Vincent Valentine (American football)

Vincent Valentine
refer to caption
Valentine with the New England Patriots in 2016
No. 96, 99
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1994-02-23) February 23, 1994 (age 30)
Madison, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:331 lb (150 kg)
Career information
High school:Edwardsville (Edwardsville, Illinois)
College:Nebraska (2012–2015)
NFL draft:2016 / round: 3 / pick: 96
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:20
Sacks:1.0
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Vincent Valentine (born February 23, 1994) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals. He was selected by the Patriots in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft after playing college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was also a member of the Seattle Seahawks but did not appear in any games for them.

College career

Valentine played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 2013 to 2015.[1] He was redshirted in 2012.[2] He declared for the NFL draft after his redshirt junior year in 2015.[3]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
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
6 ft 3+5⁄8 in
(1.92 m) 		329 lb
(149 kg) 		33+1⁄8 in
(0.84 m) 		9+5⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 5.19 s 1.77 s 2.99 s 4.59 s 8.03 s 29 in
(0.74 m)		 9 ft 2 in
(2.79 m)		 17 reps
All values from NFL Combine[4][5]

New England Patriots

Valentine was selected by the Patriots in the third round, 96th overall, in the 2016 NFL draft.[6] Valentine entered training camp competing to be a backup defensive tackle with Markus Kuhn, Woodrow Hamilton, Joe Vellano, and Anthony Johnson. He won the backup job and began the regular season as the Patriot's primary backup defensive tackle behind veteran starting defensive tackles Malcom Brown and Alan Branch.[7]

Valentine made his professional debut in the season opener against the Arizona Cardinals, where he recorded his first career sack against quarterback Carson Palmer.

On February 5, 2017, Valentine was part of the Patriots team that won Super Bowl LI. In the game, the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime.[8]

On September 22, 2017, the Patriots placed Valentine on injured reserve after dealing with a knee injury.[9] The Patriots made it to Super Bowl LII without Valentine, but lost 41–33 to the Philadelphia Eagles.

On September 1, 2018, Valentine was waived by the Patriots and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[10][11] He was released on October 8, 2018.[12]

Arizona Cardinals (first stint)

On October 31, 2018, Valentine was signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad.[13] He was released on November 27, 2018.[14]

Seattle Seahawks

On December 4, 2018, Valentine was signed to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad after a tryout the previous day.[15]

Arizona Cardinals (second stint)

On December 11, 2018, Valentine was signed by the Cardinals off the Seahawks practice squad.[16] He was waived/injured on August 7, and reverted to injured reserve after clearing waivers on August 8. He was waived from injured reserve on August 30, 2019.

Personal life

In college, he was a journalism major, and earned a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the spring of 2013. Valentine also volunteered his time with Uplifting Athletes and part of team hospital visits while with the Huskers.

References

  1. ^ "Vincent Valentine College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  2. ^ "Vincent Valentine". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  3. ^ McKewon, Sam (January 11, 2016). "Husker DT Vincent Valentine declares for NFL draft; 'I will always bleed Husker red' - Omaha.com: Big Red Today - Husker Football News, Schedules And Videos". Omaha.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  4. ^ "Combine Player Profiles – Vincent Valentine". National Football League. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  5. ^ "Vincent Valentine Draft Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. The Sports Xchange. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  6. ^ "AFC Championship: Rookies Vincent Valentine, Elandon Roberts progress to boost Patriots' defense".
  7. ^ "Ourlads.com: New England Patriot's Depth Chart". ourlads.com. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  8. ^ "Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons - February 5th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "Patriots Sign DL Geneo Grissom to the 53-Man Roster; Place DL Vincent Valentine on Injured Reserve; Sign WR Riley McCarron to Practice Squad". Patriots.com. September 22, 2017. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018.
  10. ^ "Patriots Announce Roster Cutdown". Patriots.com. September 1, 2018.
  11. ^ "Patriots Sign Eight to the Practice Squad; Place TE Ryan Izzo on Injured Reserve". Patriots.com. September 2, 2018.
  12. ^ "Patriots Re-Sign RB Kenjon Barner; Make Practice Squad Moves". Patriots.com. October 8, 2018.
  13. ^ "Arizona Cardinals sign Gabe Holmes, Vincent Valentine to practice squad". ArizonaSports.com. October 31, 2018.
  14. ^ Odegard, Kyle (November 27, 2018). "Cardinals Sign Cornerbacks Dontae Johnson and Quinten Rollins". AZCardinals.com.
  15. ^ Patton, Andy (December 4, 2018). "Seahawks add defensive tackle Vincent Valentine to practice squad". Seahawks Wire. USA Today. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  16. ^ "As Nkemdiche Goes To IR, Cardinals Bring Back Vincent Valentine". AZCardinals.com. December 11, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
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