Tracy Porter

Tracy Porter

Porter with the Denver Broncos in 2012.
No. 22 Washington Redskins
Position: Cornerback
Personal information
Date of birth: August 11, 1986
Place of birth: Port Allen, Louisiana
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight: 188 lb (85 kg)
Career information
High school: Port Allen (LA)
College: Indiana
NFL draft: 2008 / Round: 2 / Pick: 40
Career history
Roster status: Injured Reserve
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2014
Tackles: 287
Quarterback sacks: 2.5
Pass deflections: 51
Interceptions: 10
Forced fumbles: 4
Touchdowns: 3
Stats at NFL.com

Tracy O'Neil Porter (born August 11, 1986) is an American football cornerback for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Indiana.

Porter has also played for the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders.

Early years

Porter attended Port Allen High School, where he played quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and cornerback. He earned first team All-District 3A honors in his first year of organized football as a junior and second-team as a senior after recording 93 tackles and 11 interceptions.

College career

Porter played college football for the Indiana University Hoosiers from 2004-2007. During his senior year he earned All-Big Ten Conference first-team. He finished his career second in Indiana Hoosiers history with 16 career interceptions and first in interception yards with 413. He also became the first player in school history to return a punt, interception and fumble for touchdowns in his career. He finished his career with 212 tackles and 16 interceptions.

Professional career

Pre Draft

Porter improved his draft stock with an impressive showing at the NFL Combine. His 4.37 40 yard dash time there was tied for the 10th fastest of all of the attending players and his 4.07 20 and 11.22 60 yard shuttle times were each tied for 4th fastest at the Combine.[1]

New Orleans Saints

Porter was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played in five games during his rookie season before being placed on injured reserve after dislocating his wrist.

Late in the 4th quarter of the Saints' dramatic come-from-behind win in Week 7 of their 2009 season, Porter intercepted Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne on 4th and long; his 54 yard return resulted in a touchdown, sealing their win. Midway through the 4th quarter of the NFC Championship game on January 24, 2010, with the Minnesota Vikings already in the red zone and driving towards a score, Porter punched the ball out of the hands of Vikings WR Bernard Berrian; the fumble was recovered by the Saints. Later, with less than a minute left in regulation, and the Vikings almost within range of a game-winning field goal, Porter intercepted a pass from Minnesota's QB Brett Favre, sending the game to overtime. The Saints later prevailed with a final score of 31-28.

Porter's clutch performance in the 2009-10 season continued late in the 4th quarter of Super Bowl XLIV vs. the Indianapolis Colts. With the Colts in Saints' territory, Tracy Porter jumped Colts WR Reggie Wayne's route and intercepted Peyton Manning's pass, returning the interception 74 yards for a touchdown. The score ended the Colts' hopes of a comeback and sealed New Orleans' first Super Bowl victory. In interviews after the game, Porter credited his pick to film study of the Colts' season. "I'd seen it over and over -- third down," Porter said. "That was a big route for them to convert on. Through the numerous amounts of film study that we've done all week in preparing for the Super Bowl... it all happened just like I was watching it on film. I made the break on it, and here comes the end zone."[2]

In the aftermath of the Super Bowl win, Porter was honored by his home town, Port Allen, which first jokingly renamed the city "Porter Allen" for a day in his honor,[3][4] then later named a street after him.[5]

Denver Broncos

On March 22, 2012, Porter signed a one-year contract with the Denver Broncos.[6] In his first game as a Bronco, Porter returned an interception off Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for a touchdown to seal the Broncos' opening day victory.[7] He then won the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award for his performance. However, prior to the Broncos' Week 6 game at the San Diego Chargers, he experienced aftereffects from a seizure that he suffered during the preseason. Porter returned to practice on a limited basis over the next several weeks,[8] and later returned to game action late in the regular season, only to suffer a concussion and miss the playoffs.[9]

Oakland Raiders

Porter was signed by the Oakland Raiders to a one-year contract on April 2, 2013 worth $2.5 million.[10] In a game against the New York Giants on November 10, 2013, Porter became the first player in NFL history to return an interception for a touchdown against both Peyton and Eli Manning.[11]

Washington Redskins

On March 13, 2014, Porter was signed by the Washington Redskins to a two-year contract.[12][13] Porter was placed on injured reserve on November 26, 2014.[14]

NFL stats

Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD
2008 NO 5 25 23 2 1.0 0 0 0 1 25 25 25 0 5
2009 NO 12 57 48 9 0.0 2 0 0 4 72 18 54 1 12
2010 NO 12 60 45 15 0.0 0 1 2 1 5 5 5 0 6
2011 NO 14 52 42 10 0.0 2 1 0 1 -7 -7 -7 0 9
2012 DEN 6 21 16 5 0.0 0 0 0 1 43 43 43 1 6
2013 OAK 16 67 53 14 1.5 0 0 0 2 44 22 43 1 12
Career 66 284 227 57 2.5 4 2 0 10 182 18 54 3 50

[15]

Key

References

  1. ↑ Combine Top Performers
  2. ↑ Aron Angel, "Saints' Porter jumps Wayne's route, runs into Super Bowl history", NFL.com, February 8, 2010.
  3. ↑ Tyana Williams, "City changes its name to Porter Allen", WAFB, February 8, 2010.
  4. ↑ Bradley Handwerger, "Saints CB Porter enjoying the moment, but ready to get back with teammates", WWL-TV, March 31, 2010.
  5. ↑ Koran Addo, "Port Allen renames street to honor Porter", The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.), April 20, 2010.
  6. ↑ Source: Broncos, Tracy Porter agree
  7. ↑ Klis, Mike (September 9, 2012). "Peyton Manning leads Denver Broncos to strong first win over Steelers He got ill midway through the season.". denverpost.com. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  8. ↑ Caldwell, Gray (October 25, 2012). "Porter Dealing with August Seizure". denverbroncos.com. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  9. ↑ Davis, Sam (December 23, 2012). "Injury Update". denverbroncos.com. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  10. ↑ Smith, Michael David (April 2, 2013). "Raiders sign Tracy Porter". ProFootballTalk.com. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  11. ↑ http://www.insidebayarea.com/raiders/ci_24496132/raiders-notebook-pryor-laments-teams-failure-first-and
  12. ↑ Hanzus, Dan. "Tracy Porter, Washington Redskins agree to terms". NFL.com. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  13. ↑ Keim, John (March 17, 2014). "Contract breakdown: Tracy Porter". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
  14. ↑ Keim, John (November 26, 2014). "Tracy Porter to IR, Chase Minnifield promoted". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
  15. ↑ "Tracy Porter Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 6 October 2014.

External links