Frank Clark (American football)
Frank Dominick Clark is an American football defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He played in college for the Michigan Wolverines football team. As a junior, he was a 2013 All-Big Ten second team selection by the coaches and honorable mention selection by the media for the 2013 team. Clark was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
After spending his rookie year in a reduced backup role, Clark totaled 10 sacks in his sophomore season. He continued his high level of play the following two years, making a combined 22 sacks and five forced fumbles. Following the 2018 season, the Seahawks placed a franchise tag on Clark before trading him to the Chiefs, who subsequently signed him to a $105 million extension.
High school career
In high school, Clark played numerous positions for head coach Ted Ginn, Sr. at Glenville High School, but he was least interested in playing the position that Ginn felt he was most naturally suited to play. The position he was most interested in playing was safety. As a senior, he recorded 70 tackles and 19 sacks on defense, and caught 12 passes, including three for touchdowns on offense.In track & field, Clark competed in events ranging from sprints, hurdles and jumps. He had bests of 23.5 seconds in the 200-meter dash, 15.53 seconds in the 110m hurdles, 39.55 seconds in the 300m hurdles, 1.88 meters in the high jump, 6.37 meters in the long jump and 13.07 meters in the triple jump. He also ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds.
Clark was a three-star nationally rated player at outside linebacker, tight end, and defensive end. He signed his National Letter of Intent to attend Michigan on February 2, 2011.
College career
As a freshman for the 2011 Wolverines, Clark had an interception that set up one of Michigan's two touchdowns in the January 3, 2012 Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech. In the following offseason leading up to the season opener for the 2012 team against Alabama, Clark was suspended from the team for felony second-degree home invasion, for alleged theft of a MacBook Air. He was allowed to return to practice a few weeks later. He eventually pleaded guilty to the felony charge after missing one week. He was subject to punishment not more than 15 years in prison and $3,000 fine, but was eligible for sentencing under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which would expunge the record upon satisfaction of probation requirements. Clark had quarterback sacks in each of the team's two final regular season games against Iowa and Ohio State.In Clark's first two years at Michigan he added over, without losing any speed. On September 21, he had 1.5 sacks against Connecticut, including one on third down during Connecticut's final possession as the 2013 Wolverines clung to a 24–21 lead. He also had two sacks against Penn State on October 12 and ran back a fumble recovery for a touchdown, although it was not enough to help Michigan avert its first loss of the season. Following the regular season, he was recognized as a second team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and an honorable mention selection by the media. On November 16, 2014, Clark was arrested for domestic violence and dismissed from the football team.
Professional career
Seattle Seahawks
Clark was drafted in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft with the 63rd overall selection by the Seattle Seahawks. With his selection he joined the Legion of Boom defense coming off back to back Super Bowl appearances. He spent the 2015 season as a backup to Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril at defensive end. Clark had 2 tackles in week 3 against the Chicago Bears on September 27. On November 29, Clark had a sack against the Pittsburgh Steelers. On December 6 against the Minnesota Vikings, Clark had 2 sacks. In the of the 2015–16 NFL playoffs against the Carolina Panthers, Clark had one sack in the 31–24 loss.Clark finished the 2016 regular season with 10 sacks and two forced fumbles.
During the offseason on May 9, 2017, Clark was criticized for a tweet he directed at Bleacher Report journalist Natalie Weiner. Weiner had previously written about Clark's domestic violence arrest. Clark told Weiner that "People like you don’t have long careers in your field. I have a job for you cleaning my fish tanks when that lil job is ova." In the 2017 season, he finished with nine sacks, 32 total tackles, two passes defensed, and two forced fumbles.
In Week 6 of the 2018 season, Clark recorded 2.5 sacks on quarterback Derek Carr to along with four tackles in a 27–3 win over the Oakland Raiders, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week. He finished the season with 41 combined tackles, 13 sacks, two pass deflection, one interception, and three forced fumbles through 16 starts.
On March 4, 2019, the Seahawks placed the franchise tag on Clark.
Kansas City Chiefs
On April 23, 2019, Clark was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs along with the Seahawks' 3rd round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, in exchange for the Chiefs' 1st and 3rd round selections in the 2019 NFL draft and a conditional 2nd round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft. After the trade, he signed a five-year contract worth $105.5 million with $63.5 million guaranteed.Clark made his debut with the Chiefs in week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the game, Clark made one tackle and intercepted quarterback Gardner Minshew in the 40–26 win.
In week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens, Clark recorded his first sack of the season on Lamar Jackson in the 33–28 win.
In week 6 against the Houston Texans, Clark forced a fumble on Carlos Hyde and recovered the ball in the 31–24 loss.
In week 7 against the Denver Broncos, Clark recorded 2 sacks on Joe Flacco in the 30–6 win.
In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Houston Texans, Clark sacked Deshaun Watson 3 times during the 51–31 win.
In the AFC Championship Game against the Tennessee Titans, Clark made a game ending sack on Ryan Tannehill on a fourth down late in the fourth quarter to seal a 35–24 Chiefs' win. In Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers, Clark recorded a sack on Jimmy Garoppolo on a fourth down late in the fourth quarter during the 31–20 win.