Karlos Dansby Karlos Montez Dansby ( born November 3 , 1981 ) is an American football linebacker that is a current free agent . He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft . He played college football at Auburn . Early years . Dansby was an All - State linebacker and wide receiver at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham , Alabama . He caught 51 passes for 857 yards and five touchdowns on offense , 81 tackles , six sacks , three interceptions , and two fumble recoveries on defense as a senior . He also played basketball , as a power forward earning all - state honors as a junior . College career . Dansby was a Butkus Award semi - finalist regarded as one of the premier defenders in college football . While he began his Auburn career at strong safety , he shifted to outside linebacker as a sophomore . In 36 games for the Tigers , he recorded 218 tackles ( 128 solos ) with 10 quarterback sacks , 31 stops for losses , seven forced fumbles , two fumble recoveries , 15 pass deflections , and eight interceptions for 107 yards in returns . He was First - team All - America and a First - team All - Southeastern Conference selection as a senior when he had 84 tackles ( 50 solo ) , 5 . 5 sacks , 13 stops for losses , 6 pass deflections , 4 caused fumbles . In 2002 he was a First - team All - SEC with 76 tackles ( 32 solo ) , 4 sacks , 10 stops for losses , 3 interceptions , 4 pass deflections , 2 fumble recoveries and 2 caused fumbles . Professional career . Arizona Cardinals . Karlos was drafted in the second round by the Arizona Cardinals . Since being drafted , he has turned into one of the NFL ' s most productive linebackers , recording 24 . 5 sacks and 9 interceptions , taking two back for scores . He was named to Pro Football Weekly ’ s 2004 All - Rookie team after starting 12 games while accumulating 68 tackles , the most of any rookie on the team and recorded three fumble recoveries , one shy of the team ' s rookie record for fumble recoveries . In 2005 , he became the first Cardinal linebacker to record two interception returns for touchdowns in a single season and finished the year with the first 100 + tackle season of his career with 103 . He followed that by finishing 2006 with 94 tackles and eight sacks , both good for second on the team , despite missing two games due to injury . In 2007 he started all 14 games he played and led team with 117 tackles , marking second season with 100 + tackles ( 103 in 2005 ) . On February 14 , 2008 , he was designated as the Cardinals ' franchise player . He has been franchised twice by Arizona , in 2008 and 2009 . Cardinals signed franchised Dansby to a one - year , $ 8 . 065 million contract . In 2008 Dansby led the Cardinals to the Super Bowl while again totaling over 100 tackles and making 4 sacks and intercepting two passes . Karlos Dansby ' s 2009 franchise tag guarantees him $ 9 . 7 million in salary in 2009 and would make him an unrestricted free agent in 2010 . In a first - round playoff game against the Green Bay Packers on January 10 , 2010 , Dansby recovered a fumble in overtime by Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers and returned it 17 yards for the game - winning touchdown in the highest scoring game in NFL postseason history . Miami Dolphins . On March 5 , 2010 , Dansby signed with the Miami Dolphins to a five - year , $ 43 million contract with $ 22 million guaranteed , which made it the richest contract for an inside linebacker in NFL history until Patrick Willis signed a five - year , $ 50 million contract . He was released from the team on March 12 , 2013 .