Skinner played high school football at Noxubee County High School. He was named First-team All-State for his accomplishments during his senior year, recording 134 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 11 of which were sacks, and two forced fumbles. Skinner recorded 122 tackles and five sacks his junior year.[1]
Skinner was signed by the New England Patriots on May 12, 2014, after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL draft. He was released by the Patriots on August 26, 2014. He was signed to the team's practice squad on September 1, 2014. Skinner was promoted to the active roster on September 13, 2014, and was part of the team that won Super Bowl XLIX over the Seattle Seahawks.[3][4] He made his NFL debut on September 14, 2014, against the Minnesota Vikings, recording two tackles.[5] Skinner was released by the Patriots on October 29, 2014, and re-signed to the team's practice squad on October 31.[6][7] He was released by the Patriots on November 26 and re-signed to the team's practice squad on December 3, 2014. He was released by the Patriots on May 5, 2015.[8]
Skinner signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on August 14, 2015.[9] He was released by the Eagles on September 5 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 6, 2015.[10][11] On August 22, 2016, Skinner was released by the Eagles.[12]
On September 13, 2016, Skinner was signed to the New York Giants' practice squad.[13] He was released on September 17, 2016, and re-signed to the practice squad on September 19.[14] He was promoted to the active roster on October 11, 2016.[15] He was released again on November 19, 2016.[16] He was re-signed to the active roster on December 3, 2016.[17]
On September 2, 2017, Skinner was waived by the Giants.[18] He was re-signed by the Giants on September 28, 2017.[19] He was released again on October 4, 2017.[20]
On November 7, 2017, Skinner was signed by the Giants off the Raiders' practice squad.[22] He was placed on injured reserve on November 27, 2017.[23] He was waived by the Giants on February 22, 2018.[24]
^"Deontae Skinner". nfldraftscout.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Alper, Josh (August 14, 2015). "Eagles sign Deontae Skinner". profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
^"DEONTAE SKINNER". foxsports.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)