Nik Needham
Nik Needham (born November 4, 1996) is an American football cornerback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas-El Paso.
No. 40 – Miami Dolphins | |||||||||||||||
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Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: | Long Beach, California | November 4, 1996||||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 193 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school: | Buena Park (Buena Park, California) | ||||||||||||||
College: | UTEP | ||||||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2019 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2019 | |||||||||||||||
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College career
Needham was a member of the UTEP Miners for five seasons, redshirting his freshman season. He finished his collegiate career with 213 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions and a school record 33 passes broken up in 41 games played.[1]
Professional career
Needham signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2019.[2] He was waived on August 31, 2019 as part of final roster cuts but was resigned to the team's practice squad the following day.[3] Needham was promoted to the active roster on October 12, 2019 and made his NFL debut the next day against the Washington Redskins, starting at cornerback and finishing the game with one tackle and a pass defended.[4][5] In week 9 against the New York Jets, Needham recorded a team high 9 tackles and sacked Sam Darnold once in the 26–18 win.[6] Needham recorded his first career interception on November 10, 2019 against the Indianapolis Colts, picking off a pass from Brian Hoyer in the fourth quarter of the Dolphins' 16-12 win.[7] In week 15 against the New York Giants, Needham intercepted a pass thrown by Eli Manning during the 36–20 loss.[8] Needham finished his rookie season with 54 tackles, a sack, one forced fumble and a team-high 11 passes defended with two interceptions in 12 games played.[9]
References
- Chalvire, Patrick (April 28, 2019). "Needham Signs with Miami Dolphins". cbs4local.com.
- Deaver, Colin (April 28, 2019). "Needham signs as undrafted free agent with Dolphins". KTSM.com. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
- Chalvire, Patrick (September 2, 2019). "Former Miner/Aggie football players join Miami Dolphins practice squad". Retrieved October 14, 2019.
- Nogle, Kevin (October 12, 2019). "Dolphins promote Nik Needham, waive Doug Middleton". ThePhinsider.com. SB Nation. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
- Poupart, Alain (October 13, 2019). "I Said It: Brian Flores, Players React To Dolphins-Redskins". MiamiDolphins.com. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
- "Dolphins get first win of 2019, top Jets 26-18". www.espn.com. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
- Ayello, Jim (November 10, 2019). "Colts suffer shocking loss to Dolphins as Vinatieri, Ebron, Hoyer struggle". USAToday.com. Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
- "Manning throws 2 TDs, Barkley scores 2, Giants end long skid". www.espn.com. December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- Perkins, Chris (January 2, 2020). "Dolphins final report card: Hopes for No. 1 pick are gone, but hope for the future is high". The Athletic. Retrieved January 9, 2020.