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Mike Daniels (American football)

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Mike Daniels
refer to caption
Daniels with the Green Bay Packers in 2017
No. 76, 96
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1989-05-05) May 5, 1989 (age 35)
Stratford, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:310 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school:Highland Regional
(Blackwood, New Jersey)
College:Iowa (2007–2011)
NFL draft:2012 / round: 4 / pick: 132
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:257
Sacks:30.0
Pass deflections:5
Interceptions:1
Forced fumbles:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Michael Wayne Daniels Jr. (born May 5, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL draft.

Early life

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Daniels was born in Stratford, New Jersey to Carlene and Michael Daniels.[1]

He attended Highland Regional High School in Gloucester Township, New Jersey, where he played running back and defensive tackle. During his second year, he had 41 tackles and six sacks. In his junior year he had 84 tackles and nine sacks. During his senior year, Daniels had 97 tackles and 12 sacks, which earned him first-team all-conference honors. He was also twice named a team captain and rushed for 2,203 yards in his career while scoring 25 touchdowns. Daniels was also a three-year letterman in wrestling and state qualifier in the discus (43.77m or 143’06) and threw the shot put (17.95m or 58’09) at the New Jersey Meet of Champions.[1]

College career

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Daniels was considered a two-star prospect by Rivals.com.[2] His height was listed at six feet one inches and 230 pounds.[2] His 40-yard dash was listed at 4.6 seconds; he bench-pressed a maximum of 300 pounds and squatted 600 pounds.[2]

Daniels was not highly recruited out of high school, but received scholarship offers from the University of Iowa and Temple University.[2] When he was asked about why no one knew about him coming out of high school, he replied, "honestly, I don't know".[3]

Daniels chose to play football at Iowa and was redshirted during his first year.[1] When the redshirt expired the following year, he was not listed on the depth chart after spring practice but still managed to get the first sack of his college career in a game against the Florida International University Golden Panthers, in which he also had two solo tackles and an assisted tackle.[1][4]

During his second year, Daniels played in all 13 games, and had 10 tackles including 1.5 for a loss.[1]

In his junior year with the Hawkeyes, Daniels played in every game and started eight of them. During a game against Ball State, he was awarded a career-best six tackles (four solo), as well as four more tackles for a loss and a sack.[1] His performance earned him Big Ten co-Defensive Player of the week honors.[5] At the end of the season, he earned a spot on the honorable mention All-Big Ten team by the coaches and media.[6]

During the final season of his college career, Daniels was named to the Pony Express Award preseason watch list.[7] Additionally, he was named a third-team All-Big 10 by Phil Steele.[8] During the season, he started all 13 games at defensive tackle and led the team in tackles for loss and sacks.[1] He also recorded 32 solo tackles. During the season opener against Tennessee Tech, he recorded one solo tackle and one assist.[1] When the Hawkeyes competed against Nebraska, Daniels matched his career high of nine tackles.[1] His performance in his final year earned him a spot on the second-team all-Big Ten team by the coaches and media.[1]

Daniels graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in sociology.

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash
6 ft 0+1⁄2 in
(1.84 m) 		291 lb
(132 kg) 		32+1⁄2 in
(0.83 m) 		9+5⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.84 s
All values from NFL Combine[9][10]

Green Bay Packers

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Daniels with the Green Bay Packers in 2014
Daniels interacting with the crowd at Lambeau Field in December 2016

Scouts praised Daniels for being "quick off the ball" and using "his small frame to work between blockers". They also stated that he had good instincts and could understand offensive schemes and beat them. His size was often criticized because he was often beaten by larger blockers.[11]

Daniels was selected in the fourth round (132nd overall) of the 2012 draft by the Green Bay Packers who first noticed him a year before when looking at other defensive linemen from Iowa.[12][13][14][15] Defensive coordinator Dom Capers commented that "The thing that jumps out at me is the way he plays the game."[13] He scored his first touchdown on December 9, 2012 against the Lions after recovering a fumble by Matthew Stafford. During his rookie season in 2012, Daniels played 14 games with 12 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 pass defended, and 2 fumble recoveries. In 2013, Daniels appeared in 16 games making 28 tackles and 6.5 sacks. In 2014, Daniels started all 16 games with 47 tackles and 5.5 sacks. On December 14, 2015, Daniels signed a 4-year contract extension worth $42 million.[16] On December 27, 2015, despite the Packers' bad performance on the offensive line and being blown out 38–8 by the Arizona Cardinals, Daniels snagged his first interception from Carson Palmer. Daniels finished the 2015 season with 49 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 interception, 2 passes defended, and 1 forced fumble.

Daniels was ranked 95th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016,[17] and 84th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 after starting all 16 games both seasons.[18]

In Week 1 of the 2017 season, Daniels recorded seven tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble off of quarterback Russell Wilson in a 17–9 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Daniels's forced fumble was vital as it helped set up a Ty Montgomery rushing touchdown.

