Inside The Huskies

Dante Pettis Takes a Giant Step Forward with his NFL Career

The former University of Washington wide receiver finds a new NFL home in New York and produces.

Dan Raley

Reports of Dante Pettis' football demise apparently have been greatly exaggerated. 

On Sunday, the well-traveled, Bay Area-disrespected and virus-recovered wide receiver formerly of the University of Washington reappeared on an NFL stage, catching a 33-yard touchdown pass for the New York Giants that provided the deciding points in a 23-19 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

The second-quarter scoring strike from Daniel Jones represented pro-football redemption for Pettis, who was let go by one team and picked up by another this season and is attempting to resurrect a once-promising career.

Dante Pettis stretches for his TD catch.
Dante Pettis concentrates to make a tough catch.  / USA TODAY Sports

He also caught a controversial 10-yard pass in the fourth quarter that wasn't reviewed and set up a 50-yard Giants field goal that provided the final margin.

Pettis was cut by the San Francisco 49ers after appearing in five games and was picked up by the Giants on waivers on Nov. 4.

Sixteen days later, he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and put in quarantine isolation for 10 days, losing nearly that many pounds.

“It’s been crazy for everybody, not just me,” Pettis said of the past year. “No one really saw any of this coming. There were certain things that threw me for a loop in particular with just the way the season started for me, getting cut and all that, coming out to New York. But I’m happy with how everything has turned out. I like being here.

Pettis left the UW in 2017 as a consensus All-American punt returner who set an NCAA record with nine career touchdown runbacks. The 49ers drafted him in the second round, as the 44th player selected, but they gave up with in his third season.

He made his Giants debut on the previous Sunday on Dec. 27, catching 2 passes for 33 yards in a 27-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. 

Against Dallas, Pettis was even better. The speedster got behind the Cowboys secondary, made a tough catch with a defender all over him and dove into the end zone to help the Giants out to a 20-6 advantage.

It was a nice turnaround for Pettis, who was sensational at the outset of his pro football career before falling into the 49ers doghouse. 

In his first four games with San Francisco, he caught 20 passes for 359 yards and four scores. However, injuries and poor play limited him to 20 catches thereafter in his three-plus seasons with the 49ers, even leading to his healthy scratch for the Super Bowl. 

Dante Pettis and his teammates celebrate his TD catch.
The Giants celebrate Dante Pettis' TD catch / USA TODAY Sports

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

Find Husky Maven on Facebook by searching: HuskyMaven/Sports Illustrated

Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Husky Maven. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page.

Published
Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

Home/Husky Legends