Louis Delmas (French pronunciation: [lwi dɛl.ma]; born April 12, 1987) is a Haitian-born former professional American football safety. He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft. He played college football at Western Michigan. He was also a member of the Miami Dolphins.

Louis Delmas
refer to caption
Delmas with the Detroit Lions in 2011
No. 26, 25
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1987-04-12) April 12, 1987 (age 37)
Delmas, Haiti
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:North Miami Beach
(North Miami Beach, Florida)
College:Western Michigan (2005–2008)
NFL draft:2009 / round: 2 / pick: 33
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:392
Sacks:6.0
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:6
Interceptions:7
Defensive touchdowns:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Delmas is of Haitian descent.[1] He was born in Delmas, a commune in the Port-au-Prince area in Haiti, on a street named Delmas 25 and moved to Miami, Florida at age 11. When he first arrived he did not speak any English.[2]

Delmas played high school football at North Miami Beach High School in North Miami Beach, Florida.

College career

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Delmas played college football at Western Michigan from 2005 to 2008. The Broncos made the 2008 Texas Bowl in his senior year but lost to Rice 38–14. Delmas was named to the All-MAC Defensive First-team in 2008[3] and played in the 2009 Senior Bowl All-Star game.[4]

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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Delmas was considered by some to be a top-10 prospect at his position in the 2009 NFL draft.[5] In 2008, ESPN's Todd McShay said Delmas had a chance to get drafted in the first three rounds.[6]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11 in
(1.80 m)
202 lb
(92 kg)
4.52 s 1.50 s 2.56 s 4.17 s 6.67 s 37 in
(0.94 m)
10 ft 6 in
(3.20 m)
12 reps
All values from NFL Combine.[7]

Detroit Lions

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The Detroit Lions selected Delmas in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. He was the first safety drafted in 2009.[8]

He was signed by the Lions to a four-year contract. Delmas returned a 65-yard fumble for a touchdown in Week 1 of the 2009 season against the New Orleans Saints. Delmas won September's rookie defensive player of the month award.[9] On December 20, 2009, Delmas became the first rookie in NFL history to record an interception return for a touchdown, a fumble return for a touchdown and a safety in the same season.[10] He is only the second player in NFL history to accomplish the feats in the same season. He was named 2009 Detroit Lions Rookie of the Year in voting by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.

Delmas was named a Pro Bowl alternate for the NFC after the 2010 NFL season.[11]

Delmas was named a Pro Bowl alternate for the NFC after the 2011 NFL season, despite missing five games to injuries.[12]

On March 15, 2013, Delmas re-signed with the Lions to a two-year contract worth $9.465 million.[13]

On October 6, 2013, Lions' center Dominic Raiola was involved in an incident of trash-talking and hate speech to members of the UW-Madison marching band. Delmas was credited with both apologizing for his teammate's actions and having a word with Raiola off the field.[14]

Delmas was released on February 13, 2014.

Miami Dolphins

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On March 10, 2014, Delmas signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins. The contract is worth a maximum of $3.5 million.[15] He wore number 25, honoring the street name he was born on in Haiti.[2] On December 8, 2014, he was placed on Injured reserve after he tore his right ACL against the Baltimore Ravens.[16]

He was resigned by the Dolphins on March 20, 2015.[17]

NFL statistics

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Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD
2009 DET 15 94 65 29 1.0 0 1 65 2 130 65 101 1 8
2010 DET 15 84 62 22 2.0 2 2 -4 0 0 0 0 0 1
2011 DET 11 51 36 15 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
2012 DET 8 38 28 10 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
2013 DET 16 64 48 16 2.0 0 0 0 3 44 15 42 0 8
2014 MIA 13 61 50 11 1.0 0 2 0 1 81 81 81 1 3
Career 78 392 289 103 6.0 2 6 0 7 255 36 101 2 27

[18]

Personal life

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On April 4, 2017, it was reported that Delmas had been arrested by the Miami-Dade Police for resisting arrest without violence. Delmas was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over for speeding 76 MPH in a 40 MPH speed limit zone. The driver, Andry Madrigal, was suspected of driving under the influence and failed sobriety test on the scene. A breath sample that was subsequently taken at the station measured 0.164, which is twice the legal 0.08 limit. Delmas continued to yell while the police officers conducted the field sobriety tests and was arrested after ignoring multiple requests.[19] He was processed at the Miami-Dade Police station before posting a $500 bond.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Chart: Haitian Americans in the NFL". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Perkins, Chris (October 28, 2014). "Haitian Dolphins Louis Delmas, Terrence Fede winning friends, influencing people". Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  3. ^ "MAC Announces Football Post Season Awards - MAC-Sports.com - Official Web Site of the Mid-American Conference". mac-sports.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  4. ^ ESPN.com Senior bowl roster finalized Archived January 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Myespn.go.com. Retrieved on May 30, 2012.
  5. ^ 2009 NFL Draft rankings. draftcountdown.com
  6. ^ Virginia's Sintim, Indiana's Thigpen generating interest; Top 32 shuffled. Sports.espn.go.com (November 21, 2008). Retrieved on 2012-05-30.
  7. ^ "Draft Scout 2009 FS Player Ratings". draftscout.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  8. ^ "2009 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  9. ^ "Louis Delmas wins first-ever defensive rookie player of the month award for Lions", Mlive.com, October 1, 2009
  10. ^ Twentyman, Tim (December 21, 2009), "Key play: Delmas pick goes long distance", The Detroit News
  11. ^ Detroit Lions: Louis Delmas, September 19, 2011, archived from the original on October 13, 2011, retrieved September 19, 2011
  12. ^ "Stafford, Suh, and Delmas named Pro Bowl alternates", detroitlions.com, January 6, 2012, archived from the original on September 23, 2015, retrieved January 6, 2012
  13. ^ "Sources: Lions give safety Delmas new deal". ESPN.com. March 15, 2013.
  14. ^ Sorgi, Jay. "Lions player tosses epithets, spits at UW Band members during Packers game". Today's TMJ4. NBC. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  15. ^ "Louis Delmas, Miami Dolphins strike one-year deal". NFL.com.
  16. ^ Nogle, Kevin (December 8, 2014). "The #Dolphins have placed Louis Delmas on injured reserve with a torn ACL". The Phinsider.
  17. ^ Alper, Josh (March 20, 2015). "Dolphins bring back Louis Delmas, LaMichael James". NBCSports.com. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  18. ^ "Louis Delmas Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  19. ^ Neal, David (April 4, 2017). "Former Dolphins player arrested after cops say he yelled during friend's sobriety test". miamiherald.com. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  20. ^ Dwork, David (April 4, 2017). "Former Dolphins Player Louis Delmas Arrested In Miami". miami.cbslocal.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
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