Donté Stallworth

No. 18     Cleveland Browns
Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: November 10, 1980 (1980-11-10) (age 29)
Place of birth: Sacramento, California
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Weight: 200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
College: Tennessee
NFL Draft: 2002 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13
Debuted in 2002 for the New Orleans Saints
Career history
As player: New Orleans Saints (2002-2005) Philadelphia Eagles (2006) New England Patriots (2007) Cleveland Browns (2008-present)
Roster status: Suspended
Career highlights and awards
California Player of the Year (1998) USA Today honorable mention All-American (1998) All-SEC second team (2001)
Career NFL statistics as of week 17, 2009
Receptions	296
Receiving Yards	4,383
Touchdowns	32
Stats at NFL.com

Donté Lamar Stallworth (born November 10, 1980) is an American football wide receiver who plays for the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. He was originally drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round (13th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee. Stallworth has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots in his career. He was suspended by the NFL for the 2009 season after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter charges in Florida.

[edit] Early years

Stallworth was born in Sacramento, California. He attended Grant Union High School in Sacramento where he was a star in football and track and field. He was a high school teammate of former Minnesota Vikings running back Onterrio Smith, Seattle Seahawks safety C. J. Wallace and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Paris Warren.

[edit] College career

Stallworth played college football at the University of Tennessee for the Volunteers, where his nickname was "Hands," as his teammates watched his ability to come up with seemingly impossible catches on a regular basis. Upon leaving for the NFL, his 1,747 reception yards ranked ninth in the school's all-time list. His 40-yard dash was a 4.29 and he majored in psychology.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] New Orleans Saints

He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round (13th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 8. He caught eight touchdown passes in 2002, his rookie year, but saw less action the next season. As a full time starter in 2004, he had 767 receiving yards and five touchdowns. In 2005, he recorded a career-high 70 receptions for 945 yards with seven touchdowns.

[edit] Philadelphia Eagles

On August 28, 2006, Stallworth was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for linebacker Mark Simoneau and a conditional fourth round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. In Stallworth's first game with the Eagles, less than two weeks after the trade, he caught six passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. Due to a nagging hamstring injury, he missed three games early in the regular season, but finished the year with 725 yards and five touchdowns. Hamstring injuries have been a persistent problem throughout his professional career.

In March 2007, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Stallworth was in the league substance abuse program.^[1]

[edit] New England Patriots

On March 11, 2007, Stallworth agreed to terms with the New England Patriots on a reported six-year deal worth $30 million with $3.5 million guaranteed. The contract was incentive laden, meaning that the Patriots could release him if he underperformed for a small fraction of the full contract.^[2] On February 22, 2008, the Patriots declined the option on his contract and he became a free agent.

[edit] Cleveland Browns

On March 1, 2008, Stallworth signed a seven-year, $35 million deal with the Cleveland Browns.^[3]

[edit] Manslaughter charges

On the morning of March 14, 2009, a 2005 Bentley coupe driven by Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian in Miami Beach, Florida. Stallworth was headed toward the beach when he hit Mario Reyes, 59. Police initially investigated the accident further to see if charges against Stallworth would be warranted.^{[citation needed]}

Stallworth admitted to drinking the night prior to the accident. According to early reports Stallworth was legally drunk at the time of the accident;^[4] news sources reported that his blood alcohol content was 0.12, over the nation wide legal limit of 0.08.^[5][6] Stallworth claims that he flashed his car's headlights to warn Reyes before striking him.^[7] A Miami Beach police report said Reyes was not in a crosswalk on busy MacArthur Causeway when he was struck by the black 2005 Bentley Continental GT driven by Stallworth. Police estimated Stallworth was driving about 50 mph in a 40 mph zone.^[8] The construction crane operator was trying to catch a bus home after finishing his shift around 7:15 a.m.^[9]

Stallworth was charged with DUI and second degree manslaughter on April 1, 2009; he surrendered to police on April 2, 2009 and was released on $200,000 bail.^[10] He pled guilty, and received a sentence of 30 days in jail, plus 1,000 hours of community service, 2 years of house arrest, and 8 years probation.^[11] He has also received a life-time suspension of his Florida state driver's license.^[12]

On July 10, 2009, Stallworth was released from jail after serving 24 days of a 30-day sentence.

The Associated Press reported on June 16, 2009, that Stallworth and the Reyes family reached a financial agreement, avoiding a civil lawsuit. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.^[13]

On August 13, 2009, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated that Stallworth would be suspended for the entire 2009 season without pay. Stallworth will be reinstated after Super Bowl XLIV.^[14]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Donté Stallworth on Twitter
• Official website
• Cleveland Browns bio
• New England Patriots bio