Corey Ballentine
Jamaican-American football player (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Corey Ballentine (born April 13, 1996) is a Jamaican-American professional football cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washburn Ichabods, and was selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft. He has also played for the New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, and New England Patriots.
_(cropped).jpg)
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Ballentine with the New York Giants in 2020 | |||||||||||||
| No. 36 – Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Cornerback | ||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | April 13, 1996 Montego Bay, Jamaica | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 191 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Shawnee Heights (Tecumseh, Kansas, U.S.) | ||||||||||||
| College | Washburn (2014–2018) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2019: 6th round, 180th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Early life
Ballentine was born in Jamaica and moved to Kansas when he was six years old.[1]
College career
After playing at Shawnee Heights High School, Ballentine played college football at Division II Washburn, Ballentine played in 46 games after almost quitting the team in the summer before his freshman year.[2] He primarily played on defense but also served as the team's kick returner and blocked four field goals.[3] Ballentine won the Cliff Harris Award after the conclusion of his senior season, which is given annually to the nation's top small college defensive players. He was also named a 2018 second-team AFCA All-American.[4]
After his senior year, Ballentine was invited to the 2019 Senior Bowl, where he drew attention for his speed.[5] He also participated in the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine.[6] Corey also has a personal best of 10.51, in the 100m, and 21.25 in the 200m while running track at Washburn.
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 196 lb (89 kg) | 31+5⁄8 in (0.80 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 6 ft 4+5⁄8 in (1.95 m) | 4.47 s | 1.52 s | 2.62 s | 4.14 s | 6.82 s | 39.5 in (1.00 m) | 11 ft 3 in (3.43 m) | 15 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine[7][8] | ||||||||||||
New York Giants
Ballentine was selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round (180th overall) of the 2019 NFL draft.[9][10]
On November 10, 2020, Ballentine was waived by the Giants.[11]
New York Jets
Ballentine was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets on November 11, 2020.[12] He was waived/injured on August 23, 2021, and placed on injured reserve.[13] Ballentine was released by New York on September 15.
Detroit Lions
On September 16, 2021, Ballentine was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions.[14] He was placed on injured reserve on October 15.[15] Ballentine was activated on November 18, then waived the next day and re-signed to the practice squad.
Atlanta Falcons
On January 12, 2022, Ballentine signed a reserve/future contract the Atlanta Falcons.[16] He was waived by Atlanta on August 30.[17]
Arizona Cardinals
On September 7, 2022, the Arizona Cardinals signed Ballentine to their practice squad.[18] He was released off the practice squad thirteen days later.[19]
Green Bay Packers (first stint)
On September 28, 2022, the Green Bay Packers signed Ballentine to their practice squad.[20] He was promoted to the active roster on November 12.[21] On March 20, 2023, Ballentine re-signed with the Packers.[22] He was released by Green Bay on August 29.[23] A day later, Ballentine was re-signed to the Packers' practice squad.[24] He was elevated to the active roster for Week 3 of the 2023 season.[25] Ballentine was promoted to the active roster on October 25.[26]
On March 12, 2024, Ballentine re-signed with the Packers.[27]
Indianapolis Colts
On March 14, 2025, Ballentine signed with the Indianapolis Colts.[28] He was released by Indianapolis on August 1.[29]
Green Bay Packers (second stint)
On August 4, 2025, Ballentine signed a contract to return to the Green Bay Packers.[30] He was waived on August 26 as part of final roster cuts.[31]
New England Patriots
On August 28, 2025, Ballentine signed a contract to join the New England Patriots practice squad.[32] He appeared in one regular season game before being released on September 23.[33]
Dallas Cowboys
On September 25, 2025, the Dallas Cowboys signed Ballentine to their practice squad.[34] He was promoted to the active roster on December 24.[35]
On March 23, 2026, Ballentine re-signed with the Cowboys on a one-year, $1.3 million contract.[36]
NFL career statistics
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Total | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TDs | FF | FR | ||||
| 2019 | NYG | 13 | 2 | 26 | 21 | 5 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | NYG | 9 | 2 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NYJ | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | DET | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | GB | 8 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | GB | 14 | 6 | 43 | 28 | 15 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | GB | 15 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2025 | NE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| DAL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career | 75 | 11 | 103 | 76 | 27 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Source: pro-football-reference.com | |||||||||||||||||
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Total | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TDs | FF | FR | ||||
| 2023 | GB | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | GB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Source: pro-football-referencecom | |||||||||||||||||
Personal life
Ballentine was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica and moved to the United States at six years of age.[10] While at Shawnee Heights and Washburn, Ballentine ran track while playing football,[37] setting Ichabod records for various indoor and outdoor sprinting events.[38]
In the early morning hours of April 28, 2019, the Sunday following the 2019 NFL draft, Ballentine was injured in a shooting in Topeka while he was attending an off-campus party. Ballentine's college roommate and defensive backfield teammate Dwane Simmons was killed in the shooting.[38]
