News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Jan. 4, 2018: When the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans clash this Saturday in their win or go home bout, a lot will be riding on the performance of the Colt’s Caribbean-born player.
Colts cornerback, Haitian-born Pierre Desir, was tasked with the job of following Hopkins for the majority of the week 15 matchup in Houston, and it proved to be a valid way of slowing him down.
This weekend, the Colts will likely be betting on Desir to continue that performance.
But he is the Colts’ unlikely cornerback. Desir, 28, was born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti and moved to St. Louis at age 4 with his parents. In the US, he learned he had a gift for American football and was recruited by the likes of Michigan State, but failed to qualify academically.
Desir, who became a father at 16, went on to attend Washburn University, and played for the Washburn Ichabods from 2008-2010. In 2011, he left Washburn citing a desire to be closer to his young children, and enrolled at Lindenwood University.
The Cleveland Browns selected Desir in the fourth (127th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft. On May 29, 2014, the Cleveland Browns signed Desir to a four-year, $2.62 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $407,612.
On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the Browns and claimed off waivers by the San Diego Chargers on September 4, 2016. He was released on October 22, 2016, re-signed two days later and then released again on October 29, 2016.
On November 2, 2016, Desir was signed to the Seahawks’ practice squad and then signed a reserve/future contract with the Seahawks on January 16, 2017.
On September 2, 2017, Desir was waived by the Seahawks and on September 3, 2017, was claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts.
He became a regular starter for the Colts in Week 8 and started the next four games before suffering a shoulder injury in Week 13. He was placed on injured reserve on December 4, 2017.
On March 20, 2018, Desir re-signed with the Colts to a one-year contract.
It’s left to see if Desir will bring it for the Colts tomorrow, especially since the two teams are incredibly evenly-matched, even if not necessarily stylistically similar. The Colts needs an edge and Desir could provide that.
But regardless, it should make for one entertaining play-off opener.
Match time tomorrow is: 4:35 p.m. ET
TV: ABC/ESPN
