Will Witherspoon
San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
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Weight: | 242 lb (110 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Panama City (FL) Rutherford | ||||||||||||
College: | Georgia | ||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 2002 / Round: 3 / Pick: 73 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
William Cordell Witherspoon (born August 19, 1980) is a former
Early years
Witherspoon's father served in the US Air Force, and so Witherspoon moved around as a child. However, his family never lived on the military bases, instead deciding to live in the community so the children could experience the culture. In addition to speaking English, he knows how to speak
Witherspoon and his wife Rebecca have three daughters.[1]
College career
He played college football at the University of Georgia, where he was a starter for three years. After playing every game as a true freshman, he started most of the Bulldogs' games for the remainder of his time at Georgia, switching between the middle, strong-side, and weak-side linebacker positions. He graduated with 211 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He was a landscape architecture major.
Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle |
Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 1+1⁄2 in (1.87 m) |
231 lb (105 kg) |
4.58 s | 1.73 s | 2.76 s | 4.21 s | 7.09 s | 38 in (0.97 m) |
10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) |
25 reps | |||
All values from NFL Combine.[2]
|
Carolina Panthers
Witherspoon was drafted by the
He intercepted his first pass off New Orleans Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks. During Super Bowl XXXVIII, Witherspoon posted a career-high 16 tackles. He ended the campaign with a total of 99 tackles, one sack and one interception. The following year, "Spoon" was one of the few defensive players to start every game for the Panthers, who were wracked with injuries. Despite the loss of key personnel like defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, the Panthers led the league in interceptions. Witherspoon set personal bests with three sacks and four interceptions and a then career-high of 103 tackles. In 2005, his final year with the Panthers, Witherspoon played in 15 games and finished the season 81 tackles, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions.
St. Louis Rams
On March 12, 2006, as an unrestricted free agent, he signed a six-year, $33 million contract (including $15 million guaranteed) with the St. Louis Rams In his first season (2006) with the Rams, he played in all 16 games and recorded a career-high 113 tackles and three sacks. In 2007, he recorded 110 tackles and a career-high seven sacks and was named Team MVP for 2007.[4][5]
Philadelphia Eagles
On October 20, 2009 Witherspoon was traded from the Rams to the
He was released on March 5, 2010.
Tennessee Titans
Witherspoon was signed by the Tennessee Titans on March 9, 2010. He was voted by his teammates as the Titans Ed Block Courage Award recipient [7]
Second stint with Rams
On July 18, 2013, Witherspoon signed with the St. Louis Rams.[8]
NFL career statistics
Legend | |
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Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
2002 | CAR | 15 | 8 | 71 | 56 | 15 | 1.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2003 | CAR | 16 | 16 | 99 | 74 | 25 | 1.0 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2004 | CAR | 16 | 16 | 103 | 84 | 19 | 3.0 | 5 | 4 | 48 | 0 | 25 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2005 | CAR | 15 | 15 | 81 | 66 | 15 | 2.5 | 5 | 2 | 35 | 1 | 35 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2006 | STL | 16 | 16 | 116 | 102 | 14 | 3.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2007 | STL | 16 | 16 | 110 | 92 | 18 | 7.0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2008 | STL | 16 | 12 | 72 | 57 | 15 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2009 | STL | 6 | 6 | 32 | 28 | 4 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PHI | 11 | 10 | 58 | 51 | 7 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2010 | TEN | 16 | 16 | 92 | 63 | 29 | 3.0 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2011 | TEN | 16 | 14 | 56 | 41 | 15 | 2.0 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
2012 | TEN | 14 | 5 | 48 | 29 | 19 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 40 | 1 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2013 | STL | 16 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
189 | 153 | 951 | 755 | 196 | 26.0 | 64 | 14 | 182 | 3 | 40 | 76 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
2003 | CAR | 4 | 4 | 27 | 18 | 9 | 1.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2005 | CAR | 3 | 3 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 1.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2009 | PHI | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
8 | 8 | 55 | 41 | 14 | 2.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
After football
After not being signed by any team in the 2013-2014 off season, Witherspoon announced his retirement and took a job as the St. Louis Rams sideline reporter for Rams Radio Network.
Personal life
Witherspoon owns the sustainable Shire Gate Farm near
References
- ^ "ST. Louis Rams Bio". Archived from the original on July 1, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
- ^ "- , : 2002 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". www.nfldraftscout.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "2002 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ NFL.com Archived December 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Stats courtesy of NFL.com
- ^ "STLtoday - Sports - Rams". Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
- ^ "Former Eagle Witherspoon Producing for Titans". TitansOnline.com. October 20, 2010. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ "Ed Block Courage Award Recipients | the ed Block Courage Award Foundation". Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
- NFL.com. Archivedfrom the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
- ^ Gunther, Andrew (February 1, 2013). "A Meat-Free Superbowl Party? Not for Me..." HuffPost. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2013.