Rashaan Gaulden

American football player (born 1995)

American football player

Rashaan Gaulden

Gaulden with the Carolina Panthers in 2018

No. 28, 38, 33
Position:| Safety
Personal information
Born:|  (1995-01-23) January 23, 1995 (age 30)
Spring Hill, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:| 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:| 200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:| Independence
(Thompson's Station, Tennessee)
College:| Tennessee (2014–2017)
NFL draft:| 2018: 3rd round, 85th pick
Career history

* Carolina Panthers (2018–2019)
* New York Giants (2019)
* Las Vegas Raiders (2020)
* Calgary Stampeders (2022)*

* Offseason and/or practice squad member only

Career NFL statistics
| Total tackles:| 20

|

Pass deflections:| 1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Rashaan Malik Gaulden (born January 23, 1995) is an American former professional football safety. He played college football at Tennessee, and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft.

## Early life

[edit]

Gaulden attended Independence High School in Thompson's Station, Tennessee.[1] Along with football, he also participated in track and field and was named an All-American after finishing fourth nationally in the 4x400 relay. During his senior football season, he recorded 193 tackles.[2] Gaulden committed to play football for the Tennessee Volunteers on July 20, 2013, choosing the Volunteers over programs such as Vanderbilt and South Carolina.[3]

## College career

[edit]

Gaulden played at the University of Tennessee from 2014 to 2017 under head coach Butch Jones.[4][5] As a true freshman in 2014, Gaulden played in 11 games, making seven total tackles.[6]

Gaulden missed the 2015 season due to a foot injury suffered during training camp in August and took a medical redshirt.[7]

Gaulden returned in 2016 as a redshirt sophomore and played in all 13 of Tennessee's games, recording 68 tackles (six for loss), four pass breakups and one forced fumble.[8]

As a redshirt junior in 2017, Gaulden played in all 12 games of the season, tallying 65 tackles, one interception, five pass deflections, and three forced fumbles.[9] His interception was the first of his collegiate career and came against the Florida Gators in a 26–20 loss.[10] After the season, he declared for the 2018 NFL draft.[11]

## Professional career

[edit]

### Pre-draft

[edit]

On January 3, 2018, Gaulden released a statement through his Twitter account, announcing his decision to forgo his senior season and enter the 2018 NFL Draft.[12] He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed all of the combine and positional drills. His 40-yard dash time was described as "not great" by NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah, but Gaulden managed to perform well and show his agility in positional drills.[13]

External videos

Rashaan Gaulden's NFL Combine Workout

On March 19, 2018, Gaulden participated at Tennessee's pro day and weighed in at 191 lbs, which was six pounds lighter than his weight at the NFL Combine. He ran the 40-yard dash (4.69s), 20-yard dash (2.78s), 10-yard dash (1.64s), and short shuttle (4.26s).[14] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Gaulden was projected to be a second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the second best free safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com, was ranked the 10th best cornerback by Sports Illustrated, and was ranked the 13th best cornerback in the draft by Scouts Inc.[15][16]

> “Gaulden, the defensive back, he's kind of interesting. I don't know what he is. I watch him on tape. He plays nickel. He's tough. He hustles to the football. He's got some range. I want to see what he runs. I mean, he's 6-foot-1. He might even play corner, I don't know. If he runs 4.48 or something, he might be interesting as a long corner. He also might be interesting as a free safety, but I know he can play special teams. I kind of feel like right now he's probably an early third-day pick, but I think he could help himself.”[17]

–Mike Mayock

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 1 in
(1.85 m)  | 197 lb
(89 kg)  | 30+3⁄4 in
(0.78 m)  | 9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m) | 4.61 s | 1.62 s | 2.69 s | 4.33 s | 7.16 s | 30 in
(0.76 m) | 9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m) | 8 reps
All values from NFL Combine[18]

### Carolina Panthers

[edit]

The Carolina Panthers selected Gaulden in the third round (85th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft, through a pick traded from the Buffalo Bills for Kelvin Benjamin. He was the seventh safety drafted in 2018.[19][20] On May 12, 2018, the Panthers signed Gaulden to a four-year, $3.44 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $847,656.[21] On November 25, 2019, Gaulden was waived by the Panthers.[22]

External videos

Panthers draft Rashaan Gaulden 85th overall

### New York Giants

[edit]

On December 4, 2019, Gaulden was signed to the practice squad of the New York Giants.[23] He was promoted to the active roster on December 18, 2019.[24] He was waived on August 2, 2020.[25]

Gaulden had a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 17, 2020,[26] and with the Tennessee Titans on August 23, 2020.[27]

