Austin Rashad Walter (born August 17, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

College career

Walter played college football at

, where he rushed for 1,744 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per carry; he also had 79 receptions for 803 yards, and in his senior season, averaged 27.3 yards on 18 kickoff returns.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Walter went undrafted in the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

. He signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

on May 4, 2019, after a tryout with the team. He was waived by the 49ers on August 31, 2019.

New York Giants

On September 18, 2019, Walter was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. Following injuries to starting running back

Saquon Barkley Saquon Barkley ( ; born February 9, 1997) is an American football running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). Prior to entering the NFL in 2018, Barkley played college football at Penn State for three seasons gain ...

and backup

Wayne Gallman Wayne Gallman Jr. (born October 1, 1994) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Clemson and contributed to win the CFP national championship (2017) before being drafted in the fourth round of the ...

, Walter was promoted to the 53-man roster on October 10, 2019, but then waived the next day.

Dallas Renegades

On November 22, 2019, Walter was drafted by the

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

in the 2020 XFL Supplemental Draft. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

San Francisco 49ers (second stint)

On September 23, 2020, Walter was signed to the 49ers' practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 5 for the team's week 9 game against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was promoted to the active roster on November 11, 2020. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the team on December 17, 2020, and activated on December 28. On February 8, 2021, the 49ers signed him to a one-year contract extension. He was waived on May 12, 2021.

New York Jets

Walter was claimed off waivers by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

on May 13, 2021. He was waived/injured on August 17, 2021, and placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He was released on August 26. Walter was re-signed to the practice squad on October 5, 2021. Walter played his first game for the Jets against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

on November 28, 2021, and rushed for 38 yards on 9 carries, including his first NFL touchdown. On December 4, 2021, Walter was elevated from the practice squad for the game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. On December 7, 2021, Walter was promoted to the active roster. He was waived on May 6, 2022.

Las Vegas Raiders

On July 29, 2022, Walter signed with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

. A few days later, in the 2022

Pro Football Hall of Fame game The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is an annual National Football League (NFL) exhibition game in Canton, Ohio, held the weekend of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies. The game is played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, part ...

, Walter scored a touchdown against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

. On August 30, 2022, Walter was waived by the Raiders and then signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023. He was placed on injured reserve on August 3, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Austin 1996 births Living people American football running backs Rice Owls football players San Francisco 49ers players New York Giants players People from Crosby, Texas Players of American football from Harris County, Texas Dallas Renegades players New York Jets players Las Vegas Raiders players