Maurice Alexander (American football)
Maurice Alexander is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Arizona Western College and Utah State and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Early life
Alexander attended Eureka High School in Eureka, Missouri where he was a three-sport athlete. In football, he was a two-time all-state football selection. He also participated in track and all-city wrestling, finishing third in the Missouri wrestling championships. He committed to Utah State to play college football.College career
Alexander attended Arizona Western College. In two seasons at Arizona Western, Alexander registered 179 tackles, 15 sacks, and four interceptions. He was a two-time all-conference selection in the Western States Football League and he was a first-team all-region honoree.Though he had played defensive end since high school, Alexander switched to linebacker when he transferred to Utah State University. In early 2012, he got into a fight with a teammate after a party. The teammate, running back Joseph DeMartino, was knocked unconscious and required surgery for injuries to the face and eye. Alexander was dismissed from the team. Facing a year in jail, he entered a guilty plea to reduced charges, receiving a one-year sentence with all but 45 days of it suspended.
During his year away from college football, Alexander worked as a janitor at the Edward Jones Dome. He returned to the team in 2013, moving to safety. Utah State coach Matt Wells said, "In Maurice’s situation, he did everything from the legal standpoint and from the university standpoint, and internally, what we asked him to do. He fulfilled all those obligations and we've allowed him back in." Upon his return, Alexander said, "I'm starving. I'm starving to get out there, I'm starving to make plays. I want to make every play. I'm greedy right now." He started 13 games. He received All-Mountain West Conference honorable mention honors.
Professional career
St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams
The St. Louis Rams selected Alexander in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Alexander was the eighth safety drafted in 2014. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was cited as one of the top contributing factors in the selection of Alexander and claimed he would take awhile to develop, but would be comparable to Sean Taylor after doing so.2014
On June 23, 2014, the St. Louis Rams signed Alexander to a four-year, $2.68 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $464,260.Throughout training camp, Alexander competed for a job as a backup safety against Cody Davis, Christian Bryant, Lamarcus Joyner, and Matt Daniels. Head coach Jeff Fisher named him the backup strong safety to begin the regular season, behind T. J. McDonald.
He made his professional regular season debut in the St. Louis Rams' Week 2 matchup at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but only appeared on special teams during their 19–17 victory. On November 16, 2014, Alexander recorded two solo tackles in the Rams' 22–7 win against the Denver Broncos in Week 11. He made his first career tackle during on a ten-yard kick return by Andre Caldwell in the fourth quarter. He finished his rookie season with four solo tackles in nine games and zero starts while solely appearing on special teams.
2015
During training camp, Alexander competed against Mark Barron and Cody Davis to be the Rams' primary backup strong safety. He was named the third string strong safety to begin the regular season.On September 27, 2015, Alexander sustained a groin injury in the third quarter of a 12–6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He left the game due to the injury and was inactive for the next two games. On November 8, 2015, Alexander earned his first career start after starter T.J. McDonald sustained a foot injury. He recorded three solo tackles and made his first career sack during their 21–18 overtime loss at the Minnesota Vikings. Alexander made his first career sack on quarterback Shaun Hill and dropped him for an 11-yard loss in the fourth quarter. On December 9, 2015, the St. Louis Rams placed T.J. McDonald on injured reserve for the remainder of the season due to a shoulder injury and named Alexander his replacement at strong safety for the last four games. In Week 16, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles during a 23–17 victory at the Seattle Seahawks. The following week, Alexander made a season-high seven solo tackles in the Rams' 19–16 loss at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17. He finished the season with 39 combined tackles, two sacks, a pass deflection, and a fumble recovery in 14 games and five starts.
2016
Alexander entered training camp in 2016 slated as a backup safety and competed for the starting free safety job after it was left vacant by the departure of Rodney McLeod. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams held an open competition for the job between Alexander, Cody Davis, and Christian Bryant. Head coach Jeff Fisher named Alexander the starting free safety to begin the regular season, opposite strong safety T.J. McDonald.On October 2, 2016, Alexander collected five combined tackles and a sack in their 17–13 victory at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. In Week 11, he made four combined tackles, broke up a pass, and made his first career interception during a 14–10 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Alexander intercepted a pass by Ryan Tannehill that was originally intended for DeVante Parker during the third quarter. On December 11, 2016, Alexander recorded four combined tackles before exiting the Rams' 42–14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 14 due to a possible concussion. The injury occurred when Alexander delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit on wide receiver Nick Williams after Williams' caught a ten-yard reception. The collision knocked Alexander unconscious and he was immediately carted off the field. Both players were diagnosed with concussions and Alexander was inactive for the next two games. The following day, Los Angeles Rams' general manager Les Snead fired head coach Jeff Fisher and named special teams coordinator John Fassel the interim head coach for the last three games of the regular season. Alexander finished his first season as a full-time starter with a career-high 50 combined tackles, four pass deflections, two interceptions, and a sack in 14 games and 14 starts.
2017
Throughout training camp, Alexander competed against rookie John Johnson for the job as the starting strong safety. Head coach Sean McVay named him the starting strong safety to begin the season, along with free safety Lamarcus Joyner.He started in the Los Angeles Rams' season-opener against the Indianapolis Colts and recorded two combined tackles in their 46–9 victory. The following week, Alexander collected a season-high nine combined tackles during a 27–20 loss to the Washington Redskins in Week 4. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips demoted Alexander in Week 5 and named rookie John Johnson the starter in his place. Alexander was listed inactive as a healthy scratch for the Rams' 16–10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. On October 9, 2017, the Los Angeles Rams released Alexander after he struggled in the first four games of the season and earned the 73rd highest overall grade among 83 qualifying safeties from Pro Football Focus. When asked about Alexander's release, head coach Sean McVay stated, "We wish nothing but the best for Mo; I really enjoyed being around Mo, But I think it's a credit to the depth we've established at that safety position. There were some things where we expected a better level of play from him, and he knew that. Those things were communicated." He finished the season with 20 combined tackles in four games and four starts.
On October 16, 2017, Alexander attended a private visit with the Seattle Seahawks, but did not receive an offer at the time. It was also reported that Alexander attended a private workout with the New York Jets earlier in the week.