Active Roster; Place Krishawn Hogan On IR". Colts.com. October 9, 2017. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Roster Moves: Colts Claim LB Jermaine Grace". Colts.com. November 15, 2017. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017.
  18. ↑ Bouda, Nate (November 29, 2017). "Ravens Sign ILB Darnell Sankey To Practice Squad". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Roster Move: Colts Sign ILB Darnell Sankey To Reserve/Future Contract". Colts.com. January 11, 2018. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018.
  20. ↑ "5/1: Colts Make Roster Moves". Colts.com. May 1, 2018. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Lions sign free agents DT Ricky Jean Francois and LB Darnell Sankey". DetroitLions.com. July 27, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Lions establish 53-man roster". DetroitLions.com. September 1, 2018. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Lions awarded OL Andrew Donnal and CB Dee Virgin via waivers". DetroitLions.com. September 2, 2018. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Lions sign three players to practice squad". DetroitLions.com. September 5, 2018.
  25. ↑ Sigler, John (September 19, 2018). "Saints add well-traveled LB Darnell Sankey to practice squad". Saints Wire. USA Today. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  26. ↑ Katzenstein (January 21, 2019). "Saints sign 6 practice squad players to reserve/future contracts". NOLA.com.
  27. ↑ "New Orleans Saints make roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. August 30, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  28. ↑ "Stampeders Sign Pair of Linebackers". Stampeders.com. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Receiver Josh Huff among Stampeders granted opt-out". CFL.ca. August 31, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  30. ↑ "2021 CFL Transactions". CFL.ca. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Riders to bring in linebackers Sankey, Moncrief". TSN.ca. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  32. ↑ Hodge, John (August 2, 2023). "Former all-star LB Darnell Sankey granted XFL release, planning return to CFL". 3DownNation. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  33. ↑ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Alouettes sign star linebacker Darnell Sankey". Canadian Football League. September 11, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Games Notes" (PDF). Canadian Football League . Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  36. 1 2 3 "2025 CFL Guide" (PDF). Canadian Football League . Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  37. ↑ "2025 CFL Statistics" (PDF). Canadian Football League . Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  38. ↑ "Alouettes release linebacker Darnell Sankey". Montreal Alouettes. December 11, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.