Leon Washington

For the saxophonist, see Leon Washington (musician).

Leon Washington

Leon Washington during the 2008 NFL season.
No. 33     Seattle Seahawks
Running back / Return specialist
Personal information
Date of birth: July 16, 1982 (1982-07-16)
Place of birth: Jacksonville, Florida
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Weight: 203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
College: Florida State
NFL Draft: 2006 / Round: 4 / Pick: 117
Debuted in 2006 for the New York Jets
Career history
New York Jets (2006–2009) Seattle Seahawks (2010–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
1× Pro Bowl selection (2008) 3× All-Pro selection (2007, 2008, 2010) NFL Alumni Special Teams Player of the Year (2008) Ed Block Courage Award (2010) NFL's Second All-Time Kickoff Return Touchdown Leader with (7) Behind Joshua Cribbs with (8)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 15, 2011
Rushing yards	2,043
Rushing average	4.6
Kick Return Yards	5,340
Receiving yards	1,084
Total touchdowns	23
Stats at NFL.com

Leon Washington (born July 16, 1982) is an American football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State. Married to Charity Washington with whom they have 2 boys Noel and Nolen Lee. He also has a son name Leon whom lives in Florida with his mom.

Early years

At Andrew Jackson High School he won the "Mr. Football" Award in 2001 and later committed to Florida State. As a freshman at Florida State, he changed positions from Cornerback to Running back.

Professional career

New York Jets

Washington was selected in the fourth round (117th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. The pick used was obtained by the Jets from the Kansas City Chiefs, as compensation for the release of former Jets head coach Herman Edwards.

Washington gained some attention in his second preseason game, returning a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown against the Washington Redskins. Nonetheless, he did not immediately get many carries in the first few weeks of the regular season. However, as the Jets running game struggled in the first few weeks, his role in the offense increased. He first showcased his ability on a 47-yard reception Week 3 in Buffalo. Two weeks later in Jacksonville, he recorded his first 100-yard rushing game, running for 101 yards in a Jets 41–0 loss.

His breakout performance came on October 22 at home against Detroit in a game in which Leon ran for 129 yards for two touchdowns and led the Jets' to a 31–24 win. In a game in Miami on Christmas night, Washington had 108 receiving yards including a 64-yard reception to set up the game winning field goal in a 13–10 win. He helped the Jets clinch the fifth playoff spot in the AFC on New Years Eve, 2006 with a touchdown run that put that helped to seal a win against the Oakland Raiders in the final game of the 2006 regular season. He finished the regular season with 650 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 151 attempts. He averaged 4.3 yards-per-carry. In an AFC East game, he returned a kick 92-yards for a touchdown against the New England Patriots in 2008. Washington gained 2,317 all purpose yards in 2008, more than any other running back in the NFL.

Washington was selected as AFC Special teams Player of the Week for Week 11 of the 2008 season, the first such award in his career. His 92-yard touchdown was the fourth kick return touchdown of his career, surpassing Justin Miller for the club record. He led the league in all-purpose yards in 2008 with 1606 yards.

Washington was out for the 2009 season with a compound fracture to his fibula that he suffered in Week 7 in a 38-0 shutout win versus the Oakland Raiders. Prior to his season ending injury, Leon Washington had rushed for 331 yards on 72 carries, with a 4.6 yards per carry average. Washington had yet to score in 2009 prior to his injury. The Jets call their wildcat formation "Seminole" due to the fact that Washington lines up at quarterback, and was a Florida State Seminole.

On April 15, 2010 (the NFL free agent deadline), Washington signed his tendered contract with the Jets at one-Year $1.759 million.

Seattle Seahawks

On April 24, 2010 Washington was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was assigned the number 33 on his new team; 29 went to first-round draft pick Earl Thomas. During the September 26th, 2010 game against the San Diego Chargers, Washington set a Seahawks record with 2 kickoff return touchdowns. He returned the opening kickoff of the 2nd half for a team record 101yds, then in the 4th quarter he ran 99yds for his second kickoff TD of the game. On March 1, 2011 Washington signed a four year deal worth $12.5 million to stay with the Seattle Seahawks.

Football card controversy

Washington's 2006 Bowman "Signs of the Future" card with the Jets caused a great deal of controversy during the third week of November, 2006, in which it appears that he is making an obscene gesture. The card sold on eBay during that time for more than four times its book value. Washington insists his gesture is a popular hand gesture among his friends in his hometown.

Kickoff return touchdown percentage

The following table ranks all National Football League kick returners with at least 4 touchdown returns through the 2008 season by touchdown return percentage^{[citation needed]}:

Top 25 career

Name	TD	Returns	Yards	Average	TD %	Start	End
Devin Hester	7	91	2,781	30.56	6.59%		2006
Gale Sayers	6	94	2,141	22.8	6.38%	1972
Travis Williams	6	102	2,801	27.46	5.88%	1967	1971
Bobby Mitchell	5	102	2,690	26.37	4.90%	1958	1968
Ollie Matson	6	143	3,746	26.20	4.20%	1952	1964
Leon Washington	7	174	4,447	25.56	4.02%	2006	present
Jon Vaughn	4	103	2,390	23.20	3.88%	1991	1994
Darrick Vaughn	4	103	2,620	25.44	3.88%	2000	2003
Cecil Turner	4	108	2,616	24.22	3.70%	1968	1973
Justin Miller	5	141	3,745	26.62	3.55%	2005	present
Tony Horne	4	143	3,577	25.01	2.80%	1998	2000
Timmy Brown	5	186	4,781	25.70	2.69%	1959	1968
Abe Woodson	5	193	5,538	28.69	2.59%	1958	1966
Josh Cribbs	8	209	5,507	26.35	2.26%	2005	present
Andre Coleman	4	193	4,446	23.04	2.07%	1994	1998
Ron Brown	4	199	4,493	22.58	2.01%	1984	1990
Terrence McGee	5	207	5,450	26.32	2.41%	2003	present
Tamarick Vanover	4	226	5,422	23.99	1.77%	1995	1999
Mel Gray	6	421	10,250	24.35	1.43%	1986	1997
Dante Hall	6	426	10,136	23.79	1.41%	2000	2008
Michael Bates	5	373	9,110	24.42	1.34%	1993	2003
Allen Rossum	5	506	11,779	23.28	0.99%	1998	present
Brian Mitchell	4	607	14,014	23.09	0.66%	1990	2003

Sources:

• Official NFL.com Kick return All-Time Leaders
• Current Player stats

Measurables

• 40-yard dash: 4.42
• Vertical: 32½"
• Bench press: 17 Reps of 225
• Three-Cone drill: 6.96
• 20-yard Shuttle: 4.37
• Broad jump: 8'9"

External links

• Seattle Seahawks bio
• Florida State Seminoles bio

Sporting positions
Preceded by Curtis Martin	New York Jets Starting Running Back 2006	Succeeded by Thomas Jones