Daren Bates #25 of the Auburn Tigers (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Former Auburn linebacker Daren Bates is returning to the NFL.
Life as a special teams player in football isn’t one of glory and accolades. Instead, special teamers often go unnoticed or unheralded despite their obvious hard work and talent. That has been the reality for former Auburn football linebacker Daren Bates.
After going undrafted in 2013 Bates signed by the St. Louis Rams. Bates only recorded five total tackles on the year and was mainly used as a special teams player. Bates played the same role for the Rams for two more seasons and was even a team captain in 2015.