Malik McDowell

Malik McDowell
refer to caption
McDowell with the Cleveland Browns in 2021
Personal information
Born: (1996-06-20) June 20, 1996 (age 28)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:295 lb (134 kg)
Career information
High school:Southfield
(Southfield, Michigan)
College:Michigan State (2014–2016)
Position:Defensive tackle
NFL draft:2017 / round: 2 / pick: 35
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:33
Sacks:3.0
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Malik Devon McDowell (born June 20, 1996) is an American professional football defensive tackle who is a free agent. After playing college football for Michigan State, he was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft. He sustained injuries from an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident shortly after being drafted and never played in a game for the Seahawks. His career was further complicated by a legal issue which ultimately resulted in him being sentenced to prison for 11 months in November 2019.[1] In 2021, McDowell returned to the NFL and played for the Cleveland Browns that year.[2]

Early years

McDowell attended Loyola High School in Detroit, Michigan, and then Southfield High School in Southfield, Michigan.[3] As a high school football player, he was rated by Rivals.com as a five-star recruit, and was ranked as the second best defensive end in his class and the 26th best player overall.[4] He committed to play football at Michigan State University.[5]

College career

McDowell played college football at Michigan State under head coach Mark Dantonio.[6] In the 2014 season, McDowell played in all 13 games as a true freshman and had 15 tackles and 1.5 sacks.[7][8][9] As a sophomore in 2015, he was named an All-American by Fox Sports. On November 29, 2016, McDowell was named Second-team All-Big Ten Conference.[10] On December 5, 2016, McDowell announced that he had signed with an agent and would enter the 2017 NFL draft.[11]

Professional career

McDowell received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed every combine drill, except for the short shuttle and three-cone drill. He also participated at Michigan State's Pro Day, but chose to run only positional drills for scouts and team representatives in attendance.[12] McDowell attended nine private workouts and visits with the Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, and Washington Redskins.[13] NFL draft experts and analysts projected McDowell to be a first round pick. He was ranked the top defensive tackle available in the draft by ESPN and NFL analyst Bucky Brooks, the second best defensive tackle by Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Focus, and was ranked the third best interior defensive lineman by NFL media analyst Mike Mayock.[14][15][16][17][18]

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 6+1⁄4 in
(1.99 m) 		295 lb
(134 kg) 		34+3⁄4 in
(0.88 m) 		10+1⁄2 in
(0.27 m)		 4.85 s 1.69 s 2.84 s 4.53 s 7.69 s 28.5 in
(0.72 m)		 9 ft 4 in
(2.84 m)		 23 reps
All values from NFL Combine[19][20][21]

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks selected McDowell in the second round (35th overall) of the 2017 NFL draft.[22] On May 25, 2017, the Seahawks signed McDowell to a four-year, $6.95 million contract with $4.40 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3.19 million.[23]

A few weeks prior to training camp, McDowell was involved in an ATV accident and was placed on the reserve/did not report list on July 30, 2017.[24][25] He later returned to practice and was placed on the non-football injury list on August 3 due to the injuries from the accident.[26] He was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on September 22, 2017, and was sentenced to 12 months of probation on March 20, 2018. He was arrested again in December 2017 for disorderly conduct.[27]

On July 26, 2018, McDowell was waived by the Seahawks with a non-football injury designation,[28] and subsequently placed on the reserve/non-football injury list the next day.

On February 18, 2019, McDowell got into an altercation with police in Lathrup Village, Michigan, and was charged with assault, resisting arrest, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OVI).[29][30] During the incident and while resisting arrest, McDowell constantly and for several minutes shouted demands for seeing the police officers' "supervisor."[31] He was released by the Seahawks on March 2, 2019.[32] In April 2019, he was arrested for receiving and concealing stolen property after police found a stolen car in his possession.[1] The Seahawks filed a lawsuit against him in May 2019, after he failed to repay $799,238 of his signing bonus.[33] McDowell was suspended for the first two weeks of the 2019 NFL season as a result of the February 2019 incident on July 12, 2019.[34] He was reinstated from suspension on September 17, 2019. On October 23, 2019, he pleaded guilty to all of the criminal charges.[35] He was sentenced to 11 months in prison on November 13, 2019.[1] His agent said in May 2020 that he was medically cleared to return to football,[36] and McDowell worked out for the Dolphins on October 21, 2020.[37] In March 2021, his agent said he was looking to return to the NFL.[2]

Cleveland Browns

McDowell signed with the Cleveland Browns on May 3, 2021.[38]

Duke City Gladiators

On June 16, 2023, McDowell signed with the Duke City Gladiators of the Indoor Football League.[39] He was released on May 24, 2024.[39]

On January 17, 2022, McDowell was arrested in Deerfield Beach, Florida, and charged with public exposure, assaulting a police officer, and resisting arrest, after police received a call about a man walking naked on the property of a learning center for children.[40][41][42][43] The Cleveland Browns released a statement indicating they were investigating the matter.[44]

