Starks played professionally as a defensive end for 12 seasons, from 2004 to 2015, in the National Football League (NFL) with the Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins, and Cleveland Browns.

[1] Starks attended Westlake High School in Waldorf, Maryland, where he was a letterman in football, basketball and track.

[2] As a senior, he led his team to a 23–3 record and was named Southern Maryland's Basketball Player of the Year by The Washington Post.

[2] In track & field, Starks was a two-time state qualifier in both the shot put and discus throw.

[2] Starks was nominated for ACC Rookie of the Week honors following a game against Georgia Tech in which he recorded eight tackles, 1.5 sacks and forced a fumble in overtime.

[2] Prior to his junior season, Starks was named the preseason ACC Defensive Player of the Year by ESPN.com and was on the watchlist for the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy.

[1] He was initially unable to attend offseason workouts due to a league rule preventing rookies from participating in team activities before their school year has been completed.

[1] During the season, he also sacked Carson Palmer (Bengals), Craig Krenzel (Bears) and David Carr (Texans).

[1] His 4.5 sacks on the year led all rookie defensive tackles, including six players – Tommie Harris, Vince Wilfork, Marcus Tubbs, Darnell Dockett, Junior Siavii, Tank Johnson – drafted before him.

[7] He forced fumbles against Krenzel and Peyton Manning (Colts) while blocking a Kris Brown kick against the Houston Texans.

[7] In the season opener against the New York Jets, he recovered a Chad Pennington fumble that led to a Titans touchdown on the next play.

[7] In a Monday Night Football contest against the New Orleans Saints, he recovered a Drew Brees fumble forced by Travis LaBoy.

[5] In 2012, Starks joined Cameron Wake as the first two players in Dolphins history to earn Pro Bowl honors at two different positions (NT, DE).

[10] Key: GP – games played; GS – games started; Total – total tackles; Solo – solo tackles; Ast – assisted tackles; Sck – quarterback sacks; FF – forced fumbles; FR – fumble recoveries; INT – interceptions; PD – passes defensed; TD – touchdowns Starks is pursuing a master's degree from Georgetown University which he expects to finish up in the fall of 2022.

On May 24, 2009, Starks was arrested on Ocean Drive in South Beach, Miami after his vehicle made contact with a traffic officer during the busy Memorial Day Weekend festivities.

[16] In November 2016, Starks prevailed in a civil suit against the arresting officer after a jury determined that he was not liable for the events occurring during the traffic stop on May 24, 2009.