 Autry with theTennessee Titans in 2021 | |||||||||||||
| No. 96 –Houston Texans | |||||||||||||
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| 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: |
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| Undrafted: | 2014 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||
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Denico Autry (born July 15, 1990) is an American professionalfootballdefensive end for theHouston Texans of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football atEast Mississippi Community College andMississippi State, and was signed as anundrafted free agent by theOakland Raiders in 2014.
Autry playedhigh school football for theAlbemarle High School Bulldogs ofAlbemarle, 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]
Autry first played college football for the East Mississippi Lions ofEast Mississippi Community College, helping lead the Lions to a 12–0 record, state championship andNJCAA national title. He was named 2011 NJCAA Football All-America First-team.[1]
He transferred to play for theMississippi 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]
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 |
| 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 ft4+3⁄4 in (1.95 m) | 273 lb (124 kg) | 34+5⁄8 in (0.88 m) | 11+3⁄8 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 fromPro Day[2] | ||||||||||||
Autry was signed by theOakland Raiders of the NFL on May 20, 2014, after going undrafted in the2014 NFL draft.[3] He made his NFL debut on October 2, 2014, against theCleveland 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]
On March 14, 2018, Autry signed a three-year, $17.8 million contract with theIndianapolis Colts.[7][8] In Week 14, Autry recorded a career-high three sacks and two forced fumbles in a 6–0 loss to theJacksonville Jaguars. He followed that performance week two, with a pair of sacks in a 24–21 upset win over theHouston 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 theJacksonville Jaguars. During the game, Autry recorded his first two sacks of the season onGardner Minshew in the 27–20 loss.[12]In Week 8 against theDetroit Lions, Autry recorded two sacks onMatthew 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 theBuffalo Bills, Autry sackedJosh Allen 1.5 times and forced a fumble during the 27–24 loss.[16]
On March 18, 2021, Autry signed a three-year, $21.5 million deal with theTennessee Titans.[17]
In 2023, Autry set a career-high and team-leading 11.5 sacks, 50 tackles, and two forced fumbles.
On March 15, 2024, Autry signed a two-year contract with theHouston Texans.[18] On July 29, Autry was suspended six games for violating the NFL's performance–enhancing drug policy.[19]
| 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 | 10 | 2 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 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 | |
| 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 |
| 2024 | HOU | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 5 | 4 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 5.0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
