After one year in the AFL, defensive back Trae Meadows is returning to the Indoor Football League’s Bay Area Panthers for the 2025 season. Of course, Meadows was an integral member of Bay Area’s 2023 championship team.
Most recently, Meadows played for the Nashville Kats of the AFL. Meadows—a rangy DB standing at 6-foot-1—was one of the top cover players in the league. His 2024 stats featured 42 tackles, two TFL, three interceptions and six pass breakups.
2023 was a pivotal campaign for Meadows. In his first stint with the Panthers, he contributed 79 tackles, one TFL, five INT, 15 passes defended and one forced fumble. This was on a championship defense that surrendered just 43.6 PPG, which was the third-best clip in the league.
In the 2023 IFL title game versus the Sioux Falls Storm, Meadows was sure to get in on the action. He registered four tackles in the Panthers’ historic 51-41 victory, earning his second ring in this league.
Meadows first played for Panthers Head Coach Rob Keefe in 2022 when both were with the IFL-champion Northern Arizona Wranglers. That was also Meadows’ rookie IFL campaign, and he produced 56 tackles, three picks, seven pass breakups and one fumble recovery.
Prior to competing professionally, Meadows gained collegiate experience by way of Western Kentucky University (2019-2020), Garden City Community College (2018) and North Carolina State University (2016). That gives him three years at the FBS level.
At WKU, Meadows was a strong presence for the Hilltoppers and head coach Tyson Helton. Over two seasons in Bowling Green, Meadows’ total output shows 62 tackles (four TFL), nine pass breakups, two INT, one sack and one 46-yard fumble recovery.
In 2019, he and the Hilltoppers were victorious in the First Responders Bowl against Western Michigan. Meadows made one tackle in the 23-20 win.
In 2020, he received All-CUSA Honorable Mention accolades. That same year, he graduated Cum Laude from Western Kentucky with a degree in Business Administration.
At GCCC in Kansas (which has put forth countless NFL players), Meadows appeared in 11 games for the Broncbusters, logging 34 tackles, 12 passes defended, one INT and one forced fumble. He earned a three-star JUCO transfer rating from 247Sports.
At NC State, Meadows competed as a true freshman in 2016. He saw action over 11 contests, mostly on special teams, and made four tackles. He also had the opportunity to participate in the 2016 Independence Bowl versus Vanderbilt. Meadows collected a second-quarter interception in the 41-17 playoff victory for the Wolfpack.
A native of Greensboro, NC, Meadows attended James B. Dudley High School. He was a star for the Dudley Panthers, helping the football team win a state title as a junior. For his senior season, he swiped six total interceptions, which included one in every game that September and October.
In his spare time, Meadows coaches football at Overton High School in Memphis, TN. He is also a health & fitness entrepreneur.
