Leon Washington

Runningback Leon Washington plays for the New York Jets in the National Football League. Washington was selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Jets. He spent his college football years playing for Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles.

Washington has made a name for himself on special teams and as a part-time running back. He and the Jets had a contract standoff leading into the 2009 season. Unfortunately for him, Washington kept playing with his current contract and broke his leg, leaving no contract leverage.

Washington broke his leg in a week 7 tilt against the Oakland Raiders. That was disappointing on the Jets front because of how vital he is to the team, and on Washington's front because of the contract he had with the Jets prior to the start of the 2009 regular season. The Jets missed Washington's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and make defenders miss. They also missed his kick return ability and general explosiveness on the field. Washington's injury did open the door for Shonn Greene who exploded onto the scene, becoming the first rookie in NFL history to have two 100 yard rushing games in his first two postseason games.

His agent, Alvin Keels, is in the process of trying to increase Washington's value on the open market in trying to find him a new team for the 2010 season and beyond. The Jets placed a second round tender on him prior to this and Washington has received no offers. It's likely that come the beginning of the 2010 season, Washington will be wearing a Jets uniform.

Washington had a breakout season in 2008 as a Jet as he accumulated 76 carries for 448 yards at a 5.9 yards per carry clip to go along with a career high 6 rushing touchdowns. He made the Probowl as a kick return specialist, as he had 48 returns for 1,231 yards and a TD.