| No. 58, 59 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1968-03-25)March 25, 1968 (age 57) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Aiken (Cincinnati) | ||||||||
| College | Michigan State | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1991: 2nd round, 37th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Dixon Voldean Edwards, III (born March 25, 1968) is an American former professionalfootball player who was alinebacker in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys andMinnesota Vikings. He playedcollege football for theMichigan State Spartans.
Edwards attendedAiken High School inCincinnati, Ohio, where he earned All-district honors as atight end anddefensive tackle.
He accepted a football scholarship fromMichigan State University, where he studiedConstruction Management.[citation needed] He was a backup during his first 2 seasons.
As a junior in 1989, in his first season as a starter atweakside linebacker, he finished second on the team in tackles (111) toAll-AmericanPercy Snow and tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (11), earning anAll-Big Ten honorable-mention.[1] He had 14 tackles against theUniversity of Miami, 13 against theUniversity of Michigan and 14 against theUniversity of Iowa.
As a senior, he had 112 tackles (7 for loss), 2 sacks, one pass defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. Edwards led the Spartans with a single-game career-high 16 tackles in their upset of then-No. 1 rankedUniversity of Michigan. He earned second-teamAll-Big Ten honors at the end of the year.
During his college career, he registered 254 career tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 4 passes defensed and 4 sacks, while helping the Spartans to a 31-14-1 record, twoBig Ten titles and a 3-1bowl game record (including the1988 Rose Bowl win).[2]
Edwards was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the second round (37th overall) of the1991 NFL draft.[3] Because of his speed and hitting ability, he was moved tostrongside linebacker, even though he had a small frame at 6-1 and 225 pounds. On September 25, he was activated from theinjured reserve list. He played mainly onspecial teams and tied for fourth on the team with 10 tackles. The next year, he was second on the team with 15special teams tackles.
In1993, he became the starter atstrongside linebacker afterVinson Smith was traded to theChicago Bears on August 17.[4] He posted 82 tackles (seventh on the team), 1.5 sacks, one quarterback pressure and 12special teams tackles. He saw limited action inSuper Bowl XXVIII because the Cowboys kept 5defensive backs on the field for most of the contest.
In1994, he recorded 104 tackles (third on the team), 5 tackles for loss, one sack, 2 quarterback pressures, 3 passes defensed and 9special teams tackles (tenth on the team). He dislocated his right shoulder in the first quarter of the NFC Championship Game against theSan Francisco 49ers and was replaced withGodfrey Myles.
In1995, he was third on the team with 109 tackles.[5]
In the 90's, the Cowboys organization felt they could findlinebackers through the draft, without the need of paying a premium and adversely impacting the salary cap, so they allowed talented and productive players like him,Ken Norton, Jr.,Darrin Smith,Robert Jones andRandall Godfrey, to leave via free agency, instead of signing them to long-term contracts.[6]
During his 5 seasons with the Cowboys, Edwards helped the team win 3Super Bowls, playing as a starter inSuper Bowl XXVIII andSuper Bowl XXX. In1996 after he left as afree agent, the Cowboys replaced him by signingBroderick Thomas.
On February 25,1996, Edwards signed as afree agent with theMinnesota Vikings, replacingBroderick Thomas and becoming the Vikings highest paidlinebacker in franchise history.[7] During training campEd McDaniel was injured, so the team was forced to move him toweakside linebacker, where he would have the best year of his career with 122 tackles, 3.5 sacks and one interception.
In1997, he was moved back to thestrongside linebacker position, where his production began to decline.
On June 2,1999, he was released for salary cap reasons.[8] In his three years with the Vikings, Edwards started 43 of the 45 games, made 250 tackles, 5 sacks, one interception, 7 passes defensed, 3 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.
On June 21,1999, theMiami Dolphins signed him to a one-year contract, to add depth and experience at theoutside linebacker position, while reuniting him withJimmy Johnson.[9] In training camp he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat and although he was medically cleared, he decided to stop playing and was released before the season started on August 4.[10]
Edwards appeared in 120 regular season games in his career, starting 90 of them. HisNFL career statistics include 573 tackles, 7.5 sacks, two interceptions for 54 yards and atouchdown, four fumble recoveries, seven forced fumbles and 19 passes defensed. He also had 50special teams tackles.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 1991 | DAL | 11 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | DAL | 16 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | DAL | 16 | 15 | 82 | 82 | 0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | DAL | 16 | 15 | 74 | 59 | 15 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 0 |
| 1995 | DAL | 15 | 15 | 62 | 47 | 15 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | MIN | 14 | 13 | 96 | 68 | 28 | 3.5 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 50 | 34 | 16 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | MIN | 15 | 14 | 46 | 29 | 17 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 119 | 90 | 438 | 347 | 91 | 7.5 | 2 | 54 | 1 | 36 | 6 | 4 | 21 | 0 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 1991 | DAL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | DAL | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | DAL | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | DAL | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | DAL | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | MIN | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | MIN | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | MIN | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | 11 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
OnKTCK AM in Dallas, Edwards is known for an interview he did where he said the words "you know" an inordinate number of times to the point where it became unintentionally comedic.[11]