Donté Stallworth

Stallworth was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round (13th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 8. He caught eight touchdown passes in 2002, his rookie year, but saw less action the next season. As a full-time starter in 2004, he had 767 receiving yards and five touchdowns. In 2005, he recorded a career-high 70 receptions for 945 yards with seven touchdowns.

Donté Stallworth during his season with the Eagles.

On August 28, 2006, Stallworth was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for linebacker Mark Simoneau and a conditional fourth round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. In Stallworth's first game with the Eagles, less than two weeks after the trade, he caught six passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. Due to a nagging hamstring injury, he missed three games early in the regular season, but finished the year with 725 yards and five touchdowns. Hamstring injuries have been a persistent problem throughout his professional career.

In March 2007, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Stallworth was in the league substance abuse program.[3]

On March 11, 2007, Stallworth agreed to terms with the New England Patriots on a reported six-year deal worth $30 million with $3.5 million guaranteed. The contract was incentive laden, meaning that the Patriots could release him if he underperformed for a small fraction of the full contract.[4] On February 22, 2008, the Patriots declined the option on his contract and he became a free agent.

On March 1, 2008, Stallworth signed a seven-year, $35 million deal with the Cleveland Browns.[5] However, he had just 17 catches for 170 yards and one touchdown for the Browns in 2008 and then missed the entire 2009 season after being suspended by the NFL following his conviction on manslaughter charges. On February 8, 2010, after being reinstated by the NFL, the Browns terminated Stallworth's contract.[6]

On February 16, 2010, Stallworth signed a one-year, $900,000 deal with the Baltimore Ravens.[7]

On August 28, 2010, Stallworth broke his foot in a preseason game against the New York Giants. Head Coach John Harbaugh stated that this injury was not season-ending and Stallworth would be back after the Ravens' bye week. Stallworth made his return to the active Ravens roster in October, but his highlight of the season came during a game against the Carolina Panthers where he made his first catch as a wide receiver for the franchise during a regular season game.[8]

On December 23, 2010, Stallworth was voted by his teammates and awarded the Ed Block Courage Award for 2010. But his stats were grim. He had just two receptions for 82 yards, and five rushes for 45 yards.[9]

Stallworth signed a one-year deal with the Washington Redskins on July 29, 2011. On November 8, 2011, Stallworth was released by the Washington Redskins and put on waivers.[10] On November 15, 2011, he re-signed with the Redskins after wide receiver, Leonard Hankerson, and defensive end, Kedric Golston, were put on injured reserve.[11] After his return to the team, Stallworth would catch a touchdown pass in the endzone in Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys allowing the Redskins to go into overtime.[12] At the end of 2011 season, Stallworth recorded 22 receptions, 309 receiving yards, and two touchdowns.[13]

On March 19, 2012, Stallworth signed with the New England Patriots.[14] On August 27, 2012, Stallworth was released by Patriots.[15] On December 3, 2012, Stallworth re-signed with the Patriots because of a broken right foot suffered by wide receiver Julian Edelman and lack of depth at the wide receiver position.[16] On December 11, it was reported that Stallworth was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury after only playing in one game during his brief return and making a 63-yard reception for a touchdown.[17]

Stallworth re-signed with the Redskins on June 12, 2013.[18][19] On August 26, 2013, Stallworth was waived by the Redskins.[20]

On the morning of March 14, 2009, Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian while driving his car at the eastern end of the MacArthur Causeway in Miami Beach, Florida.

Around 7:15 a.m., Stallworth was headed toward the beach, driving a black 2005 Bentley Continental GT about 50 mph in a 40 mph zone, according to a Miami Beach Police report.[24] Mario Reyes, 59, was on the busy causeway, trying to catch a bus home after finishing his shift.[25] Stallworth claims that he flashed his car's headlights to warn Reyes.[26] Stallworth struck Reyes with his car, killing him.

In a police investigation, Stallworth admitted to drinking the night before the accident. News sources reported that his blood alcohol content was 0.12, over the legal limit of 0.08.[27][28]

On April 1, 2009, Stallworth was charged with DUI manslaughter; he surrendered to police on April 2, 2009, and was released on $200,000 bail.[29] Under a plea deal, he received a sentence of 30 days in the county jail, plus 1,000 hours of community service, two years of community control, and eight years' probation.[30] His Florida state driver's license was permanently suspended.[31] On July 10, 2009, Stallworth was released from county jail after serving 24 days of a 30-day sentence.

The Associated Press reported on June 16, 2009, that Stallworth and the Reyes family reached a financial agreement, avoiding a civil lawsuit. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.[32]

On August 13, 2009, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Stallworth would be suspended for the 2009 season without pay. Stallworth was reinstated after Super Bowl XLIV.[33]

A Yahoo! Sports story published August 12, 2010, reported that Stallworth's lawyers indicated he could have fought all charges with "an excellent chance of being found innocent", but that Stallworth chose to be convicted of a felony to do what he felt was morally right. The article says that David Cornwell, one of Stallworth's attorneys, felt there was irony in the public and media reaction to Stallworth's decision because they criticized the plea deal without knowing the full story.[34]

Stallworth was hospitalized with serious burns on March 16, 2013, after the hot air balloon carrying him and two other people crashed into power lines above South Florida.[35]