Chad Cota

Chad Cota (born August 8, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He attended Ashland High School and played college football for the Oregon Ducks. He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the 1995 NFL draft and went on to play for the New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, and the St. Louis Rams over eight seasons, retiring in 2003.

Professional career Cota was named to the Carolina Panthers 10-year anniversary team as a safety. His interception in the end zone versus Pittsburgh on the Steelers final possession to preserve victory and clinch the NFC West division title is named as the #10 most memorable play in Carolina Panthers history. He and Pat Terrell both had 49-yard interception returns against Dallas in the first round of the 1996 playoffs, thereby tying each other for the career, season, and single-game Panthers' franchise records for post-season interception return yards.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds TD Lng FF FR Yds TD 1995 CAR 16 0 4 4 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1996 CAR 16 2 42 31 11 1.0 5 63 0 35 0 1 0 0 1997 CAR 16 16 117 86 31 1.0 2 28 0 15 0 1 0 0 1998 NOR 16 16 96 71 25 2.0 4 16 0 9 1 1 0 0 1999 IND 15 15 87 65 22 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 1 25 1 2000 IND 16 16 87 67 20 0.0 2 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 2001 IND 16 16 94 73 21 0.0 2 21 0 12 0 1 9 0 2002 STL 14 1 11 10 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 125 82 538 407 131 4.0 15 131 0 35 2 6 34 1

Playoffs Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds TD Lng FF FR Yds TD 1996 CAR 2 0 2 2 0 0.0 1 49 0 49 0 0 0 0 1999 IND 1 1 5 4 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2000 IND 1 1 10 6 4 0.0 2 23 0 23 0 0 0 0 Career 4 2 17 12 5 0.0 3 72 0 49 0 0 0 0

Personal life He is the father of New York Giants wide receiver Chase Cota and the uncle of Houston Texans safety Brady Breeze