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NFL teams typically want to avoid unnecessary distractions at training camp, and it seems like a player bringing a pet tiger would fit that particular bill. However, that didn’t stop Darnell Dockett from pledging to do exactly that during his time with the Cardinals.
Dockett originally made a name for himself at Florida State before he was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the NFL Draft in 2004. It was widely believed he had the talent to go higher, but teams were scared away by the track record of a man with a short temper and who had a reputation for being fairly unpredictable.
It may have been a bit of a gamble for the Cardinals, but it ultimately paid off. Dockett spent all ten of his NFL seasons with the franchise and was named to the Pro Bowl on three separate occasions while racking up 472 tackles and 40. 5 sacks over the course of his career.
The defensive tackle was a force to be reckoned with on the field in his prime, and he was also an incredibly entertaining figure off of it thanks in no small part to his presence online. Dockett mastered the art of Twitter with the help of his extracurricular interests—which included his love of exotic animals.
Prior to the start of training camp in 2013, he revealed he’d purchased a pet tiger he dubbed “Little Buddy” while promising to bring the animal with him once practices kicked off. In an interview, he admitted “I don’t know if they’ll let me,” and Little Buddy didn’t actually end up making an appearance (which may have had something to do with Arizona laws prohibiting the ownership of exotic pets).
That wasn’t the only animal he was hoping to show off in public, as he also revealed he’d attempted to purchase a pet monkey whose owner turned down the $30,000 he offered him—which is kind of a shame when you consider the plans he had in mind for the capuchin he was going to name “Skeeter”:
“Could you picture that on game days? I’m coming to the game, I have my monkey with me, he has my jersey on.
Think about it. After the game, the fans see me with the monkey. Ticket sales go up. Dockett jersey sales go up. Why? Because they all want to see me with the monkey”
Dockett played his last NFL season in 2013 and officially retired in 2016 without bringing any exotic animals to training camp or a game.