John Abraham (football player)
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| John Abraham | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | May 6, 1978 |
| Place of birth | Timmonsville, SC |
| Position(s) | DE, OLB |
| College | South Carolina |
| NFL Draft | 2000 / Round 1/ Pick 13 |
| Pro Bowls | 2001, 2002, 2004 |
| Team(s) | |
| 2000-2005 2006-Present |
New York Jets Atlanta Falcons |
John Abraham (born May 6, 1978 in Timmonsville, South Carolina) is an NFL defensive end currently playing for the Atlanta Falcons.
[edit] Personal Bio
John has done some charity work, as he attended the Jets' May 5, 2003 blood drive to benefit hospitals throughout Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties. He enjoys watching basketball in his spare time and his favorite team is the LA Lakers. He cites his childhood idols as RB Walter Payton and WR Jerry Rice. John is single and has a daughter, Endraya.
[edit] Football Career
Abraham was born in Timmonsville, South Carolina. In his high school years at Lamar High School in Lamar, South Carolina, he was primarily an athlete in the track program, where he set the current South Carolina record for the 200-meter dash. He played just one season of high school football but was nonetheless recruited to play at the University of South Carolina. While there, he amassed 23.5 sacks, ranking second on South Carolina's career list, and was named an all-SEC first-team player. He has mentioned Walter Payton and Jerry Rice as inspirations during high school and college.
Drafted in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft, he made an immediate impact for the Jets; in his rookie season, he recorded 12 tackles and 4.5 sacks in only six games before being injured. In 2001, he recorded 82 tackles and 13 sacks, and was named to the AFC Pro Bowl. In 2002, he again recorded 82 tackles, with 10 sacks, and was again named to the Pro Bowl. In 2003, he only recorded 37 tackles and six sacks, due to being injured mid-season.
In the 2004 season, Abraham recorded 10 sacks before sustaining a knee injury in December that kept him out for the rest of the season. The following year, the Jets tagged him as a franchise player to keep him with the team, but a contract holdout kept him from training camp; he ended up sigining a one-year contract with the Jets less than two weeks before the start of the season.
Prior to the 2005 season he switched his jersey number from #94 to #56. He chose this number because it correspond to his birth date (5/6/1978), and because it was unavailable the seasons before, mainly because of Sam Cowart, who was traded to Minnesota earlier in the off-season.
Abraham was once again franchised for the 2006 season, which would have led to a 1 year contract for $8.33 million, though Abraham indicated he no longer wished to play for the Jets. On March 21, 2006, the Jets completed a long-anticipated trade, trading Abraham to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for the 29th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, which the Falcons had acquired from the Denver Broncos in exchange for the 15th pick. The Falcons also received a pair of middle round selections in the trade.
After the trade, Abraham signed a 6-year $45 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons, where he will wear #55. [1]
He is currently the Jets' active leader in sacks, with 53.5 recorded throughout his career at the end of the 2005 season. He is also 4th on the Jets' all time sack records.
