No. 27 | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Columbus, Georgia, U.S. | August 12, 1998||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Columbus (GA) | ||||||||||
College: | Wake Forest | ||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2020 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||||
|
Essang Bassey (born August 12, 1998) is an American professional football cornerback. [1] He played college football at Wake Forest, and played high school football at Columbus High School in Columbus, Georgia.
Playing both offense and defense at Columbus High School in Georgia, Bassey split time between cornerback, wide receiver and running back. He also was an explosive kick returner, averaging 30 yards per return during his senior season. [2] Bassey considered interest from Wofford, Tulane, Georgia Southern and Wake Forest until going to Winston-Salem for a camp and committing to Wake Forest three days later, citing the program's passion for the game and standards off the field. [3]
Bassey received playing time during his true freshman season in every game in a reserve capacity, [4] accruing 17 tackles. [5]
As a sophomore, Bassey led the Wake Forest defense in snaps played and collected 66 tackles and three interceptions. [3] He was also named an honorable mention on the All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team after the season. [6]
During his junior season, analysts noted his speed and technique as strong points of his game. [7] Bassey was named second-team All-ACC. [8]
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 9+3⁄8 in (1.76 m) | 191 lb (87 kg) | 31 in (0.79 m) | 7+7⁄8 in (0.20 m) | 4.46 s | 1.53 s | 2.60 s | 4.13 s | 6.95 s | 39.5 in (1.00 m) | 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m) | 12 reps | |
All values from NFL Combine [9] [10] |
Bassey signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent on April 25, 2020. [11] He chose the Broncos over the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, who also tried to sign Bassey. [12] In Week 12 against the New Orleans Saints, Bassey recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Taysom Hill during the 31–3 loss. [13] He was placed on injured reserve on December 9, 2020. [14]
On September 1, 2021, Bassey was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list to start the season. [15] He was activated on November 13. [16] He was waived on December 18. [17]
On December 20, 2021, Bassey was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Chargers. [18] He was waived on January 8, 2022. [19]
On January 10, 2022, Bassey was claimed off waivers by the Broncos. [20] He was waived on September 1, 2022, and re-signed to the practice squad. [21] He was promoted to the active roster on September 14. [22]
On March 22, 2023, Bassey re-signed with the Broncos. [23] He was released on October 3. [24]
On October 4, 2023, the Chargers claimed Bassey off of waivers after trading J. C. Jackson to the New England Patriots. [25] [26]
On August 13, 2024, Bassey signed with the Detroit Lions. [27] He was released on August 27. [28]
Bassey's parents were Nigerian immigrants. [29] He is a Christian. [30]
Bryce Jordan Callahan is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Rice, and signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2015.
Justin Simmons is an American professional football safety for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boston College Eagles and was selected by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft.
De'Vante Bausby is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football for the Pittsburg State Gorillas and has been a member of several teams in the National Football League (NFL), Alliance of American Football (AAF), United States Football League (USFL), and XFL.
Duke Dawson is an American professional football defensive back. He played college football at Florida.
Davontae Harris is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He attended high school at Wichita South High School in Wichita, Kansas. He played college football at Illinois State.
Tremon Smith is an American professional football cornerback and kick returner for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Central Arkansas, and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL draft.
Albert Chukwuemeka Okwuegbunam is an American professional football tight end. He played college football at Missouri.
Shakial Taylor is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at the University of Kansas.
The 2020 season was the Denver Broncos' 51st in the National Football League (NFL), their 61st overall and their second under head coach Vic Fangio. It also marked the team's 20th season playing their home games in their current venue, Empower Field at Mile High, as well as the 10th and final season with John Elway serving as the general manager.
Patrick Morris is a former American football center. He played college football at TCU and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018. He was also a member of the Denver Broncos and the Tennessee Titans.
Alijah Holder is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Stanford.
Michael Ojemudia is an American professional football cornerback. He played college football at Iowa.
Derrek Tuszka is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Dakota State.
Kendall Hinton is an American professional football wide receiver. He played college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons as a quarterback and wide receiver and signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2020. That season, he made an appearance as an emergency quarterback following the rest of the team's quarterbacks being placed in COVID-19 quarantine for a week. In doing so, Hinton became the first non-professional quarterback to play significant snaps at the position in an NFL game since running back Tom Matte with the Baltimore Colts in 1965.
Saivion Smith is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Alabama.
Parnell Motley is an American professional football cornerback. He played college football at Oklahoma and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Motley has also been a member of the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Calgary Stampeders, DC Defenders, New Orleans Breakers, Toronto Argonauts, Montreal Alouettes, and BC Lions.
The 2021 season was the Denver Broncos' 52nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 62nd overall. It was also the final season under the ownership of Pat Bowlen's estate who owned the team since the 1984 season.
Franklin "Mac" McCain III is an American professional football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football for North Carolina A&T and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Denver Broncos in 2021.
The 2022 season was the Denver Broncos' 53rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 63rd overall, their second under the leadership of general manager George Paton, and their first and only season under head coach Nathaniel Hackett. This was also their first season under the ownership of the Walton-Penner Family Group, replacing the Pat Bowlen Trust that had existed following the death of longtime owner Pat Bowlen in 2019.
Michael Bandy is an American professional football wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Diego. He played for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) from 2021 to 2022.