.jpg) Clifton with the Green Bay Packers in 2011 | |||||||||
| No. 76 | |||||||||
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| Position | Offensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1976-06-26)June 26, 1976 (age 49) Martin, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 320 lb (145 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Westview (Martin, Tennessee) | ||||||||
| College | Tennessee (1995–1999) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2000: 2nd round, 44th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Jeffrey Chad Clifton (born June 26, 1976) is an American former professionalfootball player who was anoffensive tackle for 12 seasons with theGreen Bay Packers of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theTennessee Volunteers and was selected by the Packers in the second round of the2000 NFL draft. During his career, he was named to twoPro Bowls and was part of the team that wonSuper Bowl XLV over thePittsburgh Steelers.
Clifton was born inMartin, Tennessee.[1] AtWestview High School in Martin, Clifton was an all-around athlete.[2] Helettered four times infootball,starting his last three seasons as a two-way player. In addition to football, he was on the basketball team for three years. Throughout his high school years, Clifton played on thedefensive tackle position and ontight end as a sophomore andoffensive tackle in his junior and senior years. As a senior, he was named anAll-American byParade andScholastic Coach magazines and received theGatorade Circle of Champions "Player of the Year" award and Tennessee Class 2A Mr. Football lineman award.[3] Clifton's team lost in the state playoffs in his junior and senior years toBriarcrest Christian School inMemphis, Tennessee, whose offensive coordinator was formerOle Miss head coachHugh Freeze.
In 1995, Clifton enrolled at theUniversity of Tennessee andredshirted his first year. From then on, he was a fixture on theoffensive line.[4] He started one season at the right tackle position and three at the left tackle position.[5] During these four years, theTennessee Volunteers enjoyed great success with a 43–7 record and a win in theFiesta Bowl overFlorida State following the1998 regular season to claim theNational Championship.[6][7][8] Clifton was a two-timeAll-Southeastern Conference selection (1997 second-team, 1998 first-team) and aSporting News second-team All-American as a senior.[3]
During the2000 NFL draft, the Packers selected Clifton in the second round with the 44th overall pick.[9]
Halfway through his rookie season, Clifton took over the starting left tackle position and would remain there for the rest of the season.[10] He enjoyed continued success during his second season when he established a reputation as one of the NFL's best and unheralded blindsideblockers forBrett Favre. He started 14 of the 16 regular season games and both playoff games in the 2001 season.[11]
Clifton's2002 season seemed as promising as his first two.[12] However, on November 24, he suffered a severepelvic injury after receiving a blindside hit from theTampa Bay Buccaneersdefensive tackleWarren Sapp.[13] Because the incident occurred after aninterception with Clifton far from the play, Sapp received harsh criticism for his action.[14][15][16] After the game, when Packers head coachMike Sherman told Sapp that his play was uncalled for, Sapp began angrily shouting at Sherman in a tirade that was caught on camera, with Sapp famously screaming "put a jersey on".[17][18][19] For his part, Sapp did not visit or telephone Clifton during his four-day stay in a Tampa Bay hospital.[20] As a result of his injury, Clifton missed the rest of the season, was hospitalized for almost a week, and could not walk unaided for five more weeks.[21][22] In 2005, theNFL Competition Committee agreed on new guidelines for "unnecessary roughness", making hits such as that suffered by Clifton illegal.[23]
Clifton returned in2003 to start all 16 regular season games and two more games in the playoffs.[24][25] He played all 1,031 offensive snaps that season and contributed to establishing a team record for fewestsacks allowed in a season with 19.[26][27][28]
Clifton started all games for the Packers in the 2004 and 2005 seasons before being inactive in Week 7 of the 2006 season.[29][30] He started every game the rest of the 2006 season.[31]
In the 2007 season, Clifton started all 16 games in the regular season and the Packers' two playoff games.[32] On January 23, 2008, it was announced that he would replaceSeattle Seahawks tackleWalter Jones in the2008 Pro Bowl, which was his first career Pro Bowl.[33][34] He went toHawaii to the Pro Bowl with teammates wide receiverDonald Driver, defensive endAaron Kampman, and cornerbackAl Harris, as well ashead coachMike McCarthy. Clifton's quarterback, Brett Favre, was scheduled to be in the Pro Bowl, but was replaced byJeff Garcia.[35]
Clifton started and appeared in 15 games in the 2008 season.[36] He started and appeared in 12 regular season games and one playoff game for the Packers in the 2009 season.[37]
On March 5, 2010, the Packers re-signed Clifton to a three-year, $20 million contract, with $7.5 million guaranteed.[38]
Clifton appeared in all 16 regular season games and four postseason games for the Packers in the 2010 season.[39] At the end of the 2010 season, Clifton and the Packers appeared inSuper Bowl XLV. He was a starter in the 31–25 victory over thePittsburgh Steelers.[40] He earned a second career Pro Bowl nomination.[41] He was ranked 99th by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2011.[42]
In the 2011 season, Clifton missed a majority of the season with back and hamstring injuries.[43]
On April 23, 2012, Clifton was released by the Packers after failing a physical.[44]
Clifton did not sign with another NFL team after his release.
In 2016, Clifton was named to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.[45][46]
In 2017, Clifton was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.[47]
Media related toChad Clifton at Wikimedia Commons