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On July 25, 2013, the [[2013 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders]] signed Hayden to a four-year, a fully guaranteed $10.32 million contract with a signing bonus of $5.88 million.<ref name="spotrac"/>
HeHayden competed with [[Mike Jenkins (American football)|Mike Jenkins]], [[Tracy Porter]], [[Joselio Hanson]], and [[Phillip Adams (American football)|Phillip Adams]] throughout training camp for the starting cornerback position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/archive/147/OAK| title=Ourlads.com: Oakland Raider's depth chart: 07/27/2013| access-date=October 19, 2017| website=ourlads.com}}</ref> Head coach [[Dennis Allen (American football)|Dennis Allen]] named him the third cornerback on the Raiders' depth chart behind Jenkins and Porter to begin the regular season.
HeHayden made his professional regular season debut during the Raiders' 17–21 loss to the [[2013 Indianapolis Colts season|Indianapolis Colts]], finishing with three solo tackles. On September 23, 2013, Hayden earned his first career start and made two solo tackles during 21–37 loss to the [[2013 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]]. On October 6, 2013, he made a season-high seven combined tackles, deflected a pass, and intercepted [[Philip Rivers]] for the first interception of his career during a 17–27 victory over the [[2013 San Diego Chargers season|San Diego Chargers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2013100610/2013/REG5/chargers@raiders| title=NFL Game Center: Week 5-2013: San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders| access-date=October 19, 2017| website=NFL.com}}</ref> The following week, he made two solo tackles and forced the first fumble of his career in a 24–7 loss to the [[2013 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]].
On November 20, 2013, it was reported that Hayden would be placed on injured reserve for the remainder of his rookie season after undergoing sports [[hernia]] surgery.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000285118/article/dj-hayden-put-on-injured-reserve-by-oakland-raiders |title= Raiders' Hayden put on IR after undergoing sports hernia surgery |access-date= October 19, 2017 |website= NFL.com |last=Sessler |first=Marc |date= November 20, 2013}}</ref> He finished his rookie campaign with 25 combined tackles (22 solo), two pass deflections, an interception, and a forced fumble in two starts and eight games.
On March 10, 2017, the [[Detroit Lions]] signed Hayden to a one-year, $3.75 million contract with $2.25 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lions sign D.J. Hayden to one-year deal|url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/03/10/lions-sign-d-j-hayden-to-one-year-deal/|last=Smith |first=Michael David|website=ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com|date=March 10, 2017}}</ref><ref name="spotrac">{{cite web|url=http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/detroit-lions/d.j.-hayden-12292/| title=Spotrac.com: D.J. Hayden contract| access-date=October 19, 2017| website=spotrac.com}}</ref>
HeHayden competed with [[Nevin Lawson]], [[Teez Tabor]], and [[Quandre Diggs]] throughout training camp for a starting cornerback position. He was named the [[2017 Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions']] third cornerback on their depth chart to begin the regular season, behind [[Darius Slay]] and Nevin Lawson.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/archive/200/DET| title=Ourlads.com: Detroit Lion's depth chart: 10/01/2017| access-date=October 20, 2017| website=ourlads.com}}</ref>
In his debut with the Detroit Lions, Hayden recorded three solo tackles in a 35–23 win against the [[2017 Arizona Cardinals season|Arizona Cardinals]]. On September 24, 2017, he recorded a season-high seven combined tackles during a 26–30 loss to the [[2017 Atlanta Falcons season|Atlanta Falcons]].<ref name="NFL"/> On November 19, 2017, Hayden recovered the fumble after [[2017 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears']] quarterback [[Mitchell Trubisky]] bobbled the snap. Hayden returned it for a 27-yard touchdown and also assisted on a tackle during the Lions' 27–24 victory.<ref>{{cite web| title=NFL Game Center: Week 12-2017: Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears| url=http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2017111900/2017/REG11/lions@bears| access-date=November 19, 2017| website=NFL.com}}</ref>
==Death==
Hayden died on November 11, 2023, as a result of a traffic collision in [[Houston]], Texason November 11, 2023, at the age of 33. He was among six fatalities when a car ran a red light at 2:00 am local time and struck the SUV in which Hayden was a passenger.<ref>{{cite web |last=Duarte |first=Joseph |title=Former UH football player D.J. Hayden killed in collision near downtown Houston |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/college/article/dj-hayden-uh-raiders-killed-car-wreck-18485295.php |website=Houston Chronicle |access-date=11 November 2023}}</ref>
==References==
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