Buchanon with theHouston Texans in 2006 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 31 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Cornerback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1980-09-19)September 19, 1980 (age 45) Fort Myers, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 192 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Lehigh Acres (FL) Lehigh | ||||||||||||||
| College | Miami (FL) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2002: 1st round, 17th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Phillip Darren Buchanon (born September 19, 1980) is an American former professionalfootball player who was acornerback who played in theNational Football League (NFL). He played college football at theUniversity of Miami, and was selected by theOakland Raiders in the first round of the2002 NFL draft. Buchanon also played for theHouston Texans,Tampa Bay Buccaneers,Detroit Lions, andWashington Redskins before retiring after the 2011 season.
Buchanon playedhigh school football atLehigh Senior High School inLehigh Acres, Florida where he started at bothrunning back anddefensive back. During his senior year, he earned an All-State selection. He finished his career with 102tackles and seveninterceptions. He also lettered inbasketball,track, andbaseball.
Buchanon was also on the school'strack & field team, where he was a standout sprinter for three seasons. He posted personal bests of 10.5 seconds in the100 meters and 21.8 in the200 meters, and was also timed at 4.3 seconds in the40-yard dash.[1] He joined the Hurricanes' track team in 2001, and won the60 meters at the Meyo Invitational, recording a career-best time of 6.79 seconds.[2]
Buchanon playedcollege football at theUniversity of Miami. During his junior year, he earnedAll-American honors as areturner and was a finalist for theMosi Tatupu Award. He finished his career with 88 tackles and seven interceptions on defense, and 32 punt returns for 477 yards and twotouchdowns as a returner.
At the NFL Combine he ran a 4.3140-yard dash, tied for the fastest time in 2002.[3]
Buchanon was drafted by theOakland Raiders 17th overall in the2002 NFL draft.[4] He spent three seasons with the Raiders recording 122 tackles and 11 interceptions.
On April 25, 2005, the Raiders traded Buchanon to the Houston Texans for asecond andthird round pick in the2005 NFL draft.[5] He spent two years in Houston playing in 14 games, recording 37 tackles. He played four games for the Texans in 2006 before being released on October 16, 2006.
Buchanon signed with theTampa Bay Buccaneers on October 17, 2006. He finished the 2006 season with the Buccaneers recording 24 tackles and intercepting two passes. During 2007, he took over as the Buccaneers starting cornerback alongsideRonde Barber due toBrian Kelly's struggles with injury.
Buchanon was signed by theDetroit Lions on March 4, 2009, to help the secondary after the 2008 season. He played in 13 games for the Lions recording 43 tackles, a sack, and 4 passes defended. He was released on March 4, 2010.
Buchanon signed with theWashington Redskins on March 29, 2010. After re-signing with the Redskins for the2011 season, Buchanon was suspended by the team for four games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy.[6]After his suspension ended, Buchanon was added to 53-man roster after rookieBrandyn Thompson was waived and added to the Redskins' practice squad.[7]On November 5, 2011, Buchanon was placed on injured reserve having played in only one game the entire season in Week 7 against theCarolina Panthers.[8]
| Year | Team | GP | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sack | FF | FR | Yds | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | OAK | 6 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 81 | 41 | 81 | 1 | 5 |
| 2003 | OAK | 16 | 42 | 40 | 2 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 176 | 29 | 83 | 2 | 10 |
| 2004 | OAK | 14 | 59 | 50 | 9 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 23 | 37 | 1 | 9 |
| 2005 | HOU | 10 | 35 | 29 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2006 | HOU | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2006 | TB | 10 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2007 | TB | 16 | 61 | 59 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 10 |
| 2008 | TB | 16 | 52 | 48 | 4 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 17 | 26 | 1 | 6 |
| 2009 | DET | 13 | 43 | 38 | 5 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2010 | WAS | 16 | 49 | 41 | 8 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 51 | 26 | 43 | 0 | 18 |
| 2011 | WAS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 122 | 388 | 348 | 40 | 1.0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 432 | 22 | 83 | 5 | 74 | |
Buchanon is thecousin of formerTennessee Titansdefensive endJevon Kearse.
He was offered a $500,000 contract by theCincinnati Reds to play baseball but ultimately decided to play football instead.[10]
In Buchanon's bookNew Money: Staying Rich (2015, Two Harbors Press) he describes the money troubles common among young athletes who come into sudden wealth. Among other anecdotes he describes how his mother demanded a million dollars from him as compensation for raising him, after he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with a $4.9 million signing bonus.[11] He refused to pay the cash to her, noting among other objections: "If you do the math, one million dollars divided by 18 years of raising me was approximately $55,555.55 a year in restitution," an amount he considered excessive.[12] He instead bought her an upscale home to occupy and paid the house's mortgage and maintenance costs; she used his childhood home as a rental property. After seven years he realized the new home's upkeep was more than he could afford, and Buchanon offered his mother a choice: he would either pay her a lump-sum, or buy a smaller house outright with no mortgage for her and his younger siblings to occupy. He reported that she took the cash and moved back to his childhood home, only to eventually lose it to foreclosure.[12]
In 2016, Buchanon launched aboard game,New Money: Staying Rich, designed to teach principles of financial literacy and management.[13][14][15][16][17]