| No. 20 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1963-07-15)July 15, 1963 (age 61) Loreauville, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Loreauville (LA) | ||||||||
| College: | Nicholls State | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1985: 7th round, 185th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
As a staff member / executive: | |||||||||
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As an administrator: | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Lionel Vital (born July 15, 1963) is an American former professionalfootballrunning back in theNational Football League (NFL) for theWashington Redskins,Buffalo Bills andDetroit Lions. He was recently the general manager for theHouston Roughnecks of theUnited Football League (UFL). He was a member of theCalgary Stampeders andSaskatchewan Roughriders in theCanadian Football League (CFL). He also was a scout and director of personnel in the NFL. He playedcollege football atNicholls State University.
Vital attendedLoreauville High School, where he practiced football andbaseball. He accepted a football scholarship fromNCAA Division I-AANicholls State University. As a freshman, he was used sparingly as a kickoff returner. As a sophomore, he was a backup atrunning back.
As a junior in 1983, starterOscar Smith (second rusher in school history) missed the semester due to an academic suspension, putting Vital in a position to replace him as the starter and set a single-season record with 776 rushing yards.[1]
As a senior, Smith regained his starting position and Vital went back to a backup role. He finished his college career with 1,518 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns.[2]
In 2017, he was inducted into the Nicholls State Athletics Hall of Fame.
Vital was selected by theWashington Redskins in the seventh round (185th overall) of the1985 NFL draft.[3] He was also selected by theArizona Outlaws in the 13th round (187th overall) of the1985 USFL Draft. He was placed on theinjured reserve list with a hamstring tear before the start of the season. He was waived on August 19, 1986.
On August 21, 1986, he was claimed off waivers by theNew York Giants. He was released whenrunning backJoe Morris ended his contract holdout on August 26.
In September 1986, he was signed as afree agent by theCalgary Stampeders of theCanadian Football League. On October 8, after bouncing between the practice and the active roster, he terminated his practice agreement to play outfield for theChicago White Sox Instructional League squad.[4]
After the players went on a strike on the third week of the 1987 season, those contests were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and theNFL decided that the games would be played with replacement players. Vital was signed to be a part of the Redskins replacement team, which was given the mock name "Redscabs" by the media.[4] He was released after the NFL strike ended. He led the replacement games with 346 rushing yards. The rushing yards he registered in the three games, would be the NFL record for most rushing yards per game in a career (115.3) if he had played enough contests. After the strike was over, he was declared inactive from week 7 to week 9. He was cut on November 3.
On December 9, 1987, he was signed as afree agent by theBuffalo Bills. He was declared inactive for the last 3 games of the season. He was released off theinjured reserve list on September 19, 1988.[5]
On November 4, 1988, he signed with theDetroit Lions afterrunning backCarl Painter was placed on theinjured reserve list. He was declared inactive in one game, before being released on November 10.[6]
In March 1989, he was signed as afree agent by theSaskatchewan Roughriders of theCanadian Football League. He was a backuprunning back, while contributing to the team winning theGrey Cup. He was released before the start of the season on July 13, 1990.
In 1990, he was hired by theSaskatchewan Roughriders to be a college scout. In 1991, he was originally hired byBill Belichick to be a college scout for theCleveland Browns. In 1996, he moved along with the team to Baltimore, to be a scout during theBaltimore Ravens inaugural 1996 season. In 1998, he was hired by theNew York Jets as the southeast region scout.
In 2000, he was hired by theNew England Patriots as a national scout.[7] In 2001, he was promoted to assistant director of college scouting. In 2005, he was hired as a national scout by theBaltimore Ravens. In 2006, he received the Fritz Pollard Alliance Scouting Award, given to the top African-American scout in each conference.[8]
In 2007, he was hired by theAtlanta Falcons as the assistant director of player personnel, reuniting with general managerThomas Dimitroff, who was also a part of the Browns and Ravens scouting staffs. In 2011, he was promoted to Associate director of player personnel. In 2013, he was promoted to Director of player personnel.[9] In 2016, he was hired by theDallas Cowboys as the director of college scouting.[10] In February 2022, he retired from the NFL.
On August 15, 2023, Vital was hired by the Houston Roughnecks.[11]
In 2018, he received aSuper Bowl ring from the Redskins for contributing to the team having a 3-0 record during the strike, winning the NFC East Division, reaching the playoffs and eventually winningSuper Bowl XXII.[12]