_(cropped).jpg) Randle with theSeattle Seahawks in 2002 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Defensive tackle | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1967-12-12)December 12, 1967 (age 58) Mumford, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 290 lb (132 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Hearne (Hearne, Texas) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Trinity Valley (1986–1987) Texas A&I (1988–1989) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1990: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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John Anthony Randle (born December 12, 1967) is an American former professionalfootball player who was adefensive tackle for eleven seasons for theMinnesota Vikings and three seasons for theSeattle Seahawks of theNational Football League (NFL). He was a six-time first-teamAll-Pro and seven-timePro Bowler. Since becoming an official stat in 1982, his 137.5 sacks rank tenth, tied withRichard Dent, and first among defensive tackles. On February 6, 2010, he was voted into thePro Football Hall of Fame.[1]He playedcollege football for theTrinity Valley Cardinals and theTexas A&I Javelinas, and was signed by the Vikings as anundrafted free agent after the1990 NFL draft. He is considered one of the greatest undrafted players of all time.[2][3]
Born inMumford, Texas, Randle was raised in poverty and worked odd jobs when he was young.[4] His brotherErvin played as alinebacker in the NFL for eight years.[5] Randle played high school football inHearne, Texas. He started his college playing career atTrinity Valley Community College, before transferring toTexas A&M University–Kingsville.
Randle wentundrafted; he tried out for his brother's team, theTampa Bay Buccaneers, but at 6'1" and 244 pounds was thought to be too small, and was not signed to a contract. The Vikings picked up Randle after the draft on Head Scout Don Deisch's recommendation. They told Randle he would be picked up only if he came back with his weight over 250, so when he was weighed in he hid a chain under his sweats.[6]
Randle played his first season in1990. He went to his firstPro Bowl in 1993 after recording 11.5sacks, and quickly became one of his era's dominant defensive tackles. OnceHenry Thomas left the Vikings, Randle increased his training regimen. He recorded double-digit sacks during nine different seasons, including a career-high and league-leading 15.5 in 1997.[7] In a 1999 game against the 49ers, he recorded his only career interception.
Like fellow Minnesota VikingChris Hovan, Randle was known for eccentricface painting as well as trash-talking on the field, and disarming on-field heckling of opposing players.[8] Among Randle's most famous on-fieldcatchphrases was "Six footers for LIFE!", an allusion to scouting criticism of being undersized for his position.
Randle had an ongoing rivalry withPackersquarterbackBrett Favre, whom he sacked more than any other quarterback; Favre said that Randle was the toughest defensive player he faced and that "on artificial turf he's unblockable".[9] To play off the rivalry with Favre, Randle starred in a commercial featuring him sewing a miniature version of Favre's #4 jersey, which he put on a live chicken. The commercial then showed Randle chasing the chicken around what was supposed to be Randle's backyard and ended with him grilling chicken, leading to fierce protests byPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.[9]
Randle's pass-rushing techniques were motion-captured for989 Sports'sNFL Xtreme series. He was the cover athlete for the second game in the series.[10]
At the end of the2000 season,[11] Randle signed with theSeattle Seahawks. In hisfirst season with the Seahawks, he earned an invite to thePro Bowl, the last of his career. Randle retired in 2004.[12] He had planned to retire in 2003, but Seahawks coachMike Holmgren convinced him to stay one more year. The Seahawks made the playoffs in2003 while he was on the roster, but did not reach the Super Bowl, losing in the Wild Card Round to thePackers. Randle also acquired his final sack in 2003.
Randle left the NFL tied withRichard Dent for fifth in career sacks. His 137.5 sacks remain the second-highest total by a defensive tackle in NFL history, below fellow Vikings legendAlan Page, who had 148.5.[13] Over his career, he was named to seven Pro Bowl squads. He was named All Tackle Machine of 1999 byTackle: The Magazine.[citation needed]
After retiring, Holmgren said of Randle, "He has more fun than any 10 players I've ever seen. There's the John Randle football player and there's the John Randle that might come up to my office and we'll talk about something. There really are two distinctly different guys, and sometimes in this business you get to see that. For a coach, he just makes things worth it."[14]
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | ||
| 1990 | MIN | 16 | 0 | 21 | — | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1991 | MIN | 16 | 8 | 58 | — | — | 9.5 | 2 | 0 |
| 1992 | MIN | 16 | 14 | 56 | — | — | 11.5 | 0 | 1 |
| 1993 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 59 | — | — | 12.5 | 3 | 0 |
| 1994 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 42 | 30 | 12 | 13.5 | 3 | 2 |
| 1995 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 44 | 33 | 11 | 10.5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1996 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 46 | 35 | 11 | 11.5 | 4 | 0 |
| 1997 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 58 | 47 | 11 | 15.5 | 2 | 2 |
| 1998 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 41 | 27 | 14 | 10.5 | 3 | 1 |
| 1999 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 38 | 29 | 9 | 10.0 | 4 | 3 |
| 2000 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 26 | 25 | 1 | 8.0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2001 | SEA | 15 | 14 | 34 | 26 | 8 | 11.0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2002 | SEA | 12 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | SEA | 16 | 9 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 5.5 | 0 | 1 |
| Career | 219 | 185 | 471 | 277 | 84 | 137.5 | 29 | 11 | |
Randle was elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame and inducted into the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor in 2008.[15] He was eligible for thePro Football Hall of Fame starting in 2009, and was elected in 2010.[16] Randle was inducted inCanton, Ohio, on August 7, 2010, alongsideJerry Rice,Emmitt Smith,Floyd Little,Russ Grimm,Rickey Jackson, andDick LeBeau.[17] He was also inducted into theTexas Sports Hall of Fame that year[18] and had his number retired by his former high school team. In 2019, Randle was inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame. He lives inMedina, Minnesota, with his wife and children.[19]
Randle served as a Minnesota delegate to the2024 Democratic National Convention.[20]
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