Danny Trevathan

Danny Eugene Trevathan (born March 24, 1990) is a former American football linebacker.

He played college football at Kentucky, where in 2010, he was named an All-American by College Football News and was a first-team all-SEC selection.

Trevathan attended and played college football at the University of Kentucky under head coaches Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips.

In 2010, Trevathan led the Southeastern Conference in tackles with 144 on his way to being named a first-team all-conference by a number of national organizations, including the SEC coaches themselves.

Following the 2010 season, Trevathan completed the 2011 NFL Draft evaluation process but chose to return to Kentucky for his final season.

In 2011, despite leading the SEC again in tackles through 9 games, he was not named a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, the top honor for college football linebackers.

He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

The Denver Broncos selected Trevathan in the sixth round (188th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft.

He was the 25th linebacker selected in 2012.

On May 22, 2012, the Denver Broncos signed Trevathan to a four-year, $2.2 million contract.

Throughout training camp, he competed for a job as an outside linebacker against Wesley Woodyard, Nate Irving, Mike Mohamed, Cyril Obiozor, Steven Johnson, and D. J. Williams.

Head coach John Fox named Trevathan a backup weakside linebacker behind Wesley Woodyard and newly acquired veteran free agent Keith Brooking.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Denver Broncos' season-opening 31–19 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The following week, he made his first career tackle on running back Mike Goodson in the fourth quarter of the Broncos' 37–6 win against the Oakland Raiders.

On November 4, 2012, Trevathan recorded a season-high six combined tackles and made his first career sack on quarterback Andy Dalton during a 31–23 victory.

Trevathan finished his rookie season in 2012 with 33 combined tackles (22 solo), three pass deflections, and a sack in 16 games and no starts.

The Denver Broncos finished atop the AFC West with a 13–4 record and secured a playoff berth and first round bye.

On January 12, 2013, Trevathan played in his first career playoff game and made one tackle during their 38–35 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round.

Entering training camp, Trevathan was the favorite to earn the starting weakside linebacker role after Wesley Woodyard was moved to middle linebacker.

Trevathan saw mild competition from Nate Irving, Steven Johnson, and Stewart Bradley.

Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio named him the starting weakside linebacker, opposite Von Miller, to begin the regular season.

He made his first career start in the Denver Broncos' season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens and recorded four solo tackles, two pass deflections, and made his first career interception off a pass by quarterback Joe Flacco in their 48–27 victory.

In Week 5, Trevathan made five combined tackles, broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass by Tony Romo to lead to the game-winning field goal during the Broncos' 51–48 victory at the Dallas Cowboys.

On November 24, 2013, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles during a 34–31 loss at the New England Patriots.

He finished the 2013 season with a career-high 128 combined tackles (88 solo), a career-high ten pass deflections, three interception, and two sacks in 16 games and 16 starts.

He started his first career playoff game and recorded four combined tackles in their 24–17 win against the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Divisional Round.

On February 2, 2014, Trevathan led the Broncos with 12 combined tackles (seven solo) as they lost 43–8 to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII.

On August 12, 2014, the Denver Broncos announced that Trevathan had sustained a fracture below his left knee during practice after center Will Montgomery accidentally rolled on to his leg and was expected to miss the first 6–8 weeks of the regular season.

The Denver Broncos had Brandon Marshall start in place of Trevathan while he recuperated from his injury.

He returned in Week 5 and recorded a season-high seven combined tackles during a 41–20 victory against the Arizona Cardinals.

On October 13, 2014, it was reported that the Broncos' had placed Trevathan on their injured reserve with designation to return after he aggravated his fracture under his left knee.

Trevathan made his return during the Broncos' 22–20 Week 15 victory at the San Diego Chargers and recorded four combined tackles.

He left in the fourth quarter after sustaining an injury.

On December 15, 2014, it was announced that Trevathan would miss the remainder of the season after it was discovered he dislocated his patellar tendon and would require surgery to repair it.

He finished the 2014 season with 11 combined tackles (nine solo) in three games and one start.

On January 12, 2015, the Denver Broncos and head coach John Fox agreed to mutually part.

Trevathan was moved to inside linebacker after defensive coordinator Wade Phillips opted to convert to a base 3-4 defense.

Head coach Gary Kubiak named him the starting inside linebacker to begin the regular season, along with Brandon Marshall and outside linebackers Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware.

In Week 9, he collected a career-high 19 combined tackles (13 solo) and deflected a pass during a 27–24 loss at the Indianapolis Colts.

On December 6, 2015, Trevathan recorded two solo tackles, broke up a pass, and returned an interception by Philip Rivers for a 25-yard touchdown during the Broncos' 17–3 victory at the San Diego Chargers in Week 13.