Denico Autry (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional football defensive end for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at East Mississippi Community College and Mississippi State, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Oakland Raiders in 2014.

Denico Autry
refer to caption
Autry with the Tennessee Titans in 2021
No. 96 – Houston Texans
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1990-07-15) July 15, 1990 (age 34)
Albemarle, North Carolina, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:285 lb (129 kg)
Career information
High school:Albemarle
College:
Undrafted:2014
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2024
Total tackles:319
Sacks:62.0
Forced fumbles:7
Fumble recoveries:3
Pass deflections:34
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Autry played high school football for the Albemarle High School Bulldogs of Albemarle, North Carolina. He finished his senior season with 104 solo tackles, 38 assists, 9.0 sacks, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. He was named the All-SNAP Defensive Player of the Year, as well as the Rocky River Conference Defensive Player of the Year and played in the NCCA East-West All-Star game.[1]

College career

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Autry first played college football for the East Mississippi Lions of East Mississippi Community College, helping lead the Lions to a 12–0 record, state championship and NJCAA national title. He was named 2011 NJCAA Football All-America First-team.[1]

He transferred to play for the Mississippi State Bulldogs from 2012 to 2013. Autry played in 26 games, starting 23. He recorded 73 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, six sacks and three forced fumbles in his two-year career.[1]

College statistics

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Mississippi State Bulldogs
Year Class Position GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Total Loss Sack Int Yards Avg TD PD FR Yards TD FF
2012 Junior DL 13 28 14 42 9.5 4.0 1 27 27.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2013 Senior DL 12 14 17 31 6.6 2.0 0 0 0.0 0 3 0 0 0 1

Professional career

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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 4+34 in
(1.95 m)
273 lb
(124 kg)
34+58 in
(0.88 m)
11+38 in
(0.29 m)
5.07 s 1.75 s 2.87 s 4.42 s 7.37 s 29.5 in
(0.75 m)
9 ft 7 in
(2.92 m)
14 reps
All values from Pro Day[2]

Oakland Raiders

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Autry with the Raiders in 2014

Autry was signed by the Oakland Raiders of the NFL on May 20, 2014, after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL draft.[3] He made his NFL debut on October 2, 2014, against the Cleveland Browns, recording two tackles.[4] He played in ten games for the Raiders in 2014, accumulating thirteen combined tackles.[4]

Autry played in fourteen games, starting eight, for the team during the 2015 season, totaling 22 combined tackles, three sacks, three passes deflections and one safety.[4]

The Raiders offered him a one-year exclusive rights tender on March 9, 2016, which Autry eventually signed.[5]

Autry was offered a restricted free agent tender after the conclusion of the 2017 season. He officially signed his tender on April 17, 2017.[6]

Indianapolis Colts

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On March 14, 2018, Autry signed a three-year, $17.8 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts.[7][8] In Week 14, Autry recorded a career-high three sacks and two forced fumbles in a 6–0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He followed that performance week two, with a pair of sacks in a 24–21 upset win over the Houston Texans, earning him AFC Defensive Player of the Week.[9]

Autry finished the 2019 season with 32 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and a forced fumble in 14 games played.[10] Autry sat out the last two games of the season after suffering a concussion in Week 15 of the season.[11]

Autry made his return from injury in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. During the game, Autry recorded his first two sacks of the season on Gardner Minshew in the 27–20 loss.[12] In Week 8 against the Detroit Lions, Autry recorded two sacks on Matthew Stafford during the 41–21 win.[13] Autry was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 20, 2020,[14] and activated on December 3.[15]

In the Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the Buffalo Bills, Autry sacked Josh Allen 1.5 times and forced a fumble during the 27–24 loss.[16]

Tennessee Titans

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Autry with the Titans in 2021

On March 18, 2021, Autry signed a three-year, $21.5 million deal with the Tennessee Titans.[17]

In 2023, Autry set a career-high and team-leading 11.5 sacks, 50 tackles, and two forced fumbles.

Houston Texans

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On March 15, 2024, Autry signed a two-year contract with the Houston Texans.[18] On July 29, Autry was suspended six games for violating the NFL's performance–enhancing drug policy.[19]

Professional statistics

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Regular season
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Loss PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD
2014 OAK 10 0 13 9 4 0.0 3 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2015 OAK 14 8 22 20 2 3.0 6 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2016 OAK 16 7 29 21 8 2.5 6 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0
2017 OAK 16 3 36 23 13 5.0 9 7 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2018 IND 12 11 37 28 9 9.0 13 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 1 0 0
2019 IND 14 14 32 20 12 3.5 4 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2020 IND 14 13 33 20 13 7.5 9 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021 TEN 17 11 31 25 6 9.0 10 6 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 TEN 12 8 27 17 10 8.0 8 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 0 0 0
2023 TEN 17 14 50 30 20 11.5 12 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 0 0 0
2024 HOU 5 2 9 6 3 3.0 1 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 142 89 310 213 97 62.0 80 31 0 0 0.0 0 0 7 3 0 0
Playoffs
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Loss PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD
2016 OAK 1 0 4 4 0 0.0 2 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2018 IND 2 2 4 2 2 1.0 2 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020 IND 1 1 4 2 2 1.5 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2021 TEN 1 1 3 1 2 1.5 1 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 5 4 15 9 6 4.0 6 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Denico Autry". hailstate.com. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  2. ^ "Denico Autry, Mississippi State, DE, 2014 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  3. ^ "Denico Autry". kffl.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c "Denico Autry". National Football League. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  5. ^ Bair, Scott (March 9, 2016). "Raiders tender exclusive rights FAs Roberts, Autry". CSNBayArea.com. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  6. ^ "Raiders Retain Four Free Agents". Raiders.com. April 17, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  7. ^ Alper, Josh (March 14, 2018). "Denico Autry will sign with the Colts". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  8. ^ Walker, Andrew (March 15, 2018). "Colts Sign Free Agent Defensive End Denico Autry". Colts.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  9. ^ Knoblauch, Austin (December 12, 2018). "Derrick Henry, Amari Cooper among NFL Players of the Week". National Football League. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  10. ^ "Denico Autry 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  11. ^ Danely, Matt (December 28, 2019). "Colts Week 17 Injury Update: Autry downgraded to out, Moore to doubtful; Nelson has cleared concussion protocol". Stampede Blue. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  12. ^ "Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars - September 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "Indianapolis Colts at Detroit Lions – November 1st, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  14. ^ Walker, Andrew (November 20, 2020). "No Colts Players Ruled Out Sunday Against The Packers; Four Questionable; Denico Autry Placed On Reserve/COVID-19 List". Colts.com. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  15. ^ Walker, Andrew (December 3, 2020). "Colts Thursday Notebook: Denico Autry Returns From Reserve/COVID-19 List; Quenton Nelson On Colts' Run Game Issues". Colts.com. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  16. ^ "Wild Card - Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills - January 9th, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  17. ^ Wyatt, Jim (March 18, 2021). "Titans Agree to Terms With Former Colts DL Denico Autry". Tennessee Titans.
  18. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (03-15-2024)". HoustonTexans.com. March 15, 2024.
  19. ^ "Texans DE Denico Autry banned 6 games for PED violation". espn.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
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