Darrell Russell (American football)

Tackles:	184
Sacks:	28.5
Interceptions:	3

Darrell Russell
	Darrell Russell while with the Oakland Raiders.
No. 96
Position:	Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born:	May 27, 1976; Pensacola, Florida
Died:	December 15, 2005 (aged 29); Los Angeles, California
Height:	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:	325 lb (147 kg)
Career information
College:	Southern California
NFL draft:	1997 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2
Career history
	Oakland Raiders (1997–2003); Washington Redskins (2003); Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2004); Offseason and/or practice squad member only
	* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
	2× Pro Bowl (1998, 1999); AP First-Team All-Pro (1998); AP Second-Team All-Pro (1999); 2× PFWA First-Team All-Pro (1998, 1999); 2× PFW First-Team All-AFC (1998, 1999); USA Today High School All-American (1993); Morris Trophy (1996);
Career NFL statistics
Tackles:
Tackles:	184
Sacks:	28.5
Interceptions:	3
	Player stats at NFL.com

Darrell Anthony Russell, Jr. (May 27, 1976 – December 15, 2005) was an American football defensive lineman for the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He died in a car crash near Los Angeles after being indefinitely banned from the NFL for repeated violations of the league's substance abuse policy.

Early life

Darrell Anthony Russell, Jr. was born in Pensacola, Florida.^[1]^[2] His mother, Eleanor Russell, divorced in 1986 from Darrell Anthony Russell Sr. when their only child was nine years old, and moved from Florida to Southern California.^[2] Russell grew up in a rough part of San Diego just a few blocks from Lincoln Kennedy. Russell graduated from St. Augustine High School.

College career

Russell attended the University of Southern California and was taken second overall in the 1997 NFL Draft by the Raiders. At 6-foot-5-inch (196 cm), 320-pounds Russell ran the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds.^[2]

Professional career

Russell's seven-year, $22 million contract in 1997 was at the time the richest rookie contract ever signed in the NFL.^[3]

He went on to have 28.5 career sacks. After making the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 1999, averaging ten sacks per year, Russell was suspended four games in 2001 for failing to comply with the NFL's drug policy. Shortly after that, he tested positive for another banned substance and was given a one-year suspension that later was made indefinite by the league.

Russell's positive drug test in 2004 was his seventh infraction of the league's policy. Russell missed 1½ years while serving two league suspensions before he played in eight games in 2003 for the Washington Redskins. His last NFL experience was in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp in 2004.^[4]

NFL stats

Year	Team	GP	COMB	TOTAL	AST	SACK	FF	FR	INT	PD
1997	OAK	16	43	34	9	3.5	1	0	0	6
1998	OAK	16	63	55	8	10.0	3	1	0	2
1999	OAK	16	43	32	11	9.5	0	1	0	4
2000	OAK	16	33	24	9	3.0	1	1	0	7
2001	OAK	11	41	31	10	2.5	0	0	1	4
2003	WSH	8	6	3	3	0.0	1	0	0	0
Career		83	229	179	50	28.5	6	3	1	23

^[1]

Key

GP: games played
COMB: combined tackles
TOTAL: total tackles
AST: assisted tackles
SACK: sacks
FF: forced fumbles
FR: fumble recoveries
FR YDS: fumble return yards
INT: interceptions
IR YDS: interception return yards
AVG IR: average interception return
LNG: longest interception return
TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
PD: passes defensed

Personal

He was accused in 2002 of videotaping the rape of a woman—who had been drugged with GHB—by two friends, but prosecutors dropped the charges.^[3]

Death

On December 15, 2005, Russell was a passenger in a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by close friend and former USC teammate Michael Bastianelli when it veered out of control, hitting several items including a tree and a fire hydrant before hitting a parked bus. Both men were found unconscious and taken to area hospitals, where they were pronounced dead.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b "Darrell Russell". ESPN. Retrieved December 31, 2010. Cite error: The named reference "ESPN" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b ^c Berkow, Ira (April 20, 1997). "A Life Change for Mother and Son". New York Times. Retrieved December 31, 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c Gay, Nancy (December 16, 2005). "Ex-Raider killed in crash: Troubled DT was trying to change life". San Francisco Chronicle. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Stroud, Rick (July 14, 2004). "Bucs release defensive tackle Russell". St. Petersburg Times. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · ESPN · CBS Sports · Yahoo! Sports · SI.com · Pro Football Reference
Darrell Russell profile by the Oakland Raiders
"Darrell Russell". Find a Grave. Retrieved August 28, 2010.

[ESPN-1] "Darrell Russell". ESPN. Retrieved December 31, 2010. Cite error: The named reference "ESPN" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

[BerkowNYT-2] Berkow, Ira (April 20, 1997). "A Life Change for Mother and Son". New York Times. Retrieved December 31, 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[GaySFC-3] Gay, Nancy (December 16, 2005). "Ex-Raider killed in crash: Troubled DT was trying to change life". San Francisco Chronicle. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[4] Stroud, Rick (July 14, 2004). "Bucs release defensive tackle Russell". St. Petersburg Times. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

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