Devon Still

Devon Joshua Still (born July 11, 1989) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft.[1] He played college football at Penn State, where he earned consensus All-American honors. He was also a member of the Houston Texans and New York Jets.

Devon Still
refer to caption
Still lining up in 2014
No. 75, 91, 62
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1989-07-11) July 11, 1989
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:310 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school:Wilmington (DE) Howard
College:Penn State (2008–2011)
NFL Draft:2012 / Round: 2 / Pick: 53
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:43
Sacks:0.5
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Still was born in Camden, New Jersey. He attended Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington, Delaware, where he was a standout lineman for the Howard Wildcats high school football team. Still was a team captain during his senior season, recorded 59 tackles, 18 of them for a loss, and was recognized as the Lineman of the Year by the Delaware Interscholastic Coaches Association. He also was a member of the Howard Wildcats basketball and track and field teams.[2]

College career

Still attended Penn State, where he played for coach Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 2008 to 2011.[2] He was named the 2011 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, becoming only the second defensive tackle to win the award (along with former teammate Jared Odrick).[3] He was also named Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year,[4] consensus All-Big Ten,[4] and to 10 first-team All-American teams.[5] He was a finalist for both the Outland and Bednarik awards.[6] Still was elected a team captain for the Nittany Lions as a senior in 2011.[7] He is a charter member of the Eta Alpha chapter of Iota Phi Theta fraternity. He graduated with a degree in Criminal Law and Justice.[8] The Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association named him Delaware's Outstanding Athlete of 2011.[9]

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

At the 2012 NFL Draft, Still was selected in the second round by the Cincinnati Bengals, with the 53rd overall selection.[10] He played two seasons with the team before being cut in late August 2014, prior to the start of the season. The following day, the Bengals re-signed Still to the practice squad to help him pay for his daughter's cancer treatment.[11]

In addition to his daughter Leah's diagnosis, Still was also attempting to heal from a hamstring injury. He admitted that the injury was holding him back from his full ability and he could not give his best effort to his team. Consequently, Still did not make the Cincinnati Bengals' 53-man roster. Still said: "I completely understand where they were coming from...."I can't give football 100 percent right now. In the business aspect they want guys to solely focus on football, which is understandable. We are here to win this city a Super Bowl and right now I am not in a position where I can give football 100 percent of everything I have." Head coach Marvin Lewis offered Still a position on the practice squad so that he could continue to pay for his daughter's cancer treatments. As a member of the practice squad, Still did not have to travel with the team on road trips.[12]

On September 10, 2014, it was announced that Still would be moved to the active roster.[13] In the game that followed, the Bengals' second of the season, he recorded three tackles against the Atlanta Falcons.[14]

On September 5, 2015, Still was waived by the Bengals.

Houston Texans

On January 6, 2016, the Houston Texans signed Still to a reserve future contract.[15] He was placed on injured reserve on October 5, 2016.

New York Jets

On August 4, 2017, Still signed with the New York Jets.[16] He was waived on August 28, 2017.[17]

On December 23, 2017, Still announced his retirement from the NFL.[18]

Personal life

In June 2014, his daughter, Leah Sari Still, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma stage 4 cancer.[19] Still put his football career on hiatus saying: "she's fighting for her life. Sports is not more important than me being there while my daughter is fighting for her life." Since the June 2, 2014 diagnosis, Still spent the next three weeks sleeping next to his daughter at the hospital despite his own recent back surgery. In support of his daughter, Still shaved his head bald and has said that he will grow back his hair only when Leah's does.[20]

The Bengals demonstrated their loyalty even further by permitting Devon Still's jersey to be sold in order to raise awareness for pediatric cancer research and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. $400,000 sales were made in four days. At the end of September, it was reported that Still's jersey donation sales neared $1 million. The New Orleans Saints head coach, Sean Payton bought 100 jerseys and distributed them to the local Boys & Girls Club and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital.[21]

On September 25, 2014, before driving Leah to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for cancer surgery, Still posted a video to his Instagram account, which went viral. Still later tweeted that the tumor and lymph nodes were removed.[22][23]

On October 5, 2014, during a game with the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, a music video was shown on the stadium's video screen featuring Still's daughter. The Patriots cheerleaders also donned copies of Still's' jersey to show support. It was further reported that Patriots owner Robert Kraft was donating $25,000 to Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Leah's name.

On March 18, 2015, Still announced that Leah had undergone surgery to get the tumor out, and that she was now cancer-free. On July 15, 2015, at the ESPY awards, Devon and Leah Still received the Jimmy V Award for their determination and perseverance in the face of cancer.[24]

In November 2015, Still announced Leah was in remission with no signs of cancer. In January 2016, Still announced that Leah remained cancer-free and that she had "really beat cancer."[25]

In August 2021, Still partnered with United Therapeutics to launch Braving NeuroBLASToma, an initiative to educate the public about neuroblastoma.[26]

Still's cousins, Art Still and Levon Kirkland, have also played in the NFL.[7]

References
  1. NFL Draft Scout
  2. GoPSUsports.com, Football History, 2011 Roster, Devon Still. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  3. "Penn State's Devon Still named Big Ten's defensive player of the year". Associated Press. November 30, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  4. Flounders, Bob (November 28, 2011). "Penn State defensive lineman Devon Still, linebacker Gerald Hodges named first-team All-Big Ten". Harrisburg Patriot-News. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  5. "Still Earns Sporting News First-Team All-America Honors". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. December 15, 2011.
  6. "Still Named Bednarik Award and Outland Trophy Finalist". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. November 21, 2011.
  7. Musselman, Ron (September 15, 2011). "Lineman Still enjoys being disruptive force on defense". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Athlete-of-the-Year".
  10. "2012 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  11. Cincinnati Bengals Re-Sign Devon Still to Help Pay for Daughter's Cancer Treatment
  12. Dehner Jr., Paul (September 5, 2014). "Bengals Keep Still To Help With Daughter's Cancer". Cincinnati.com, A Garnett Company.
  13. "Devon Still signed to Bengals' 53-man active roster". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  14. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 11, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "Texans sign defensive tackle Devon Still to reserve-future deal". January 6, 2016.
  16. Allen, Eric (August 4, 2017). "Jets Sign DL Still & Faulk". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  17. Greenberg, Ethan (August 28, 2017). "Jets Sign CB Draughn, Release DL Still". NewYorkJets.com.
  18. "Devon Still Announces Retirement from NFL at Age 28". BleacherReport.com. December 23, 2017.
  19. "Devon Still: Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle says his daughter has cancer". WCPO - Cincinnati. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014.
  20. Dehner Jr., Paul (July 28, 2014). "Bengals Devon Still's Daughter Fights For Life". Cincinnati.com, A Garnett Company.
  21. "Still's Jersey Proceeds Raise Hundreds of Thousands for Pediatric Cancer Research". September 13, 2014.
  22. Stump, Scott (September 25, 2014). "Let's Do It. Watch NFL Player Give Daughter Pre-cancer Surgery Peptalk". Today News.
  23. "Let's Do This! NFL Player's Pep Talk To Daughter Battling Cancer". September 26, 2014.
  24. "Leah Still to receive Jimmy V award at ESPYs, Devon gets anniversary tattoo". June 1, 2015.
  25. CBS Sports
  26. "United Therapeutics, Former NFL Player Devon Still Partner to Launch "Braving NeuroBLASToma" Initiative". Source of the Spring. August 25, 2021. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
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