Donte' Stallworth
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| Donte' Stallworth | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | November 10, 1980 (age 26) |
| Place of birth |  Sacramento, CA |
| Position(s) | Wide Receiver |
| College | Tennessee |
| NFL Draft | 2002 / Round 1 / Pick 13 |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2002–2005 2006 2007-present |
New Orleans Saints Philadelphia Eagles New England Patriots |
Donté Lamar Stallworth (born November 10, 1980) is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was selected by the New Orleans Saints with the 13th pick of the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft out of the University of Tennessee.
[edit] Early years
Stallworth was born and raised in Sacramento, California. He attended Grant High School there and was a star in football and track & field. Stallworth was a high school teammate of former Minnesota Vikings running back Onterrio Smith and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Paris Warren.
Stallworth went to the University of Tennessee, where his nickname was "Hands," as his teammates marveled at Donté's ability to come up with seemingly impossible catches on a regular basis.
[edit] Professional career
He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints with the 13th pick in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft. Stallworth 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.
On August 28, 2006, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for linebacker Mark Simoneau and a conditional fourth round pick in the 2007 Draft. The Eagles made the deal for him because they needed a speed receiver to line up at the X in Andy Reid's version of the West Coast Offense. 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, Stallworth missed three games early in the regular season, but finished the year with 725 yards and five touchdowns.
Stallworth's exceptional speed and quickness makes him a difficult receiver for corners to cover. Donte' is one of the fastest receivers (a 4.22-4.26 time in the 40-yard dash at his Pro Day workout at Tennessee)[1] in the NFL. Note that reports that Donte' ran a sub-4.3 time at the Combine are erroneous, considering Donte' did not work out at the NFL Combine, like most other highly-rated wide receivers.
In February 2007 ESPN reported that Stallworth was in the league substance abuse program. [2]
On March 11, 2007, Stallworth agreed to terms with the New England Patriots in a reported six-year deal worth $30 million with $12 million guaranteed. The contract is incentive laden, meaning that the Patriots could release him if he underperforms for a small fraction of the full contract. He is also reunited with fellow receiver and college teammate Kelley Washington, who was also brought into the Patriots via free agency on March 11, 2007. [3]
