Daniel Adongo Was ‘Model Player’ for Colts Before Arrests Ended NFL Career and ICE Deported Him, Says Teammate (Exclusive)

KC BakerTue, July 28, 2026 at 10:11 PM UTC

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Daniel AdongoCredit: George Gojkovich/Getty -

Daniel Adongo was a “model player” during his career, former NFL teammate D’Qwell Jackson tells PEOPLE after Adongo was deported by ICE to Kenya

The family of the former Indianapolis Colts linebacker, who has been arrested multiple times in the last several years, claim Adongo has struggled with mental health issues

Jackson says the Daniel Adongo he knew was “extremely respectful and understood the privileged position he was in”

Recently deported Indianapolis Colts linebacker Daniel Adongo was a “hard worker” who took his career seriously, his former Colts teammate D’Qwell Jackson tells PEOPLE.

“He worked his tail off,” says Jackson, 42, an 11-year NFL veteran linebacker who played for the Cleveland Browns for eight years and the Colts for three years before retiring.

Adongo, 37, the first Kenyan player to join the NFL, became a linebacker for the Colts when he was signed to the team in 2013. “He was a sponge,” says Jackson.

“He was always a hard worker on the field and in the weight room,” he says. “You didn’t worry about him. He was everything in my opinion during that time that any coach or decision maker bringing in a guy like that would want. He was a model player.”

Former Indianapolis Colts Inside Linebacker D’Qwell JacksonCredit: Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty

Like others, Jackson was surprised to learn that Adongo had been deported to Kenya by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a July 25 news release.

In March, a Department of Justice immigration judge ordered Adongo to be removed from the U.S., ruling that he overstayed his visit after his visa expired in 2016. ICE removed him on June 20, according to the release.

ICE said Adongo had been arrested multiple times over the past nine years for crimes including felony intimidation, battery and disorderly conduct. According to court records reviewed by PEOPLE, Adongo’s felony intimidation charges were later dismissed. He was convicted of criminal mischief with damage in 2020 and sentenced six months in jail.

Adongo’s most recent criminal charges fall under the Laken Riley Act, a federal statute that requires the detention of illegal immigrants for certain crimes in the U.S., according to ICE.

Adongo’s NFL career ended in December 2015 when he was released from the Colts after police were called to his Indianapolis home for a domestic violence investigation.

According to a police report obtained by ESPN, a woman he was living with at the time texted a friend saying she needed help. The friend contacted the police and when they arrived at the residence, the woman said she did not want medical assistance and couldn’t explain the reason for the text.

Adongo was not at the house when police arrived, according to the report.

Adongo’s family, however, claims that over the past decade he suffered from mental health issues they believe he developed while playing sports.

Daniel Adongo with South African rugby team Southern Kings in Jan. 2013Credit: Getty

Born in Nairobi, Adongo initially played professional rugby in South Africa and New Zealand before he started his career in American football, according to The Sunday Guardian.

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In 2017, Adongo spent time at a psychiatric facility after a judge deemed him incompetent following a psychiatric examination, according to the Indy Star

Jackson, who says he took Adongo “under his wing,” when he joined the team, lost touch with the younger player after he was released from the Colts. “I hope he gets the proper help that he needs,” he says.

While Jackson, an entrepreneur who most recently worked as a pro scout for the Browns, admits that he doesn’t know exactly what happened in Adongo’s situation, he says he has seen many players grapple with moving on from life in the NFL.

Adongo, says Jackson, “had his future basically look very bright in terms of the football world,” he says.

“For someone to have it all and then it goes sideways, it raises my suspicions that there are some mental issues that could be possibly going on. That doesn’t dissolve him from whatever wrongdoing he possibly did or did not do, but two things can be true — there could be some mental health issues that could also affect the way he lives his life.”

“I wish things could have worked out better for him because the person I know is a good person,” Jackson continued. “The guy that I know, I feel bad for him. I saw him when he was a young man, young, eager to learn.”

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He says he didn’t recognize the man he knew in a recent photograph of him.

“The guy I knew understood the privileged position he was in,” Jackson says.

“I do hope things work out for him.”

Before his deportation, Adongo was held at Miami Correctional Facility while being detained by ICE, Indy Star reported.

The Colts did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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Source: “AOL Sports”