Daniels was named to his first Pro Bowl after the 2017 regular season. Having been an alternate three previous occasions in his career, on January 9, 2018, the NFL announced that Daniels would replace Aaron Donald in the 2018 Pro Bowl due to an undisclosed injury. He was ranked 93rd by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.[19]

In 2018, Daniels played in 10 games, recording 18 tackles and two sacks before suffering a foot injury in Week 11. He was placed on injured reserve on December 1, 2018.[20]

On July 24, 2019, Daniels was released by the Packers after seven seasons.[21]

Detroit Lions

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Two days later, Daniels signed a one-year, $9.1 million contract with the Detroit Lions.[22] He played in nine games before being placed on injured reserve on December 16, 2019.[23]

Cincinnati Bengals

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Daniels signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on August 12, 2020.[24] He was placed on injured reserve on October 3, 2020, with an elbow injury.[25] He was activated on October 24.[26] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on January 2, 2021,[27] and activated on January 12.[28]

Daniels re-signed on a one-year contract with the Bengals on March 31, 2021.[29] He was released on August 31, 2021.[30] He was signed to the practice squad on September 6.[31]

NFL career statistics

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Regular season statistics
Season Team Games Tackles
GP GS Total Solo Ast Sck Int
2012 GB 14 0 12 12 0 2.0 0
2013 GB 16 1 23 17 6 6.5 0
2014 GB 16 16 41 29 12 5.5 0
2015 GB 16 16 49 27 22 4.0 1
2016 GB 16 16 33 25 8 4.0 0
2017 GB 14 14 49 34 15 5.0 0
2018 GB 10 9 18 10 8 2.0 0
2019 DET 9 2 10 6 4 1.0 0
2020 CIN 11 11 17 7 10 0.0 0
2021 CIN 2 1 5 5 0 0.0 0
Total 124 86 257 172 85 30.0 1
Source: NFL.com
Postseason statistics
Season Team Games Tackles
GP GS Total Solo Ast Sck Int
2012 GB 2 0 3 2 1 0.0 0
2013 GB 1 1 5 3 2 1.0 0
2014 GB 2 2 6 1 5 0.5 0
2015 GB 2 2 3 2 1 1.0 0
2016 GB 3 3 10 9 1 0.0 0
2021 CIN 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0
Total 11 8 27 17 10 2.5 0
Source: pro-football-reference.com

Personal life

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Daniels is a Christian.[32] Daniels is married to Heaven Daniels.[33] They have five children.[34] Daniels is the older brother of Sean Daniels. He has been noted for his interest in anime.[35]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Mike Daniels". Iowa University. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "Mike Daniels". Scout.com. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  3. ^ Juliano, Joe. "Why didn't anyone know about this Mike Daniels guy?". The Gazette. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  4. ^ "Drive Chart". ESPN. September 6, 2008. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  5. ^ Logue, Andrew (September 27, 2010). "Daniels earns player of the week honors". Iowa City Press-Citizen & The Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on October 6, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  6. ^ "Big Ten Announces 2010 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors". Big Ten. November 29, 2010. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  7. ^ "More Hawkeyes earn preseason honors". Iowa City Press-Citizen & The Des Moines Register. UI Sports Information. June 8, 2011. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  8. ^ "PHIL STEELE'S 2011 PRESEASON AWARDS" (PDF) (Press release). Phil Steele Publications. May 28, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Mike Daniels Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  10. ^ "2012 Draft Scout Mike Daniels, Iowa NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  11. ^ "Mike Daniels". National Football League. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  12. ^ "2012 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Dunne, Talor (April 28, 2012). "DT Daniels another athlete up front". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  14. ^ "Mike Daniels – Iowa,DT: 2012 NFL Draft". NFLDraftscout.com. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  15. ^ "Mike Daniels Mobile Profile". ESPN Mobile. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  16. ^ "Packers ink Mike Daniels to a four-year extension". National Football League. Archived from the original on December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  17. ^ "'Top 100 Players of 2016': No. 95 Mike Daniels". NFL.com.
  18. ^ "'Top 100 Players of 2017': No. 84 Mike Daniels". NFL.com.
  19. ^ "#93: Mike Daniels (DE, Packers) | Top 100 Players of 2018 | NFL". April 30, 2018 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ "Packers activate Jake Kumerow to 53-man roster". Packers.com. December 1, 2018.
  21. ^ "Packers release DL Mike Daniels". Packers.com. July 24, 2019. Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  22. ^ Bergman, Jeremy (July 25, 2019). "Lions finalizing deal with ex-Packers DL Mike Daniels". NFL.com.
  23. ^ "Lions acquire G Caleb Benenoch via waivers from Dallas Cowboys". DetroitLions.com. December 16, 2019.
  24. ^ "Bengals Sign Defensive Tackle Mike Daniels". Bengals.com. August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  25. ^ "Bengals Make Four Player Moves Ahead Of Week 4 Matchup Versus Jacksonville". Bengals.com. October 3, 2020.
  26. ^ Williams, Charean (October 24, 2020). "Bengals activate Mike Daniels from injured reserve". NBCSports.com. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  27. ^ "Bengals Make Roster Moves Ahead Of Week 17 Against Baltimore". Bengals.com. January 2, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  28. ^ "Bengals' Mike Daniels: Lifted from COVID-19 list". CBSSports.com. January 12, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  29. ^ "Bengals Re-Sign Mike Daniels". Bengals.com. March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  30. ^ "Bengals Reduce 2021 Roster To 53 Players". Bengals.com. August 31, 2021.
  31. ^ "Bengals Sign Mike Daniels To The Practice Squad, Release Winston Rose". Bengals.com. September 6, 2021.
  32. ^ Pease, Joshua (July 29, 2019). "Pro Bowl DT Mike Daniels thanks God for getting cut by Packers after signing with Lions". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  33. ^ Meinert, Kendra. "Mike and Heaven Daniels didn't just live in Green Bay, they made a difference". Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  34. ^ "heavendaniels". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  35. ^ EDT, Phillip Martinez On 8/2/18 at 4:08 PM (August 2, 2018). "Green Bay Packers star Mike Daniels talks his love of anime in new documentary". Newsweek.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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