Justin Durant

Early years

Durant graduated from Wilson High School in Florence, South Carolina in 2003. While there, he was a teammate to Miami Dolphins linebacker Lawrence Timmons. He was a member of the 2002 HSSR All-State team and was twice named to the Region VI Class AAA All-Region team.

College career

Durant played college football at Hampton University. While there he started 39 of 43 games at middle linebacker and finished ranked second in school history with 353 career tackles. He also contributed with 10 sacks, three fumble recoveries, and four interceptions. He also became the first player in the history of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to earn MEAC Defensive Player of the Year honors three times.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Durant was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round (48th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. In four seasons with the Jaguars, he recorded 272 tackles, two interceptions, and two sacks in 50 games with the team.

Detroit Lions

On July 29, 2011, Durant signed with the Detroit Lions. In two seasons, he recorded 171 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 29 games played.

Dallas Cowboys

On March 27, 2013, Durant signed a two-year, $1.96 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys. The deal included a $400,000 signing bonus. He was named the starter at strongside linebacker from the start of preseason, but experienced an injury filled season. He first suffered a groin injury against the San Diego Chargers, that caused him to miss a game. On November 10 against the New Orleans Saints he injured his hamstring, which cost him three games. He returned to face the Green Bay Packers but reinjured the hamstring. He was placed on the injured reserve list on December 17, after playing in 10 games (six starts) and finishing with 24 tackles (two for loss), two quarterback pressures, a pass defensed and a forced fumble.

In 2014, after Sean Lee was lost for the season, the plan was for Durant to replace him in the middle, until the Cowboys acquired Rolando McClain from the Baltimore Ravens. He was then moved to the weakside linebacker spot and his level of play earned him the defensive captain role. He was having arguably the best season of his career and was the team's leading tackler, until suffering a torn bicep in Week 8. He also missed two games with a groin injury. He finished with 59 tackles (four for loss), four passes defensed, two quarterback hurries, an interception, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 10, 2015, Durant was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Falcons, with the intention of making him their starting strongside linebacker. He had injury problems in preseason with his foot. In October, he suffered a sprained elbow that forced him to miss three games. He finished with 82 tackles (second on the team) and three passes defensed. He was released by the team on February 8, 2016.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

Durant was considering retirement before being signed by the Dallas Cowboys to a one-year deal on July 18, 2016, to provide depth at linebacker for a suspended Rolando McClain and other injured players. He played mostly on passing downs. He had a key pass deflection to help preserve a win in the fourth quarter of the second game of the season against the Washington Redskins. He left the eleventh game with a hamstring injury. He returned to play in the thirteenth game against the New York Giants. He suffered an elbow injury against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that made the team decide to save him for the playoffs and declared him inactive for the last 2 games.

On July 20, 2017, Durant re-signed with the Cowboys.

Key

Personal life

Durant is the younger brother of CFL quarterback Darian Durant.