Duane Lonell Starks (born May 23, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens 10th overall in the 1998 NFL draft. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes.

Duane Starks
refer to caption
Starks (left) with a student at Miami Beach Senior High School in 2010
No. 22, 23, 28
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1974-05-23) May 23, 1974 (age 50)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:172 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High school:Miami Beach Senior
(Miami Beach, Florida)
College:Miami (FL)
NFL draft:1998 / round: 1 / pick: 10
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:350
Forced fumbles:7
Fumble recoveries:4
Pass deflections:81
Interceptions:25
Defensive touchdowns:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Starks, who earned a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV, also played for the Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders.

Early life

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Duane Starks attended Miami Beach Senior High School in Miami Beach, Florida, and won varsity letters in both football and track and field. In football, as a senior quarterback, he was a first-team All-Dade County selection, where he was a teammate of future pro bowl corner Samari Rolle, and a second-team All-Florida selection. In track, he finished second at the State Finals on the long jump and set the school record in the long jump.

College career

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Starks was a two-year starter at cornerback, and a star returner for the University of Miami. Starks was interviewed about his time at the University of Miami for the documentary The U, which premiered December 12, 2009 on ESPN.

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump
5 ft 10 in
(1.78 m)
170 lb
(77 kg)
31+14 in
(0.79 m)
9+18 in
(0.23 m)
4.40 s 1.60 s 2.57 s 38.0 in
(0.97 m)

Baltimore Ravens

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Duane Starks was picked with the tenth overall pick in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft.[1] Right away he was an important player in the Ravens famous defense. He recorded 20 interceptions in his first four years as a Raven. He is most well known by Raven fans for his interception for a touchdown in Super Bowl XXXV, a play that many agree ended the New York Giants small chance for a comeback.

Arizona Cardinals

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Starks was signed as a free agent at the end of the 2001 season by the Arizona Cardinals. He became an impact in the secondary by intercepting two passes his first year. His second year was ended early with a season-ending injury. He bounced back after that by intercepting three passes and returning one for a touchdown. He recorded a total of 5 interceptions and one touchdown with the team.

New England Patriots

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After the 2004 season the New England Patriots traded a third round pick to bring the veteran to bolster their secondary after losing their Pro Bowl corner Ty Law in the off season. He was having a lackluster season when the Pats placed him on IR after a season-ending shoulder injury.

Oakland Raiders

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The Oakland Raiders signed Starks after the Patriots released him following the 2005 season. He played in only three games during the 2006 season, recording three tackles. He was inactive for the first three games of the Raiders' 2007 season, and released to make room for quarterback and first-round pick JaMarcus Russell.[2] He was out of football the rest of the 2007 season.

On April 15, 2008, Starks was re-signed by the Raiders on a one-year contract, but was released by the Raiders on May 13.[3]

NFL statistics

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Legend
Led the league
Super Bowl champion
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS Tackles Fumbles Interceptions Punt returns
Comb Solo Ast Sack FF FR Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD
1998 BAL 16 8 51 47 4 0.0 2 0 5 3 0.6 2 0 15
1999 BAL 16 5 42 39 3 0.0 0 0 5 59 11.8 43 1 18
2000 BAL 15 15 49 45 4 0.0 0 1 6 125 20.8 64 0 23 9 135 15.0 47 0
2001 BAL 15 15 59 54 5 0.0 4 0 4 9 2.3 9 0 17
2002 ARI 10 10 55 47 8 0.0 0 0 2 3 1.5 3 0 8
2003 ARI did not play due to injury
2004 ARI 15 8 58 53 5 1.0 1 2 3 46 15.3 41 1 12 7 43 6.1 15 0
2005 NE 7 6 28 21 7 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 5
2006 OAK 3 0 3 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2007 OAK did not play
Career[4] 97 67 345 309 36 1.0 7 3 25 245 9.8 64 2 98 16 178 11.1 47 0

Postseason

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Year Team GP GS Tackles Fumbles Interceptions
Comb Solo Ast Sack FF FR Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
2000 BAL 4 4 19 17 2 0.0 0 0 3 93 31.0 49 1 6
2001 BAL 2 2 11 9 2 0.0 0 0 1 26 26.0 26 0 2
2005 NE did not play due to injury
Career 6 6 30 26 4 0.0 0 0 4 119 29.8 49 1 8

References

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  1. ^ "1998 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  2. ^ Raiders' roster now has 4 QBs
  3. ^ Oakland Raiders Archived May 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Duane Starks Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
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