Antoine Cason

Cason was born and raised in Long Beach, California, to Deborah and Wendell Cason.{{Cite web |title=Meet Founder/CEO Reach Unlimited Antoine Cason |url=https://forge.arizona.edu/person/antoine-cason |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=forge.arizona.edu |language=en}} His father Wendell played football for the University of Oregon and the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. His brother Dione competed in track at Washington State University.

He got his start playing in a local football league for the Carson-Gardena Colts, where he stood out as one of the team's top players. Cason started his high school career at Long Beach Polytechnic High School,{{Cite web |last=Writer |first=Jeff Moeller LA Downtown News Contributing |date=November 21, 2022 |orig-date=November 21, 2022 |title=Former local football standout looks to change his stripes |url=https://www.ladowntownnews.com/sports/former-local-football-standout-looks-to-change-his-stripes/article_d47944c8-679e-11ed-81af-bbf8ed849ba1.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Los Angeles Downtown News - The Voice of Downtown Los Angeles |language=en}} then transferred to Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, California after his freshman year. At Los Al, he played defensive back for the school's football team and ran track.

Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Cason was listed as the No. 37 cornerback prospect in the nation in 2004.{{Citation |url=https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=536 |work=Rivals.com |title=Cornerbacks 2004 |date=January 28, 2004 }} He chose Arizona over offers from Oregon State and Washington.

Cason attended the University of Arizona, where he majored in political science and played for the Arizona Wildcats football team from 2004 to 2007. He was a starting player for the University's football team since his freshman year in 2004, and is recognized as one of the best cornerbacks in Arizona's history. After his first collegiate game, Antoine was named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the week. During his freshmen year, he was also honored as the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. In 2005, he earned Second-team All-Pac-10 honors. Following the Wildcats' upset win against number 25-ranked Washington State University on November 4, 2006, he earned his second Pac-10 Defensive Player of the week award. The following week, he was recognized again as Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week after breaking a 17-17 tie between the Wildcats and the number 8-ranked Cal Bears by scoring a touchdown on a 39-yard interception return. In 2006, Cason was a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. After the 2006 season, Cason was eligible for the 2007 NFL draft. However, he decided to return for his senior season to finish his college degree.

Cason continued his stellar play into his 2007 senior season. His performance on November 15, 2007 in a 34-24 win against the then number two ranked Oregon Ducks included both an interception return and punt return for touchdowns. He finished the season with 5 interceptions, 2 of which were returned for touchdowns. He also returned 2 punts for touchdowns. On December 6, 2007, he was awarded the Jim Thorpe Award for best defensive back in the country and was a consensus first-team All-America choice.

Cason also competed in track & field for the Wildcats from 2006 to 2007. In the spring of 2007, Cason earned All-American honors in Track and Field for his contribution to the Wildcats Men's 4 × 100 metres relay team, which finished in the top eight at the NCAA Championship.

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• Honorable mention Sporting News All-Pac-10 (2004)
• Sporting News Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (2004)
• Sporting News Freshman All-American (2004)
• FWAA Freshman All-American (2004)
• Rivals.com Freshman All-America Club (2004)
• Second-team All-Pac-10 (2005)
• 2x First-team All-Pac-10 (2006-2007)
• Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist (2006)
• NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field All American in 4x100 (2006)
• Jim Thorpe Award (2007)
• Walter Camp First-team All American (2007)
• Associated Press First-team All American (2007)
• The Sporting News First-team All American (2007)
• CBSSports.com First-team All American (2007)
• SI.com First-team All American (2007)
• Rivals.com First-team All American (2007)
• University of Arizona Athletics Hall of Fame (2019)

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File:Antoine Cason-Aug-2-08-Practice.jpg

Cason was regarded as one of the best cornerbacks available in the 2008 NFL draft,{{Citation |url=http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/players.php?genpos=CB&draftyear=2008&sortby=tsxpos&order=ASC |title=2008 NFL Draft Cornerbacks ranking |work=NFLDraftScout.com |date=April 2008 }}{{Citation |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2008/draft/breakdowns/by_position/cb.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416074556/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2008/draft/breakdowns/by_position/cb.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 16, 2008 |title=2008 NFL Draft Cornerbacks ranking |work=Sports Illustrated |date=April 2008 }} and was projected a mid-to-late first round pick by Sports Illustrated.{{Citation |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2008/draft/players/20829.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714145219/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2008/draft/players/20829.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2012 |title=Antoine Cason Draft Profile |work=Sports Illustrated |date=April 2008 }}

