DaMarcus Fields
| No. 39 – New Orleans Saints | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive back | ||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born | March 11, 1998 Taylor, Texas | ||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school | Taylor (TX) | ||||
| College | Texas Tech | ||||
| NFL draft | 2022: undrafted | ||||
| Career history | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 3, 2022 | |||||
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DaMarcus F. Fields (born March 11, 1998) is an American football defensive back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas Tech and was signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2022.
Early life and education
Fields was born on March 11, 1998, in Taylor, Texas. He attended Taylor High School, playing two seasons of varsity football as well as basketball and track. He was a 14-4A first-team all-district selection and was named second-team all-Central Texas by the Austin American-Statesman. In his senior year, Fields compiled 101 tackles, four interceptions and eight forced fumbles. He was a three-star recruit and was ranked the 141st best player in Texas by ESPN.
Fields committed to Texas Tech over offers from Baylor, UTEP, TCU, Kansas and SMU. As a freshman in 2016, he redshirted and did not play, being a member of the scout team. He became a starter as a redshirt-freshman in 2017, appearing in all 13 games (11 as a starter). He recorded a total of 51 tackles, placing fifth on the team, and made two fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and one interception. His fumble recovery total placed first in the conference and 26th nationally. He was named Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Week after making an interception return touchdown against Oklahoma State.[1]
Fields started all 12 games as a sophomore in 2018, all at cornerback. He recorded a total of 38 tackles, including 2.5 for-loss, as well as 11 passes defended. He ranked second on the team in passes defended and led the school with two fumbles recovered. At the end of the year, he was named honorable mention all-conference by the Big 12 coaches. In 2019, Fields started nine games at cornerback and played in a total of 10, compiling 54 tackles, a mark which placed fifth on Texas Tech. He also had the team lead with five passes broken up and was second with three interceptions made. He was named an honorable mention all-conference selection again that season.[1]
As a senior, Fields started six games and made 31 total tackles, as well as one forced fumble, one recovery, and 11 passes broken up. He ranked fourth in the FBS in passes defended per-game and was named honorable mention all-conference by the coaches, as well as fourth-team all-conference by Phil Steele's magazine. He elected to return to the team in 2021 as a fifth-year player, as he was given an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
In the 2021 season, Fields played in 12 out of 13 games, and made 50 tackles. He also made a team-leading 11 pass breakups and was named second-team all-conference at the end of the year, marking the fourth time he made the team. He was given an opportunity to play in the East–West Shrine Bowl after the regular season concluded. He was one of three Texas Tech players to be invited to the NFL Combine.[1]
Fields ended his college career with a total of 224 tackles, 13.5 for-loss, four forced fumbles and four recoveries, four interceptions and 45 total passes defended. He placed second among FBS players in pass breakups at the end of his career. He was the first member of his family to graduate from college.[1]
Professional career
After going unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Fields was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent.[2] He was waived at the final roster cuts, on August 30, but was re-signed to the practice squad the following day.[3][4] He was elevated to the active roster for their week three game against the Carolina Panthers, and made his NFL debut in the match,[5] after which he was reverted back to the practice squad.[6] He was signed to the active roster on September 28.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e "DaMarcus Fields". texastech.com. Texas Tech Red Raiders.
- ^ "New Orleans Saints agree to terms with 17 undrafted free agents". neworleanssaints.com. New Orleans Saints. May 1, 2022.
- ^ Prather, Scott (August 30, 2022). "New Orleans Saints Cuts, Who Missed Out on the 53 Man Roster?". ESPN.
- ^ Prather, Scott (August 31, 2022). "Rundown of Players Signed to Saints 2022 Practice Squad". ESPN.
- ^ "DaMarcus Fields Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ Rose, Bob (September 24, 2022). "Saints Place CB Alontae Taylor on IR, Elevate CB DaMarcus Fields". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ Sigler, John (September 29, 2022). "Saints sign CB DaMarcus Fields from their practice squad to the 53-man roster". Yahoo!.