Dent attended Douglass High School in Atlanta and went on to play college football at the University of Georgia. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Dent played for the Falcons from 2011 to 2014 before moving on to the Houston Texans in 2015. He also had brief stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington Football Team before joining the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021.