Christian John Morton (born April 28, 1981) is a former

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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He was drafted by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in the seventh round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. 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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Morton was also a member of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and Tennessee Titans.

Early years

Morton attended Riverview Gardens High School in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

where he won the Missouri 5A state championship his Senior season as the starting quarterback and defensive back.

College career

Morton played

at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. He was initially recruited as a quarterback and played there the first two years. He then made the switch to cornerback in spring drills in 2000.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Morton was the 32nd pick of the seventh round of the

by the

, the last pick of the draft before the supplemental picks. He was released from the Patriots before the 2004 season.

Second stint with Falcons

Morton spent the 2005 training camp with the Falcons before being waived on August 26, 2005. Atlanta re-signed Morton on September 15, 2005, and saw action in three games, including one start. He was released by the Falcons on November 30, 2005.

Second stint with Redskins

On December 16, the Washington Redskins signed Morton 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, ...

. The Redskins promoted Morton to the active roster on December 28, and Morton made his debut for the Redskins on January 1, 2006.

Carolina Panthers

Morton was signed mid-season in 2006 by the

and saw action in seven games before being place on the

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 ...

list with a hamstring injury on December 12, 2006. In those seven games he recorded 11 tackles, one interception, and one pass deflected.

Tennessee Titans

After spending the 2008 season out of football, Morton was signed by the Tennessee Titans on January 8, 2009. He was released on July 7, 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Christian 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Missouri American football cornerbacks American football safeties Illinois Fighting Illini football players New England Patriots players Cleveland Browns players Atlanta Falcons players Washington Redskins players Carolina Panthers players Denver Broncos players Tennessee Titans players