### Las Vegas Raiders

[edit]

On November 9, 2020, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Gaulden to their practice squad.[28] He was elevated to the active roster on December 17 and 26 for the team's weeks 15 and 16 games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[29][30] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 5, 2021.[31] He was waived on June 4, 2021.[32]

### Calgary Stampeders

[edit]

On September 27, 2022, Gaulden was signed to the practice roster of the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[33] He was released on October 20, 2022.[34]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Fortenberry, Paul (October 7, 2016). "Gaulden living up to expectations". The Daily Times. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
2. ^ Brown, Patrick (April 7, 2015). "Rashaan Gaulden groomed to take over UT Vols' nickel spot". Times Free Press. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
3. ^ "Independence's RaShaan Gaulden commits to Tennessee Vols". USA TODAY High School Sports. July 20, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
4. ^ "Rashaan Gaulden College Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
5. ^ "Tennessee Volunteers Football Record By Year". Sports Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
6. ^ "Rashaan Gaulden 2014 Player Statistics". cfbstats.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
7. ^ Brown, Patrick (August 22, 2015). "Tennessee cornerback Rashaan Gaulden out for the season". Times Free Press. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
8. ^ "Rashaan Gaulden 2016 Player Statistics". cfbstats.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
9. ^ "Rashaan Gaulden 2017 Player Statistics". cfbstats.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
10. ^ "Tennessee at Florida Box Score, September 16, 2017". Sports Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
11. ^ Morgan, Blake (January 4, 2018). "Tennessee in more need of CB commits after Rashaan Gaulden declares for NFL draft". My Dayton Daily News. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
12. ^ Baker, Sam (January 3, 2018). "Tennessee CB Rashaan Gaulden declares for NFL draft". seccountry.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
13. ^ Brown, Patrick (March 5, 2018). "Vols NFL Combine Recap: Rashaan Gaulden". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
14. ^ Simonton, Jesse (March 19, 2018). "How did Tennessee's prospects perform at Pro Day?". tennessee.rivals.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
15. ^ "NFL Rashaan Gaulden-ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
16. ^ "The 2018 NFL Draft Big Board, Vol. 2". Sports Illustrated. March 7, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
17. ^ Brown, Patrick (March 2, 2018). "Mayock: Versatile Gaulden an 'interesting' NFL prospect". 247Sports.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
18. ^ "NFL Draft Profile: Rashaan Gaulden". National Football League. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
19. ^ "2018 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
20. ^ Strickland, Bryan (April 27, 2018). "Panthers draft Rashaan Gaulden in third round". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
21. ^ "Spotrac.com: Rashaan Gaulden contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
22. ^ Henson, Max (November 25, 2019). "Panthers waive defensive back Rashaan Gaulden". Panthers.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
23. ^ Bouda, Nate (December 4, 2019). "Giants Sign DB Rashaan Gaulden To Practice Squad". NFL Trade Rumors. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
24. ^ Eisen, Michael (December 18, 2019). "Giants sign DB Rashaan Gaulden off practice squad". Giants.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
25. ^ Eisen, Michael (August 2, 2020). "Giants reach NFL's new 80-man roster limit". Giants.com. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
26. ^ @AlbertBreer (August 17, 2020). "Today's tryout list" (Tweet). Retrieved August 21, 2020 - via Twitter.
27. ^ @AlbertBreer (August 23, 2020). "And here's today's tryout/visit list. Ex-Ohio State QB Cardale Jones and ex-Lions RB Theo Riddick worked out for Vegas" (Tweet). Retrieved August 24, 2020 - via Twitter.
28. ^ @Raiders (November 9, 2020). "We have signed DB Rashaan Gaulden to the practice squad" (Tweet). Retrieved December 15, 2020 - via Twitter.
29. ^ @Raiders (December 17, 2020). "We have activated DB Rashaan Gaulden and LB Javin White from the practice squad" (Tweet). Retrieved February 3, 2021 - via Twitter.
30. ^ Damien, Levi (December 26, 2020). "Raiders activate DT Maliek Collins from injured reserve to face Dolphins". USA Today. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
31. ^ "Raiders sign 11 players to Reserve/Future contracts". Raiders.com. January 5, 2021. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
32. ^ "Raiders sign G Parker Ehinger, waive S Rashaan Gaulden". Raiders.com. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
33. ^ "Calgary Stampeders sign three to practice roster, including former NFL defensive back Rashaan Gaulden". 3DownNation. September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
34. ^ "Rashaan Gaulden". footballdb.com. Retrieved August 14, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rashaan Gaulden.

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