Tracy Walker (American football)

Tracy Leonard Walker III (born February 1, 1995) is an American football safety for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisiana.[1]

Tracy Walker
refer to caption
Walker in 2020
No. 21 – Detroit Lions
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1995-02-01) February 1, 1995
Brunswick, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:206 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Brunswick
College:Louisiana
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 3 / Pick: 82
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Total tackles:339
Sacks:3.0
Forced fumbles:1
Pass deflections:21
Interceptions:3
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Professional career

On December 16, 2017, it was announced that Walker had accepted his invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Game.[2] Walker impressed scouts and team representatives during Shrine Game practices which added value to his draft stock.[3] On January 20, 2018, Walker played in the 2018 East–West Shrine Game and recorded two tackles and deflected a pass, but dropped an interception and was part of the East team that lost 14–10 to the West.[4] Walker attended the NFL Scouting Combine and completed all of the required combine and positional drills. On April 5, 2018, Walker attended Louisiana's pro day, but chose to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Walker was projected to be a fifth or sixth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.[5] He was ranked as the seventh best strong safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and was ranked as the 12th best safety by Scouts Inc.[6][7]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 0+7⁄8 in
(1.85 m)		 206 lb
(93 kg)		 33+1⁄2 in
(0.85 m)		 8+3⁄4 in
(0.22 m)		4.51 s1.56 s2.64 s4.28 s7.00 s33 in
(0.84 m)		9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m)		14 reps
All values from NFL Combine[8]

The Detroit Lions selected Walker in the third round (82nd overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.[9] Walker was the sixth safety drafted in 2018.[10]

External video
video icon Lions draft Tracy Walker 82nd overall

On May 16, 2018, the Detroit Lions signed Walker to a four-year, $3.51 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $881,988.[11]

2018 season

Late into a Week 2 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, Walker intercepted Jimmy Garoppolo for his first and potential game-winning interception, but the interception was overturned after a holding penalty on the Lions.[12] In a Week 11 matchup against the Carolina Panthers, Walker recorded his first interception when he picked off Cam Newton in a contested grab for the ball.[13] Walker ended the season with 21 tackles, two defended passes and one interception. Pro Football Focus rated Walker the fourth best defensive player on the Lions.[14]

2019 season

In the offseason, the Lions released veteran Glover Quin which allowed more room for Walker to move up the depth chart.[15] In the Lions' Week 1 debut against the Arizona Cardinals, Walker recorded the most tackles and recorded his second interception in a 27–27 tie.[16] In an unpopular decision, the Lions traded away star safety Quandre Diggs to the Seattle Seahawks, allowing Walker to become the leading safety.[17]

During a 31–26 Week 8 win against the New York Giants, Walker suffered a knee injury during the third quarter causing him to miss three of the next four games.[18]

Walker ended the season with one interception, 103 tackles, and 8 defended passes.[19]

2020 season

Walker's performance slowed in 2020, recording zero interceptions and four defended passes. However, Walker shined in Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings, leading the team with 13 tackles (11 solo) and recording his first career sack on Kirk Cousins during the 37–35 loss.[20]

2021 season

In Week 18 of the 2021 season, Walker had 13 tackles and an interception in a 37-30 win over the Packers, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week.[21]

Walker ended the season with 108 tackles, one interception, and 6 defended passes.[22]

2022 season

On March 15, 2022, Walker signed a three-year, $25 million contract extension with the Lions through the 2024 season.[23]

On September 27, 2022, Walker was placed on injured reserve after suffering a torn Achilles in Week 3.[24]

NFL career statistics
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckPDIntYdsAvgLngTDFFFRYdsTD
2018DET 160211830.02100.0000000
2019 DET 13 12 103 82 21 0.0 8 1 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2020 DET 15 7 87 64 23 1.0 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021 DET 15 15 108 74 34 1.0 6 1 5 5.0 5 0 0 0 0 0
2022 DET 3 3 20 11 9 1.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 62 37 339 249 90 3.0 21 3 5 5.0 5 2 1 0 0 0

Personal life

Walker is second cousins with former Lions teammate Darius Slay.[25] Another second cousin, Ahmaud Arbery, was murdered in February 2020.[26]

References
  1. "Louisiana-Lafayette safety Tracy Walker tagged as Trey at NFL combine".
  2. Buckley, Tim (December 16, 2017). "UL's Walker accepts invite to East-West Shrine Game". theadvertiser.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  3. Peloquin, Steve (January 19, 2018). "Former UL DB Tracy Walker Impressing At Shrine Game". espn1420.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  4. Risdon, Jeff (January 20, 2018). "5 Shrine Game week standouts who can help Texans right away". texanswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  5. "Tracy Walker, DS #7 SS, Louisiana-Lafayette". draftscout.com. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  6. Buckley, Tim (April 30, 2018). "Lions pick: NFL Draft stock skyrocketed for UL's Walker". theadvertiser.com. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  7. "NFL Tracy Walker-ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  8. "NFL Draft Profile: Tracy Walker". National Football League. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  9. "2018 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  10. Monarrez, Carlos (April 27, 2018). "Detroit Lions pick safety Tracy Walker in Round 3 of 2018 NFL draft". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  11. "Spotrac.com: Tracy Walker contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  12. "Detroit Lions: After starting 0-2 there is plenty of blame to go around". September 20, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  13. "Detroit Lions Show Up For First Time In A Month And Beat Carolina 20-19". November 18, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  14. "Detroit Lions: Young defender set to have breakout season". February 9, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  15. "Detroit Lions: 8 options for replacing safety Glover Quin". February 16, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  16. "Calming down after the Detroit Lions 27-27 Week One loss*". September 10, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  17. "Lions Trade Quandre Diggs To Seahawks". October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  18. "Detroit Lions beat the Giants but lose another starting safety". October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  19. "Tracy Walker 2019 Game Log". Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  20. "Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions - January 3rd, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  21. "Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Titans QB Ryan Tannehill lead Players of the Week". NFL.com. January 12, 2022.
  22. "Tracy Walker 2021 Game Log". Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  23. "Lions re-sign S Tracy Walker to contract extension through the 2024 season". DetroitLions.com. March 15, 2022.
  24. "Lions lose Tracy Walker for season with torn Achilles". DetroitLions.com. September 26, 2022.
  25. "espn.com: Lions reunite cousins Darius Slay, Tracy Walker in third round". espn.com. April 28, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  26. Rothstein, Michael (May 11, 2020). "Lions safety Tracy Walker remembers cousin and former high school teammate, Ahmaud Arbery, as 'a beautiful soul'". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
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