| No. 92, 99 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | May 23, 1974 Riverside, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | John W. North (Riverside) | ||||||||
| College: | California | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1996 / round: 1 / pick: 16 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Duane Anthony Clemons[1] (born May 23, 1974[2]) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) between 1996 and 2005.[3] He played college football for the California Golden Bears and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1996 NFL draft .[4]
He finished his NFL career with 49.5 sacks. Despite struggling to see the field as a starter (16 starts in 4 years with Minnesota), Clemons proved a very capable sack artist. In 1997, he finished with 7.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 24 tackles. In 1999, he finished with a career-best 9.0 sacks and 36 tackles.
On November 10, 1999, Clemons was fined $7,500 for intentionally punching Flozell Adams in the testes[5] following an interception two days earlier during a Monday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys.[6] While Adams maintained that he didn't know why Clemons punched him, Clemons stated that he threw the punch because Adams illegally took him down from behind on an interception return.[7]
In 2000, he went to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he finished with 7.5 sacks and a career-best 56 tackles. The next year, 2001, he finished with 7.0 sacks and 48 tackles. In 2003, he found himself with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he recorded 6.0 sacks, a career-best 4 pass deflections, and 42 tackles. In 2004, he finished with 6.5 sacks and 49 tackles.
On September 8, 2008, Clemons signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League[8] and was assigned to their practice roster, but was released by the team on September 15, 2008.[9] He is currently the defensive line coach for the MidAmerica Nazarene University Pioneers.
- ^ "Duane Clemons". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
- ^ "Duane Clemons". nfl.com. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
- ^ "Duane Clemons". databasefootball.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
- ^ "1996 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "duane clemons punches flozell adams". YouTube. March 16, 2016.
- ^ "ESPN.com - NFL - Clemons punched Cowboys' Adams below belt".
- ^ "Big Blue bull's-eye on Cowboys lineman Flozell Adams". New York Daily News. September 27, 2009.
- ^ "ARGOS ADD NINE". September 8, 2008. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
- ^ "Argonauts add former East all-star Strickland". cbc.ca. September 15, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.