‘Hard on the body and the mind.’ How playing two sports pushed Dante Trader Jr. to the NFL
Lacrosse and football have long, intertwined history.
Most famously, one of the greatest running backs to ever touch the field in Jim Brown was a lacrosse star at Syracuse in addition to being a wrecking ball on the football field. Recent examples of two-sport athletes include wide receivers Chris Hogan and Jared Bernhardt, both of whom played collegiate lacrosse.
“Playing 18 straight months in two sports is hard on the body and the mind,” Dante Trader Jr. said. “To set myself up to be in the best position to get my name called like I did today, I had to take the summer off, the spring off to just be meshing with my team and just get my body right.”
Towards the end of the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins selected on Trader, a 5-foot-11-inch, 196-pound safety who also played midfield on the University of Maryland lacrosse team. The two-sport benefit, according to Trader, is twofold.
“Physically, I had to cover on an island,” Trader said. “There is a lot more space for lacrosse. Just being able to move and then change of direction. So I have the short-area quickness that DBs need.”
Arguably most important, however, is the mental aspect.
“Two sports allowed me to be resilient, and nothing can really bother me and get to me,” Trader said. “Also lacrosse is very mental, kind of like a baseball game. You get in slumps and you control the ball; your play gets exposed. In football you can be nervous and be not so good and there are 10 other people to cover up your mistakes. So just being able to have the confidence you need to especially be a DB. Like we get beat one time and we get called terrible. So you’ve got to be able to be next play mentality. So I got the grit and mental fortitude from lacrosse.”
Trader initially committed to Maryland for lacrosse. A top-10 prospect out of high school, Trader chose to play football for the Terrapins as a freshman in 2022. His 2023 spring season, however, Trader returned to his first love, earning USA Lacrosse honorable mention All-American honors in the process. He returned to football in the 2024 to potentially get drafted.
“I had a shot to go to the league,” Trader said. “I talked to my coaches, but ultimately it was just my body. Playing 18 straight months in two sports is hard on the body and the mind. To set myself up to be in the best position to get my name called like I did today, I had to take the summer off, the spring off to just be meshing with my team and just get my body right.”
Trader became the second of the Dolphins’ two picks from Maryland. At the beginning of the fifth round, Miami selected Jordan Phillips. The defensive tackle spoke very highly of his former Terrapin teammate.
“Dante is a great leader,” Phillips said. “Of course he’s a really good football player, really great football player. Of course he’s athletic. He was a dual-sport athlete in college which is hard to do. You have to be committed and hard-working in order to do that and actually be good in both sports, which Trader was extremely good in football and in lacrosse. Like I said, he’s a really great leader. It would be nice where I would be in the facility watching film late and then I’d look over in the room across from me and he was sitting there at the computer and he’s watching film also, and so he’s just a guy that’s really physical, he’s not scared of contact.”
Phillips wasn’t the only player that talked about Trader with esteem.
“Dante’s not one of those guys that’s afraid to call out a teammate — older, younger, it doesn’t matter — if they’re not necessarily living up to our standard,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley told the Washington Post in 2022. “And to me, if we continue to have a lot of guys like Dante Trader, we’ll continue to build this program to win championships.”
The Dolphins front office has talked repeatedly about the need for a “tonality” change in 2025. If Trader is any bit as in love with ball as Locksley and Phillips make him out to be, the Dolphins could have found themselves a dog.
“Those guys and Coach Locksley, I’ve known him a long time and he does a great job there finding players and the Maryland kids end up playing in this league and they’re good football players. He finds those guys that love ball, that are tough, competitive, and so glad to have those two. They’re really good quality people, good football players.”
As far as playing time is concerned, Trader could potentially compete for a starting job. Both of the Dolphins’ free agent safety signings — Ashtyn Davis and Ifeatu Melifonwu — have a combined 15 starts during the past two regular seasons. If Trader can make an impact on coaches with his versatility, there’s a chance he can see the field.
“I’ve played almost every position on the field that DBs can play,” said Trader whose first goal is just “to make the team” but wants to play “anywhere the coach needs me.” “Even some outside corner when I’ve had to fix mistakes of corners and things like that. I’ve played in the box, I’ve played two-high or one-high. I’ve covered a lot of tight ends. I’ve covered some slots. I’m very versatile, jack-of-all-trades.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 12:17 PM.
