Denzel Perryman

Denzel Perryman (born December 5, 1992) is an American football linebacker for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL).

He has played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers, and Las Vegas Raiders.

He played college football at Miami (FL).

Perryman attended Coral Gables Senior High School.

He recorded 177 tackles, 12 for losses, 9 sacks, and 5 interception returns for touchdowns and 9 interceptions as a senior.

He was also an area Defensive Player of the Year as a junior, registering 166 solo tackles and had 105 tackles, 9 sacks and 6 interceptions as a sophomore.

Played as a true freshman, saw action in all 12 games, earning 8 starts.

He finished first among Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) freshmen and second overall on team with 127 tackles (97 solo, 22 assists).

Tied for second-highest tackle-for-loss total on team with 6.5.

Played in nine games his sophomore season, making nine starts mostly at middle linebacker.

He had 64 total tackles (45 solo) and 6.0 tackles-for-loss.

Also made Third-team All-ACC.

As a junior in 2013, Perryman was a first-team All-ACC selection.

He was again an All-ACC selection as a senior in 2014.

He was a semi-finalist for top linebacker of the year in 2014

On November 4, 2014, it was announced that Perryman had received an invitation to appear in the 2015 Senior Bowl.

He was one of four Miami players to be invited, including Phillip Dorsett, Clive Walford, and LaDarius Gunter.

He accepted his invitation and attended the Senior Bowl as part of Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley's South team, but was, unfortunately, unable to play in the actual game due to a minor injury he suffered earlier the week in practice.

Although he didn't play, he was able to garner interest from the San Diego Chargers after having an impressive performance in practice.

Perryman was one of 35 collegiate linebackers to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.

On April 1, 2015, Perryman attended Miami's pro day and opted to perform the 40-yard dash (4.70s), 20-yard dash (2.65s), 10-yard dash (1.61s), bench press (30 reps), and vertical jump (33") before a hamstring injury during his second attempt in the 40-yard dash kept him from completing the short shuttle, and three-cone drill again. Although he was hampered by multiple injuries during the draft process, Perryman was still able to attain a second to third-round projection from NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the fourth best inside linebacker in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.

The Chargers selected Perryman in the second round (48th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft.

He was the seventh linebacker selected in 2015 and was drafted by the Chargers' to provide depth after they experienced multiple injuries to their linebacker corps, including injuries to Dwight Freeney, Manti Te'o, and Melvin Ingram.

On May 14, 2015, the Chargers signed Perryman to a four-year, $4.77 million contract that includes $2.38 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.73 million.

Perryman was limited at beginning of organized team activities due to a hamstring injury.

He was heavily criticized for playing in a charity dodgeball game while injured and not medically cleared.

Throughout training camp, he competed for a job as the starting inside linebacker against Manti Te'o and Donald Butler.

Head coach Mike McCoy named Perryman the backup inside linebacker behind veterans Butler and Manti Te'o to start the regular season.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Chargers' season-opener against the Detroit Lions and made one solo tackle during their 33–28 victory.

On October 18, 2015, Perryman earned his first career start in place of Manti Te'o, who suffered an ankle injury the previous week.

He recorded eight combined tackles during the 27–20 loss at the Green Bay Packers.

He started two consecutive games before sustaining a pectoral injury and was replaced by Kavell Conner in Weeks 8–9.

In Week 11, Perryman and Te'o both returned from injury and defensive coordinator John Pagano named them the starting inside linebackers and demoted starters Butler and Kavell Conner.

Pagano cited he wanted to give Te'o and Perryman experience as the Chargers were 2–8 going into Week 11.

On November 22, 2015, Perryman made his official return from injury and recorded six combined tackles and made his first career sack on Alex Smith as the Chargers were routed 33–3 by the Kansas City Chiefs.

In Week 13, he made a season-high ten solo tackles in a 17–3 loss to the Denver Broncos.

On December 24, 2015, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles and sacked Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr during a 23–20 loss.

Perryman finished his rookie season in 2015 season with a total of 73 combined tackles (64 solo) and two sacks in 14 games and nine starts.

He performed all of the combine drills and finished second among linebackers in the bench press and 18th in the 40-yard dash.

He was unable to perform the short shuttle and three-cone drill after sustaining a hip injury.