The Ravens signed former Patriots and Chargers running back Danny Woodhead March 8 to strengthen their backfield depth. Woodhead inkedJerry Rice Youth Jersey a three-year deal worth $8.8 million, $4.25 million of which is guaranteed. The 32-year old Woodhead will likely split snaps with Terrance West and Kenneth Dixon in the Ravens' running back rotation. Here are five things to know about the nine-year veteran.
1. All-Purpose Threat
Woodhead is listed as a running back and plays mostly out of the backfield, but he's made a name for himself as one of the best pass-catching backs in the league. He has four seasons with at least 300 yards rushing and receiving on his resume, and he's also pulled in at least 40 passes in three different seasons. He eclipsed 1,000 all-purpose yards twice in four seasons with San Diego, including a 2015 performance that saw him haul in 80 passes for 755 yards and six touchdowns. He's actually caught more touchdowns (17) than he's ran for (15) in his career.
2. Small School Success Story
Woodhead was lightly recruited out of North Platte High School in Nebraska, receiving zero Division I scholarship offers despite winning Nebraska http://www.authenticbroncosshop.com/shop-by-players-terrell-davis-j... Player of the Year honors as a senior. Instead, he got an offer from Division II Chadron State in Chadron, Neb., the same school his mother, father and brother attended. Woodhead's was the first full-athletic scholarship offer in the school's 96-year history. It was worth the wait for the Eagles, as Woodhead was a star from his first game in college. He ran for more than 1,700 yards four consecutive seasons, culminating in a then-NCAA record 2,756 yards as a junior in 2006. He left the Eagles as the NCAA's all-time leading rusher with nearly 8,000 career yards and is still second on the all-time list. He scored a touchdown in the final 37 games of his career and rushed for more than 200 yards in a whopping 19 games.
Despite his impressive college stats, Woodhead wasn't invited to the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine. Instead, he worked out at the Nebraska pro day and still compared favorably to his large-school competition. The 5-foot-8 back ran a 4.33 40-yard dash and recorded a 38.5-inch vertical leap, each of which would have been second-best among running backs at that year's combine. Even though his measurables were solid, Woodhead wasn't drafted. Instead, the Jets signed him to a deal as an undrafted free agent. He's currently the only Chadron State player in the NFL.
3. A "Young" 32
2017 will be Woodhead's 10th season in the NFL, but he should be fresher than most 10-year vets. The 32-year old running back has lost close to three full seasons due to injury during his career, including two in the last three years. Woodhead's first major injury came before he ever got on to the field. He tore his ACL during Jets training camp in 2008 and spent the entire season on injured reserve, never playing a down.
Five relatively healthy seasons followed before the injury bug hit the running back again in 2014. In the third game of the season, against Buffalo, thehttp://www.authenticcowboysstore.com/shop-by-players-chuck-howley-j... Chargers' Woodhead broke his fibula during the game's opening drive and missed the rest of the season. After a healthy, productive season in 2015, he lost a third campaign in 2016. In the second game of the year, Woodhead caught a pass in the backfield, and Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith hit him in the knee, tearing his ACL again. That was the last time Woodhead has played in an NFL game. With San Diego, the running back spent 2014 and 2016 on injured reserve, but he turned in two of the best seasons of his career in 2013 and 2015. He's now fully healthy and looking to continue his odd-year success with the Ravens.
4. Seeking A Ring
Woodhead hasn't yet won a Super Bowl, a hole in his resume he'll be looking to rectify in Baltimore. He came close to a championship in 2012, when he reached Super Bowl XLVI with the Patriots. In that Super Bowl against the Giants, Woodhead ran for 18 yards on seven carries, but he was most instrumental through the passing game, as he pulled in four receptions for 42 yards. One of the four catches came with eight seconds left in the first half and went for a four-yard touchdown that gave the Patriots a 10-9 halftime lead.
The 200-pound running back has played in 10 playoff games throughout his nine-year career, six with the Patriots and four with the Chargers. He's totaled more than 330 yards in those 10 games, but his best performance came in 2010, when he caught six passes for 52 yards and added 46 yards rushing against the suffocating Jets defense in a Divisional Round matchup. The Patriots lost that game, 28-21. Woodhead hasn't been to the playoffs since 2014.
5. Introspective
Early in the 2016 season, Woodhead wrote "A Letter to My Younger Self," an article that appeared in the Players' Tribune and gave advice to his 18-year old self on how to handle all of the adversity he'd face in college and in the NFL. In the article, the running back explained how worried he was that he'd never get to playhttp://www.authenticraiderssale.com/shop-by-players-otis-sistrunk-j... football again after tearing his ACL the first time in 2008. He also detailed his eventual drive to return and how he's come to believe the injury was the "best thing to ever happen" to him, because he was able to learn from the team's veterans while recovering.