| No. 90, 57 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1974-10-19)October 19, 1974 (age 50) St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 272 lb (123 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Florida Christian School (Olympia Heights, Florida) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Florida State | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1998: 1st round, 3rd pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Andre Wadsworth (born October 19, 1974) is a formerfootballdefensive end. He playedCollege football forFlorida State University, and earnedAll-American honors. He was selected in the first round of the1998 NFL draft by theArizona Cardinals.
Wadsworth was born inSt. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. He attended Class AFlorida Christian School inMiami-Dade County, Florida, where he starred attight end for the Florida Christian Patriotshigh school football team. Wadsworth was named first-team All-Dade County and voted all-conference and second-team all-state as a defensive lineman. He also returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
Wadsworth wasrecruited by only one small college, Stony Brook in New York. Wadsworth decided to attend Florida State University, and played for theFlorida State Seminoles football team as awalk-on and eventually earned anathletic scholarship. He received second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons (1994–1996) as adefensive tackle. Despite being a potential top-10 NFL Draft pick after his junior season, he stayed for his senior year, citing a pinched nerve in his neck that forced him out of four games in 1996 as a concern regarding his physical capabilities to perform forscouts at full capacity.
He switched from defensive tackle to left defensive end for his senior season, registering 59 tackles, 19tackles for a loss and 16quarterback sacks, placing him second in both categories in the school's all-time records. One of four finalists for theLombardi Award, he was named first-team All-ACC and a consensus first-teamAll-American. He was also selected ACC Player of the Year, and ACC Defensive Player of the year in 1997.
Wadsworth bench pressed 500 pounds and had a personal best in the squat of 690.[1] The Steelers' college personnel director, Tom Modrak, said: "He's like a missile when he comes off the ball. He can keep his pads low and still run full speed. He's flexible, and he's around 280 pounds."[1]
Wadsworth was regarded as the No. 1 prospect in the1998 NFL draft.[2][3] He was selected in the first round with the third overall pick by theArizona Cardinals.[4]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft3+5⁄8 in (1.92 m) | 278 lb (126 kg) | 34+1⁄4 in (0.87 m) | 10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) | 4.65 s | 4.38 s | 7.42 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) | 9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) | ||||
| All values fromNFL Combine[2][5][6] | ||||||||||||
A lengthy holdout ensued, centered almost directly on both his demand to be paid closer to the contracts signed by the two previous picks,Indianapolis Colts'Peyton Manning out ofUniversity of Tennessee at No. 1 and theSan Diego Chargers'Ryan Leaf fromWashington State University at No. 2 rather than one closer toHeisman Trophy winnerCharles Woodson selected by theOakland Raiders at No. 4, and a provision allowing him to void the contract before expiration if he chose to do so. The holdout lasted until the night before the season-opener (44 days) with a six-year, $42 million contract including a $10.49 million signing bonus (Manning received $11.6 million on a $48 million contract, Leaf got $11.2 million on a five-year contract totaling $31.2 million), though the player-triggered option out was never consummated.[7]
He played in all 16 games his rookie season, finishing with 5.0 sacks and 57 tackles, including 42 solo. Bothered by a knee injury in 1999, he still managed to play in 11 games, tallying 2.0 sacks, 26 tackles, and his only careerinterception. Off-season knee surgery, the second of his career, held him out from most of the off-season activities, but still managed 13 tackles and one sack in nine games. At the conclusion of the2000 season, Wadsworth underwentmicrofracture surgery on his right knee, the third surgery on that knee in his career, andarthroscopic surgery on the left on January 3 with non-team physician Richard Steadman. Possibly due to concerns after teammateEric Swann's semi-recovery from nine knee surgeries, the Arizona Cardinals released Wadsworth before offering a one-year, $512,000 tender that was eventually pulled off the table within days after it went unsigned.
On January 28, 2007, theSt. Petersburg Times reported that theTampa Bay Buccaneers were planning to give Wadsworth, now 32, a workout.[8] TheNew York Jets gave Wadsworth a workout later in the offseason.[9] On March 26, 2007, the New York Jets signed Wadsworth to a minimum-based salary contract.[10] Wadsworth was also said to be healthy enough to compete for an outside linebacker position. On September 1, 2007, the Jets released him.
| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | ARI | 16 | 56 | 42 | 14 | 5.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1999 | ARI | 11 | 25 | 19 | 6 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 3 |
| 2000 | ARI | 9 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 36 | 94 | 71 | 23 | 8.0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 6 |
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