Will Blackmon

William Edwards Blackmon (born October 27, 1984) is a former American football safety and return specialist. He played college football for the Boston College Eagles, and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He has also played for the New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Redskins, and briefly for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

Will Blackmon
Blackmon in 2017
No. 27, 30, 36, 24, 41
Position:Free Safety
Personal information
Born: (1984-10-27) October 27, 1984
Providence, Rhode Island
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:212 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High school:Warwick (RI) Hendricken
College:Boston College
NFL Draft:2006 / Round: 4 / Pick: 115
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:209
Sacks:3.5
Forced fumbles:9
Interceptions:4
Return yards:2,435
Total touchdowns:5
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

Blackmon was born in Providence, Rhode Island but grew up in Cranston.[1] He was raised by his father and grandmother after his mother died from Crohn's disease when he was 6 years old.[2]

Blackmon attended Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island. At Hendricken, Blackmon earned 2001 All-America first-team honors from USA Today, ESPN.com, SuperPrep and PrepStar as a senior. He was named Gatorade Rhode Island Player of the Year after his senior season.[2][3] Blackmon excelled in basketball and track; he won the 100-meter dash in the Rhode Island state meet with a time of 10.87 seconds.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Blackmon had a 57-yard punt return touchdown and a fumble-return touchdown as the Green Bay Packers wrapped up the NFC North title with a 38-7 win on December 10, 2007 over the Oakland Raiders. They were the first and second touchdowns of his career. He became just the fourth player in NFL history to accomplish the feat of a kick and fumble return in the same game, and the first since 1974. In 9 games, he recorded 4 solo tackles and a pass deflected.

In the first game of his 2008 season with the Packers, Blackmon returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings. He was later named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 1.[4]

In week 10 of the 2008 NFL season, against the Minnesota Vikings once again, Blackmon returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown.[5]

Blackmon was released on an injury settlement from the Packers during 2010 roster cutdowns.

New York Giants

Blackmon signed with the New York Giants on October 29, 2010. After being placed on injured reserve, the Giants waived Blackmon on January 2, 2011. Then on November 23, 2011, after the Giants secondary got depleted with injuries, Blackmon re-signed with the team. He won a Super Bowl ring when the Giants defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.[6] He was released in the off-season and was signed by the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League but never played for them.

Seattle Seahawks

On February 13, 2013, Blackmon signed with the Seattle Seahawks. He was released by the team on August 27, 2013.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On August 28, 2013, Blackmon was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. On November 10, 2013, in a game against the Tennessee Titans, he caused and recovered a Ryan Fitzpatrick fumble and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown, helping the Jaguars secure their first win of the season. He was released on February 26, 2015.[7]

Blackmon with the Seahawks in the 2015 preseason.

Seattle Seahawks (second stint)

On March 9, 2015, Blackmon signed a deal to return to the Seattle Seahawks.[8][9] He was released for final roster cuts before the start of the season on September 6, 2015.[10]

Washington Redskins

Blackmon signed a one-year contract with the Washington Redskins on September 15, 2015.[11] After testing the free agency market for the 2016 offseason, Blackmon re-signed with the Redskins on a two-year contract on March 14, 2016.[12] Early in the 2016 offseason, the Redskins moved him from the cornerback position to free safety.[13] He recorded his first interception of the season against Chicago Bears quarterback Matt Barkley in the team's Week 16 win.[14]

On September 2, 2017, Blackmon was released by the Redskins.[15]

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On July 24, 2018, Blackmon signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was cut from the team's roster on July 30, 2018.[16] Blackmon was then activated by the Saskatchewan Roughriders and made his CFL debut as starting corner on September 2, 2018 in a win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, in which he recorded 4 tackles and forced one fumble.[17] It was Blackmon's only game in the CFL; he retired shortly afterwards and accepted a job on NFL Network.[18] He served as a studio analyst for Sky Sports UK telecasts for weeks 1 through 8 of the 2019 NFL season.[19]

References
  1. Shalin, Mike (August 25, 2004). "Blackmon loves life on the road: BC junior cornerback can't wait to go into hostile territory to play". Milford Daily News. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  2. Fortes, Mark. "Hard Work and Dedication-Will Blackmon". Pour Topps the Magazine. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  3. "Bio: Will Blackmon.com".
  4. Will Blackmon Named NFC Special Teams Player Of The Week
  5. ESPN - Green Bay vs. Minnesota - Drive Chart - November 09, 2008
  6. "Super Bowl XLVI - New York Giants vs. New England Patriots - February 5th, 2012". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  7. Sessler, Marc (February 26, 2015). "Jacksonville Jaguars release CB Will Blackmon". NFL.com. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  8. Will Blackmon signs deal with Seattle Seahawks
  9. "Seahawks sign three players". Seahawks.com. March 10, 2015.
  10. Kapadia, Sheil (September 6, 2015). "Seattle Seahawks cut 23 players, including Will Blackmon". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  11. McMillan, Keith. "Redskins sign cornerback Will Blackmon, place Duke Ihenacho on IR". Washington Post. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  12. Keim, John. "Will Blackmon, Redskins agree to two-year deal". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  13. Czarda, Stephen (May 11, 2016). "05/11: Redskins Roster Position Updates". Redskins.com. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  14. Washington Times December 24 2016 report of game in which Blackmon made an interception.
  15. "9/2: Redskins Make Roster Moves". Redskins.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017.
  16. "RIDERS TRANSACTIONS - July 30th - Saskatchewan Roughriders". Saskatchewan Roughriders. July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  17. https://www.cfl.ca/players/will-blackmon/161309/
  18. http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20180929/eric-rueb-field-hockeys-four-team-rivalry-taking-shape-again
  19. https://mobile.twitter.com/willblackmon/status/1168995597766053888?lang=en
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