Dante Wesley

Dante Julius Wesley (born April 5, 1979 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Wesley has been a member of the Chicago Bears, New England Patriots and Detroit Lions.

First stint with Panthers
Wesley was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the 4th round (100th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft.

Chicago Bears
In March 2006 he signed a 2-year contract with the Chicago Bears.

New England Patriots
After one season with the Bears, Wesley was acquired by the New England Patriots for an undisclosed draft pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Second stint with Panthers
On September 3, 2007, after being released by the Patriots, he signed again with the Carolina Panthers.

Wesley scored his first career touchdown on a 12 yard fumble return against the New Orleans Saints in the 2008 season finale.

Clifton Smith incident
In the 2009 NFL season, during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Wesley launched himself (leaving his feet) into punt returner Clifton Smith, who had not yet received the ball. Wesley was assessed a 15-yard penalty and ejected. Ordinarily, kick catch interference is only a 15-yard penalty, but the officials ejected him because they felt Wesley's actions were unnecessary; referee John Parry explained the offense by saying: "That player, by virtue of his actions, is disqualified from further participation." Smith sustained a concussion and an injured throat and missed the remainder of the game.

Two days later, the NFL suspended Wesley for one game without pay. In a letter to Wesley, league disciplinarian Ray Anderson said that by leaving his feet and leading with his forearm, Wesley committed a "flagrant violation of player safety rules." Wesley said he never meant to harm Smith, saying he merely mistimed his hit on him. He also said he wanted to apologize to Smith.

Detroit Lions
Wesley signed with the Detroit Lions as an unrestricted free agent on April 3, 2010. Wesley was cut after the Lions had to go to the 53-man roster. He was re-signed by the Lions on September 30, 2010. He was released on October 19.