References

  1. ^ a b c Henderson, Brady (November 13, 2019). "Ex-Seahawk Malik McDowell sentenced to 11 months in jail". ESPN. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Wisniewski, Lindsey (March 21, 2021). "Former Seahawks DL Malik McDowell attempting a comeback to NFL". NBCSports.com. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  3. ^ Purcell, Jared (July 15, 2013). "Report: Michigan, MSU recruit Malik McDowell transfers to Southfield, awaits clearance to play". mlive.com. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
  5. ^ Lacy, Eric (February 5, 2014). "Malik McDowell commits to Michigan State; Southfield defensive end one of nation's top players". mlive.com. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  6. ^ "Malik McDowell College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Michigan State expects McDowell to 'dominate'". ESPN.com. July 2, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  8. ^ Griffith, Mike (August 7, 2015). "There's no disrespecting the Michigan State defensive line and rising star Malik McDowell". mlive.com. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  9. ^ "MSU's McDowell just 'scratching the surface' as player". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  10. ^ "2016 Big Ten Individual Award Winners" (PDF). www.grfx.cstv.com. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  11. ^ Solari, Chris (December 5, 2016). "Report: Malik McDowell to enter NFL Draft". Detroit Free Press.
  12. ^ "*Malik McDowell, DS #2 DT, Michigan State". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  13. ^ "Walter Football: 2017 NFL Draft Prospect Visits/Workouts". walterfootball.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  14. ^ Burke, Chris (April 24, 2017). "2017 NFL draft rankings: Top prospects by position". si.com. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  15. ^ Jeff Legwold (April 22, 2017). "Ranking the 2017 Draft's Top 100 Prospects". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  16. ^ "Top 32 Prospects for the 2017 NFL Draft". profootballfocus.com. January 10, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  17. ^ Bucky Brooks (April 25, 2017). "Bucky Brooks' top 5 2017 NFL Draft prospects by position 3.0". NFL.com. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  18. ^ Mike Mayock (April 12, 2017). "Mike Mayock's top 5 2017 NFL Draft prospects by position 3.0". NFL.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  19. ^ "Malik McDowell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com.
  20. ^ "Malik McDowell 2017 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  21. ^ "Malik McDowell, Michigan State, DT, 2017 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  22. ^ Yohannes, Aron (April 28, 2017). "Seattle Seahawks Select Michigan State Defensive End Malik McDowell With No. 35 Overall Pick In 2017 NFL Draft". Seahawks.com.
  23. ^ "Spotrac.com: Malik McDowell contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  24. ^ Patra, Kevin (July 30, 2017). "Seahawks rookie Malik McDowell in vehicular accident". NFL.com.
  25. ^ Boyle, John (July 30, 2017). "Seahawks Place Malik McDowell On Reserve/Did Not Report List; Sign DT Rodney Coe". Seahawks.com.
  26. ^ Boyle, John (August 3, 2017). "Seahawks DT Malik McDowell Reports To Training Camp". Seahawks.com.
  27. ^ Henderson, Brady (June 27, 2019). "Former Seahawks pick McDowell facing charges". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  28. ^ Boyle, John (July 26, 2018). "Seahawks Waive Defensive Tackle Malik McDowell & Cornerback DeAndre Elliott; Sign Two Tight Ends". Seahawks.com.
  29. ^ Ramirez, Charles (July 9, 2019). "TMZ releases video of ex-MSU star Malik McDowell in scuffle with police". Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  30. ^ Martindale, Mike (June 26, 2019). "Ex-MSU star Malik McDowell charged in scuffle with cops, truck theft". Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  31. ^ "Ex Spartan Malik McDowell fights Lauthrup Village officer in wild video". Fox2 Detroit. July 9, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  32. ^ Williams, Charean (March 2, 2019). "Seahawks officially releasing Malik McDowell". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  33. ^ Condotta, Bob (May 30, 2019). "Seahawks sue former draft pick Malik McDowell for failing to repay bonus money". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  34. ^ "Report: Malik McDowell suspended for first two games of season". July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  35. ^ Ramirez, Charles E. (October 24, 2019). "EX-MSU star Malik McDowell pleads guilty to fighting with cops, truck theft". DetroitNews.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  36. ^ Henderson, Brady (May 20, 2020). "Agent: Ex-Seahawk McDowell medically cleared". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  37. ^ Crabtree, Curtis (October 21, 2020). "Dolphins bring Malik McDowell in for a tryout". NBCSports.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  38. ^ "Browns add 6 players to roster". ClevelandBrowns.com. May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  39. ^ a b "Transactions".
  40. ^ "NFL's Malik McDowell accused of public exposure, hitting Broward deputy". WPLG. January 18, 2022.
  41. ^ Sullivan, Tyler (January 18, 2022). "Browns' Malik McDowell arrested for public exposure, assaulting a deputy in Florida". CBS Sports.
  42. ^ Ulrich, Nate (January 18, 2022). "Cleveland Browns unlikely to retain Malik McDowell after arrest on charges of public exposure, assaulting deputy". Akron Beacon Journal.
  43. ^ "Malik McDowell arrested for public exposure and assaulting". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  44. ^ "Browns DT Malik McDowell arrested in South Florida for public exposure, aggravated battery of officer". NFL.com. January 18, 2022.