Deatrich Wise Jr.

Deatrich Wise Jr. is an American football player in the NFL, who played for the New England Patriots from 2007 to 2024, and for the Washington Commanders from 2025.

Wise Jr. began his American football career at college, playing at the Defensive End for the Arkansas Razorbacks while he studied kinesiology. He was selected for the New England Patriots in 2017 and the team went on to reach the Superbowl. In 2025, Wise Jr. transferred to the Washington Commanders but due to a quad injury during the week two game, he was unable to play until October 2026.

Why Deatrich Wise Jr. is vegan

Deatrich Wise Jr. is vegan for health and for the animals.

Deatrich Wise Jr. became vegan in 2018 after experimenting to find the best diet for performance and recovery. After an injury during college, he stopped eating red meat to “lessen inflammation and speed up [his] recovery.” When he joined the NFL he was still eating chicken and fish but soon decided to go entirely plant-based. Even though some of his teammates were worried about Deatrich’s decision to go vegan, fearing he’d become too weak for such a physical sport, he actually returned to the field with more muscle, less body fat and perfect blood work.¹Hoffman, J. 2025. This NFL Defensive End Found Success on a 100% Vegan Diet. Men’s Journal. Available: https://www.mensjournal.com/food/deatrich-wise-jr-vegan-nfl-star-interview [Accessed 14 October 2026].

Although Deatrich Wise Jr. was initially motivated to go vegan by health, he also has ethical concerns about eating animal products. In 2024, Deatrich invested in Boston’s Veggie Galaxy, a plant-based restaurant and vegan bakery that has been serving Boston’s plant-based eaters for over 15 years.²Johnson, E. 2024. Vegan New England Patriot Deatrich Wise Jr. becomes owner of Cambridge diner. NBC Boston. Available: https://www.nbcboston.com/entertainment/new-england-patriot-vegan-deatrich-wise-jr-joins-ownership-group-of-bostons-veggie-galaxy/3439286/ [Accessed 14 Octpber 2026].

“I like to say I’m a conscious eater. I wanted to know how food gets to my plate, how it’s raised, and what goes into it. What I learned was alarming to me, and I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I didn’t want to support an industry that was handling the animals they fed to people, which I wasn’t OK with, and I didn’t want to put it in my body.”³Hoffman, J. 2025. This NFL Defensive End Found Success on a 100% Vegan Diet. Men’s Journal. Available: https://www.mensjournal.com/food/deatrich-wise-jr-vegan-nfl-star-interview [Accessed 14 October 2026].