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).
High school career
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.
College career
Played as a true freshman, saw action in all 12 games, earning 8 starts. He finished first among 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-Atlantic Coast Conference (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
College statistics
Professional career
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. 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. 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.
San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers
The San Diego 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.
2015
On May 14, 2015, the San Diego 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 Donald Butler and Manti Te'o to start the regular season.