John Abraham (American football)

Infobox NFLactive
name=John Abraham

---

currentteam=Atlanta Falcons
currentnumber=55
currentposition=Defensive end
birthdate=birth date and age|1978|5|6
birthplace=Timmonsville, South Carolina
heightft=6
heightin=4
weight=258
debutyear=2000
debutteam=New York Jets
highlights=
* 1x All-Pro (2001)
* 2x All-Conference (2001, 2002)
* Pro Bowl (2001, 2002, 2004)
college=University of South Carolina
draftyear=2000
draftround=1
draftpick=13
pastteams=
* New York Jets (2000-2005)
* Atlanta Falcons (2006-"present")
nfl=ABR073003

John A. Abraham (born May 6 1978 in Timmonsville, South Carolina) is an American football defensive end in the National Football League currently playing for the Atlanta Falcons.

Early years

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.

Professional career

Drafted in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft, he made an immediate impact for the New York 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 wears #55. [http://www.atlantafalcons.com/team/playerBio.jsp?id=11419]

In 2006, Abraham was the player with the highest salary on the Atlanta falcons, at over $15 million.

In 06 Abraham saw action in eight games with seven starts, tallying 20 tackles, four sacks, four forced fumbles and one pass defensed despite being limited by a groin injury throughout the year.

Collared six tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one pass defensed in his Falcons debut at Carolina (9/10). Integral part of the defense that held Carolina to 215 total yards of offense. He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

2007 was a big year for Abraham as he stayed healthy the entire year (something he did for the 4th time in his career) and he led the Falcons with 10 sacks while adding 41 tackles (28 solo), four forced fumbles and four passes defensed.

Logged a season high in tackles (six) and tied a season high in sacks (two) vs. Carolina (9/23). The sacks marked the second time in his career that he posted three sacks in the first three games of a season.

Recorded a sack (six yards) for the third consecutive regular season game in Week 4 vs. Houston (9/30) in addition to collaring three tackles and one forced fumble in the 26-16 victory.

Posted two tackles and one sack (nine yards) at Tampa Bay (12/16) for a defensive unit that allowed a season-low 109 passing yards.

Tallied three tackles, two sacks (11 yards) and one forced fumble vs. Seattle (12/30). His second sack of the game, gave him 10 on the season marking the fourth time in his career he has recorded a double-digit sack season.

Abraham started off the 2008 season hot as he recorded 6 sacks in the first three games of the year and is also the league leader in sacks so far.

Personal

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 Los Angeles Lakers. He cites his childhood idols as RB Walter Payton and WR Jerry Rice.

External links

* [http://www.atlantafalcons.com/People/Players/Active/John_Abraham.aspx Atlanta Falcons bio]