| No. 82 Arizona Cardinals | |
| Long snapper | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: October 18, 1976 | |
| Place of birth: Dover, New Jersey | |
| Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | Weight: 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: William & Mary | |
| Undrafted in 2000 | |
| Debuted in 2000 for the Tennessee Titans | |
| Career history | |
|
|
| Roster status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 15, 2011 | |
| Games played | 169 |
| Kick returns | 1 |
| Kick return yards | 10 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
John Michael Leach (born October 18, 1976, in Dover, New Jersey) is an American football long snapper for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2000. He played college football at William & Mary.
Leach has also been a member of the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos.
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Leach attended Jefferson Township High School in Jefferson Township, New Jersey.[1] He lettered in football, baseball and basketball. In football, he was a first-team All-State selection as a punter. In basketball, Leach graduated as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in Jefferson Township High School Falcon history. Scoring most of those points under the tutelage of Gregg Eck, Leach appeared in 3 NJSIAA play-off games.[1]
Leach attended Boston University (1995–1997) and The College of William & Mary (1998–2000). At The College of William and Mary, during his junior season, his 58 receptions by a tight end were the second-most for the position in school history (to Glenn Bodnar's 69 catches in 1984) and his punting average set a single-season school record of 44.4 yards.[1] The performance earned him Associated Press second-team All-America and second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors that season. He also earned first-team Walter Camp All-American honors at tight end as a senior.[1]
Leach signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans on April 20, 2000.[2] He played in 15 games for the Titans during the 2000 season and four games during the 2001 season before being released by the team.
Leach signed a future contract with the Chicago Bears on January 10, 2002 and attended training camp with the team before being waived on August 26.
He signed with the Denver Broncos on November 4, 2002, and served as the team's long snapper for the eight remaining games that the Broncos had during the 2002 season.[1] His first game with the Broncos occurred on November 11, 2002, as part of a 34-10 home loss to the Oakland Raiders.[3]
Leach served as the Broncos long snapper in every game through the 2008 season since his first appearance with the team in 2002.[1] He was featured in an August 2007 issue of Sports Illustrated in which writer Peter King listed the top 500 players in the NFL. Leach was ranked number 1,000 as a symbolic gesture to show that every player has a necessary role on a roster.[4]
The Broncos released Leach on March 1, 2009 after the team signed free agent long snapper Lonie Paxton.
Leach was signed by the Arizona Cardinals on March 11, 2009, replacing recently released incumbent Nathan Hodel.[5]