{{nfl predraft

| height ft = 6

| height in = 0¼

| weight = 191

| dash = 4.45

| ten split = 1.51

| twenty split = 2.53

| shuttle = 4.08

| cone drill = DNP

| vertical = 35½

| broad ft = 10

| broad in = 8

| bench = 20

| wonderlic =

| arm span =

| hand span =

| note = All values from NFL Combine. Did not participate in 3-cone due to tight hamstring{{citation |url=http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=14970&draftyear=2008&genpos=CB |title=Antoine Cason Draft Profile |work=NFLDraftScout.com |access-date=January 12, 2010 }}

}}

Cason was selected in the first round (27th overall) by the San Diego Chargers.{{Cite web |title=2008 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2008/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He signed a five year, $12.03 million deal with the team.{{Cite web | url=https://www.nfl.com/news/first-round-pick-cason-signs-five-year-deal-with-chargers-09000d5d8097d972 | title=First-round pick Cason signs five-year deal with Chargers | website=NFL.com }}

Cason played in all 16 regular season games and both playoff games at cornerback and on special teams as a rookie for the 2008 AFC Western Division champion San Diego Chargers. His first career NFL interception came on September 14, against the Denver Broncos, picking off Jay Cutler in the end zone and returning it for 10 yards. His second interception was off Tampa Bay's Jeff Garcia, which he returned 59 yards for his first career NFL touchdown. He ended his rookie season with 74 tackles (59 solo) and 2 INTs.

The Chargers first game of the season came on a Monday Night Football match up against rival Oakland Raiders. In that game, Cason intercepted JaMarcus Russell's hail mary attempt on the last play of the game to seal the victory for the Chargers. In the next game, he intercepted Baltimore Ravens Joe Flacco and returned it 22 yards. Cason ended the season with 41 total tackles (38 solo) and 2 INTs. He played in all 16 regular season games and their only playoff game for the 2009 AFC Western Division champion San Diego Chargers.

He made his first career NFL start at cornerback on Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. Cason had 2 interceptions against David Garrard of the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2. He finished the season with 67 tackles (57 solo) and 4 INTs while playing all 16 regular season games.

Cason was the starting cornerback opposite Quentin Jammer to begin the season. Following a game against the New York Jets, in which he allowed three touchdown passes to Plaxico Burress, he was briefly benched in favor of the Chargers rookie cornerback Marcus Gilchrist. He regained the starting job after Gilchrist made one start. He sealed the Chargers victory in Week 17 against the Oakland Raiders with an interception off Carson Palmer, which ended the Raiders playoff chances.

Cason started all 16 regular season games for the Chargers. He ended the season with 73 total tackles (62 solo) and 2 INTs.

On March 15, 2013, Cason signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals.{{Cite web |url=http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and-events/article-2/Cason-Coming-To-Cardinals/05ab524f-7264-488e-a83c-4334a241dd6c |title=Cason Coming To Cardinals |access-date=2013-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318153119/http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and-events/article-2/Cason-Coming-To-Cardinals/05ab524f-7264-488e-a83c-4334a241dd6c |archive-date=2013-03-18 |url-status=dead }} Even though the Jacksonville Jaguars offered him a larger contract, he decided to return to the state where he was a college standout.{{Cite web | url=https://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/3/15/4110470/antoine-cason-rumors-cardinals-jaguars | title=Jags made better offer to Cason | date=15 March 2013 }} In a game against the Tennessee Titans, Cason had 2 interceptions, one of them he ran back for a touchdown. Despite playing in all 16 regular season games, his season was considered a disappointment. He finished with only 14 total tackles (12 solo) and 2 INTs.

