| Benjamin St-Juste | |
| Current Team: | Washington Commanders |
| Number: | 25 |
| Position: | Cornerback |
| Birth Date: | 8 September 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 3 |
| Weight Lb: | 200 |
| High School: | Cégep du Vieux Montréal (Montreal) |
| Draftyear: | 2021 |
| Draftround: | 3 |
| Draftpick: | 74 |
| Cfldraftyear: | 2021 |
| Cfldraftround: | 6 |
| Cfldraftpick: | 52 |
| Pastteams: |
|
| Status: | Active |
| Statleague: | NFL |
| Statweek: | 18 |
| Statseason: | 2023 |
| Statlabel1: | Tackles |
| Statvalue1: | 135 |
| Statlabel2: | Sacks |
| Statvalue2: | 3.0 |
| Statlabel3: | Pass deflections |
| Statvalue3: | 27 |
| Statlabel4: | Interceptions |
| Statvalue4: | 1 |
| Statlabel5: | Forced fumbles |
| Statvalue5: | 3 |
| Statlabel6: | Fumble recoveries |
| Statlabel7: | Touchdowns |
| Pfr: | StJuBe00 |
Benjamin St-Juste (;[1] born September 8, 1997) is a Canadian gridiron football cornerback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). A native of Montreal, he played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and Minnesota Golden Gophers. St-Juste was selected by Washington in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft.
St-Juste was born on September 8, 1997, in Montreal, Canada, to a Haitian father and French-Canadian mother.[2] He grew up speaking French and Haitian Creole before learning English at Cégep du Vieux Montréal.[3] [4] St-Juste played ice hockey as a youth, later taking an interest in American football because of his father Wilbert, who was a member of the 1989 Miami Hurricanes football team but broke his leg in preseason camp.[5]
St-Juste attended various college football camps in the United States in the mid-2010s, and was offered a scholarship to play for the Michigan Wolverines under Jim Harbaugh.[3] [6] He played in 12 games for the Wolverines as a freshman in 2017, but redshirted as a sophomore the following year due to a hamstring injury.[7] He graduated from Michigan in two years with a bachelor's degree in sports management and transferred to the University of Minnesota as a graduate student in 2019.[2] [3] St-Juste played in 18 games and had 59 tackles in two years for the Minnesota Golden Gophers before finishing his collegiate career.[8] He was invited to the 2021 Senior Bowl, where he recorded a tackle.[9]
St-Juste was selected by the Washington Football Team in the third round (74th overall) of the 2021 NFL draft, in which they took St-Juste with one of the two picks they acquired in a trade that sent Trent Williams to the San Francisco 49ers.[10] He was also selected by the Toronto Argonauts in the sixth round (52nd overall) of the 2021 CFL Draft shortly after.[11] St-Juste signed his four-year rookie contract with Washington on May 13, 2021.[12] He made his NFL debut in the opening game against the Los Angeles Chargers, where he recorded four tackles, but also allowed six catches in a 20–16 loss.[13] He was placed on injured reserve in December 2021 due to lingering issues from a concussion.[14]
St-Juste moved from outside corner to the slot for the 2022 season.[15] He was moved back to outside corner following the benching of William Jackson III in Week 5.[16] With 35 seconds remaining in Thursday Night Football and the Chicago Bears on fourth and goal, St-Juste made a key stop pushing wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who caught the pass, out of the endzone before Mooney's feet landed on the field and sealed the Commanders' 12-7 victory.[17] In Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings, he deflected a touchdown pass attempt from Kirk Cousins which cornerback Danny Johnson intercepted.[18] The following week's victory over the then undefeated Philadelphia Eagles, St-Juste forced wide receiver Quez Watkins, after catching a 50-yard pass, to fumble the ball allowing safety Darrick Forrest to recover it.[19] On January 6, 2023, he was placed on injured reserve.[20]