Derrick Morgan (American football)

High school career

Morgan was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He attended Coatesville Area High School in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, where he played for the Coatesville Red Raiders football team. As a senior, he was named league Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-State after recording 47 tackles and 7 sacks at the defensive end position. He also played running back on offense, rushing for 523 yards and 8 touchdowns.

College career

Morgan attended the Georgia Institute of Technology from 2007 to 2009, playing for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets of the Atlantic Coast Conference. As a true freshman in 2007 he appeared in 12 of 13 games, recording nine tackles as a reserve defensive end. The following year as a sophomore he started all 13 games, contributing 51 tackles and 7 sacks while earning an honorable mention All-ACC selection. As a junior in 2009, Morgan was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and earned first-team All-American honors from Associated Press, Pro Football Weekly, and Scout.com. He finished the season with 55 tackles (including 18.5 for a loss) and 12.5 sacks while helping his team to a conference championship. After his junior year Morgan decided to enter the 2010 NFL draft.

Tennessee Titans

Morgan was selected 16th overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2010 NFL Draft. He signed a six-year contract on July 31, 2010; however, the deal also included playing time incentives that later voided the final year. As a free agent in 2015, Morgan fielded interest from multiple teams before signing a new 4-year, $30 million contract with the Titans on March 13.

Morgan played at the 4-3 defensive end position his first four seasons with the Titans, then switched to outside linebacker in 2014 as part of the team's transition to a 3-4 defense. Morgan has remained a starter on the Titans defense since 2011.

Morgan wore the uniform number 90 until changing to 91 prior to the beginning of the 2012 season.

Season highlights

Morgan played in the 2010 season opener, registering a sack in his first NFL game. He suffered a torn left ACL during the fourth game however, ending his rookie season.

Morgan made his first career start on game 7 of the 2011 season and remained a starter for the rest of the year. He led the team with 20 quarterback pressures. During the preseason he had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee but missed only the first regular season game.

In 2012, Morgan led the Titans with 6.5 sacks and 19 quarterback pressures while starting all 16 games. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the league's fourth best 4-3 defensive end. Morgan was second on the Titans with 6 sacks in 2013.

During his first year at linebacker in 2014, Morgan led the Titans with 6.5 sacks while starting all 16 games. He also set career highs in tackles (82), quarterback pressures (26), tackles for loss (13), passes defensed (9), and forced fumbles (2). He was rated as the eighth best 3-4 outside linebacker by Pro Football Focus.

Morgan had a notable start to the 2015 season, recording 4.5 sacks in the first four games. During the sixth game he suffered a shoulder injury however. He played through the injury the next four games, then was shut down for the rest of the season. He had surgery on December 15 to repair a torn left labrum.

NFL statistics

GP: games played, GS: games started, COMB: combined tackles, SOLO: solo tackles, AST: assisted tackles SACK: sacks, INT: interceptions, FF: forced fumbles, FR: fumbles recovered, PD: passes defensed

Medical marijuana

Morgan has spoken publicly about the medicinal properties of marijuana that he believes could benefit NFL players, particularly in treating and preventing serious brain injuries and diseases. Morgan has called on the NFL to conduct research on possible neuroprotective benefits of the drug. Morgan has also donated money to fund medical cannabis research.

Morgan follows the lead of Eugene Monroe, who in March 2016 became the first active NFL player to openly advocate for the league to change its stance on marijuana. Morgan and Monroe appeared together in a June 2016 interview with Katie Couric of Yahoo News, the first time Morgan has spoken on the subject.

Personal life

Morgan delivered his second child at home in April 2015.

In 2011, Morgan participated in a 24-day charity mission to deliver 22,000 hearing aids to children and adults in need across Africa.

Morgan graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in business management and is an enrollee in the University of Miami’s Executive MBA for Artists and Athletes program.