On March 21, 2014, Cason signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers for $795,000, with $65,000 guaranteed.{{cite web|last=Sessler|first=Marc|title=Panthers sign Tiquan Underwood, Antoine Cason|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/panthers-sign-tiquan-underwood-antoine-cason-0ap2000000335936|work=NFL.com|access-date=21 March 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Newton|first1=David|title=Panthers waive Antoine Cason|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/11967919/carolina-panthers-waive-starting-cornerback-antoine-carson|website=ESPN|date=2 December 2014|publisher=ESPN Internet Ventures|access-date=10 December 2014}} During his debut performance for the Panthers in a 20-14 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cason recorded 9 tackles, 2 pass deflections, and an interception.{{Cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/carolina-panthers-tampa-bay-buccaneers-20140907027/|title=Carolina 20 - 14 Tampa Bay: Final | 2014-09-07 | National Football League | Yahoo! Sports|website=sports.yahoo.com}} During the week 2 victory over the Detroit Lions, Cason recorded 10 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.http://journaltimes.com/sports/football/games/panthers-d-causes-havoc-without-hardy-in---win/article_6feb3483-973b-5611-bf13-077e2f9e2262.html {{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In the Panthers week 5 victory over the Chicago Bears, Cason recorded 6 tackles, 1 pass deflection, and had pivotal forced fumble against Matt Forte in the fourth quarter that led to the game-winning touchdown.{{Cite web|url=https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/06/antoine-cason-learned-how-to-punch-out-the-ball-from-charles-tillman/|title=Antoine Cason learned how to punch out the ball from Charles Tillman|first=Mike|last=Florio|date=October 6, 2014}} Through five games with the Panthers, Cason had set a career-high with 3 forced fumbles.

Despite this early success, Cason began to struggle to produce later on in the season. In a week 9 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Cason was benched after he was called for a 32-yard pass interference penalty. In week 13, Cason was benched again after allowing a 17-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings of the Minnesota Vikings, which contributed to Carolina's 31-13 loss. Two days later, on December 2, he was waived from his contract. He had started 11 of 12 games during his season with Carolina.

Cason signed with the Baltimore Ravens on December 9, 2014.{{cite web|last1=Alper|first1=Josh|title=Ravens sign Antoine Cason|date=9 December 2014|url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/09/ravens-sign-antoine-cason/|publisher=Pro Football Talk|access-date=9 December 2014}} He decided to wear #23, instead of his usual #20, as a mark of respect to the great Ed Reed, who famously wore #20 for Baltimore. He played the last two regular season games and became a free agent at the end of the season.

On June 24, 2015, he announced he would miss the upcoming season due to a surgery he had on his right foot.{{cite web|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-exravens-corner-antoine-cason-has-surgery-wont-play-this-season-20150624-story.html|title=Ex-Ravens Corner Antoine Cason has surgery and won't play this season|access-date=June 24, 2015}}

Key

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• GP: games played
• COMB: combined tackles
• TOTAL: total tackles
• AST: assisted tackles
• SACK: sacks
• FF: forced fumbles
• FR: fumble recoveries
• FR YDS: fumble return yards
• INT: interceptions
• IR YDS: interception return yards
• AVG IR: average interception return
• LNG: longest interception return
• TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
• PD: passes defensed

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Following his professional playing career, Cason has pursued becoming an on-field official, initially working high school games. He was assigned as an alternate official for the January 2023 edition of the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.{{cite news |url=https://www.footballzebras.com/2023/01/nfl-is-scouting-the-officials-at-the-nflpa-collegiate-bowl/ |title=NFL is scouting the officials at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl |first=Ben |last=Austro |website=footballzebras.com |date=January 28, 2023 |accessdate=January 31, 2023}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Antoine Cason}}

• {{NFL.com player}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140330131855/http://www.panthers.com/team/roster/antoine-cason/7bb717a1-0bea-41a7-a4f7-b6cbc025d2c7/ Carolina Panthers bio]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140316120640/http://www.azcardinals.com/team/roster/Antoine-Cason/bd85423e-d5c0-48c2-aa14-0247b2325556 Arizona Cardinals bio]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090501062928/http://www.chargers.com/team/roster/Antoine-Cason/f092c686-7b20-4118-9191-449078656653 San Diego Chargers bio]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184444/http://www.arizonaathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=8102&SPID=516&DB_OEM_ID=1600&ATCLID=66433& Arizona Wildcats bio]

{{2007 NCAA Division I FBS College Football Consensus All-Americans}}

{{Thorpeawardwinners}}

{{2008 NFL Draft}}

{{ChargersFirstPick}}

{{Chargers2008DraftPicks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cason, Antoine}}

Category:1986 births

Category:Living people

Category:All-American college football players

Category:American football cornerbacks

Category:Arizona Cardinals players

Category:Arizona Wildcats football players

Category:Baltimore Ravens players

Category:Carolina Panthers players

Category:Players of American football from Long Beach, California

Category:San Diego Chargers players

Category:Los Alamitos High School alumni

Category:Players of American football from Los Alamitos, California

Category:American football officials