Washington Redskins ( 1981 – 1989 ) Phoenix Cardinals ( 1990 ) Tampa Bay Buccaneers ( 1991 ) Ottawa Rough Riders ( 1992 – 1993 ) Shreveport Pirates ( 1994 ) 2× Super Bowl champion ( XVII , XXII ) First-team All-Pro ( 1986 ) Second-team All-Pro ( 1987 ) Pro Bowl ( 1986 ) Washington Commanders 90 Greatest Washington Commanders Ring of Fame Dexter Keith Manley (born February 2, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Washington Redskins . He also played for the Phoenix Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers , as well as in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Ottawa Rough Riders . Manley played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys and was selected by the Redskins in the fifth round of the 1981 NFL draft . Professional football career National Football League Manley was selected in the fifth round (119th overall) of the 1981 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins, where he played for nine seasons. [ 1 ] During his career with the Redskins, Manley won two Super Bowl titles and was a Pro Bowler in 1986 when he recorded a Redskins single-season record of 18.5 sacks. In 1989 , Manley failed his third drug test, with an opportunity to apply for reinstatement after one year. [ 2 ] He then played for the Phoenix Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, after he failed his fourth drug test, he retired on December 12, 1991. [ 3 ] He had a series of arrests related to his drug problem and was ultimately convicted and served two years in prison. [ 4 ] Officially, Manley had 97.5 quarterback sacks in his career. His total rises to 103.5 when the six sacks he had his rookie year of 1981, when sacks were not yet an official statistic, are included. [ 5 ] After his career in the United States ended, he revealed that he was functionally illiterate , despite having studied at Oklahoma State University for four years. [ 6 ] Canadian Football League Manley also played two seasons in the CFL with the Ottawa Rough Riders (1992 and 1993). [ 7 ] He was nicknamed the "Secretary of Defense" during his time with the Redskins. [ 8 ] He resides in suburban Washington with his family. Manley underwent brain surgery in June 2006 to treat a colloid cyst . He first learned about the cyst in 1986 after he collapsed in a Georgetown, Washington, D.C. department store. His prognosis was for a relatively full recovery, although doctors have said that memory loss is a common side effect of the operation. In May 2020, it was announced that Manley had tested positive for COVID-19 . [ 9 ] For many years, which included his college football days and the first few years of his pro career, Manley was functionally illiterate. The sight of his teammate Joe Theismann breaking his leg during a game versus the New York Giants on November 18, 1985 shook Manley, who at the time also had an addiction to cocaine. In the months after the season ended in early 1986, Manley went to rehab and took reading classes at the Lab School of Washington; he studied for five years at the school and took classes even after leaving Washington. As of 2015, Manley was clean from drugs for nine years. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] ↑ "1981 NFL Draft Listing" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved July 24, 2026 . ↑ Berkow, Ira (November 22, 1989). "Why Manley? Why Now?" . The New York Times . Retrieved May 1, 2010 . ↑ "Dexter Manley Arrested Again" . The Washington Post . March 5, 1995 . Retrieved March 7, 2006 . ↑ "Dexter Manley released after two years in prison" . ESPN.com . March 5, 2004 . Retrieved August 16, 2022 . ↑ "Standing up for Manley" . espn.com . ↑ Nyad, Diana (May 28, 1989). "Views of Sport; How Illiteracy Makes Athletes Run" . The New York Times . Retrieved May 1, 2010 . ↑ "Former NFL, CFL star Dexter Manley hospitalized with COVID-19 –" . www.americanfootballinternational.com . Retrieved September 16, 2024 . ↑ Friend, Tom (February 26, 1995). "For Manley, Life Without Football Is Impossible to Tackle" . The New York Times . Retrieved May 1, 2010 . ↑ Russell, Chris (May 16, 2020). "Hopeful News on Redskins Legend Dexter Manley" . Sports Illustrated; SI.com . Retrieved November 25, 2023 . ↑ Branch, Taylor (October 2011). "The Shame of College Sports" . The Atlantic . Retrieved February 18, 2021 . ↑ Mullins, Luke (September 29, 2015). "The Oral History of Joe Theismann's Broken Leg" . Washingtonian . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ( link ) Career statistics from Pro Football Reference 7 Joe Theismann 20 Joe Lavender 22 Curtis Jordan 25 Joe Washington 30 Nick Giaquinto 38 Clarence Harmon 39 Otis Wonsley 40 Wilbur Jackson 44 John Riggins ( MVP ) 46 LeCharls McDaniel 47 Greg Williams 51 Monte Coleman 52 Neal Olkewicz 54 Peter Cronan 56 Quentin Lowry 58 Stuart Anderson 62 Donald Laster 69 Perry Brooks 72 Dexter Manley 74 George Starke 76 Mat Mendenhall 77 Darryl Grant 79 Todd Liebenstein 84 Mike Williams 86 Clint Didier 87 Charlie Brown 89 Alvin Garrett Head coach: Joe Gibbs Coaches : Don Breaux Larry Peccatiello

Richie Petitbon LaVern Torgeson 6 Ali Haji-Sheikh 10 Jay Schroeder 17 Doug Williams ( MVP ) 24 Kelvin Bryant 26 Craig McEwen 28 Darrell Green 29 Reggie Branch 30 Anthony Allen 31 Clarence Vaughn 35 Keith Griffin 38 George Rogers 40 Alvin Walton 41 Tim Morrison 45 Barry Wilburn 46 Dennis Woodberry 50 Ravin Caldwell 51 Monte Coleman 52 Neal Olkewicz 54 Kurt Gouveia 63 Raleigh McKenzie 64 Steve Hamilton 69 R. C. Thielemann 71 Charles Mann 72 Dexter Manley 77 Darryl Grant 82 Anthony Jones 83 Ricky Sanders 86 Clint Didier 88 Joe Caravello 89 Clarence Verdin Head coach: Joe Gibbs Coaches: Chuck Banker Larry Peccatiello Richie Petitbon LaVern Torgeson Jack Kent Cooke London Fletcher Chris Hanburger Sonny Jurgensen Charlie Justice Richie Petitbon American football defensive ends Canadian football defensive linemen National Conference Pro Bowl players Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Ottawa Rough Riders players Shreveport Pirates players Phoenix Cardinals players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Washington Redskins players Players of American football from Houston Players of Canadian football from Houston American sportspeople convicted of crimes 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use American English from May 2023 All Wikipedia articles written in American English Use mdy dates from February 2016 CS1 maint: deprecated archival service