DeMarquis Gates

BIOGRAPHY

DeMarquis Gates was born March 7, 1996, in Hampton, Georgia. He is a linebacker in the NFL.

Gates played linebacker at Ole Miss Rebels. In November 2015, Gates made his second career start against LSU in place of the injured Denzel Nkemdiche. Gates finished with 14 tackles, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week. He led the team in tackles from 2015 to 2017, becoming the first Ole Miss player to do so since Abdul Jackson from 1992 to 1994. Prior to the 2017 season, he was named to the Dick Butkus Award watchlist. During his senior season in 2017, Gates made 114 tackles, including an SEC-best 70 solo tackles that ranked 13th in FBS. He became the first Ole Miss player with more than 100 tackles since Patrick Willis in 2006. In 49 career games, Gates made 282 tackles, nine pass breakups, six sacks, four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Gates was selected by the Houston Roughnecks in Phase 3 Round 8 of the 2020 XFL Draft. Before the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Gates had 32 tackles (second on the team) and 2.0 sacks (tied for the team lead) for the Roughnecks. He had a game-winning fumble recovery against the Dallas Renegades and forced a fumble late versus the Seattle Dragons. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

On August 6, 2022, Gates signed with the Chicago Bears. He was waived on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day. On January 4, 2023, the Bears signed him to the active roster.