Tyrann Mathieu
Mathieu with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| No. 32 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Safety | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 13, 1992 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| High school | St. Augustine (New Orleans, Louisiana) | ||||||||||||||||
| College | LSU (2010–2011) | ||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2013: 3rd round, 69th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Tyrann Devine Mathieu (/ˈtaɪrən ˈmæθ.juː/; born May 13, 1992) is an American former professional football safety who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers and earned the nickname "the Honey Badger" (after the mammal of the same name) and gained a reputation for causing turnovers, setting a (SEC) record with 11 career forced fumbles. As a sophomore, he won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in college football, was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. Mathieu was dismissed from the LSU football program after that season due to a violation of team rules.
After spending a year out of football in 2012, he was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft, reuniting him in the defensive backfield with former college teammate Patrick Peterson. As a rookie in 2013 he was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team and has since earned three invitations to the Pro Bowl. Mathieu has also been selected to the first-team All-Pro team three times and the second-team All-Pro team once, having been selected to both in 2019 (as a first-team defensive back and a second-team safety). Mathieu also played for the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs (where he was a member of the team that won Super Bowl LIV), and New Orleans Saints.