Eric Andrew Wright (born July 24, 1985) 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 wi ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted by 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 (A ...

in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at USC and

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

. Wright also played for the Detroit Lions,

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

, and

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 ...

College career

USC Trojans

Wright attended USC for two years before attending UNLV. After being redshirted his first year, he was a starter his second year, and started in the 2005 Orange Bowl, where he recorded four tackles and an interception.

UNLV Rebels

Wright transferred to UNLV after being expelled by USC. Police found 136 tablets of Ecstasy and

GHB ''gamma''-Hydroxybutyric acid (or γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also known as 4-hydroxybutanoic acid) is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter and a depressant drug. It is a precursor to GABA, glutamate, and glycine in certain brain areas. ...

in Wright's apartment while investigating a sexual assault allegation against Wright. Wright sat out the 2005 season due to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

transfer guidelines. Wright played one year at UNLV before deciding to declare for the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

. He was a university studies major.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Wright was drafted by the

in the second round (53rd overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. The Browns acquired the pick from the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

to select Wright. While he was a projected first round pick, he fell to the second round due to his troubled college past. In Wright's first season with the Browns, he started 13 of 16 games. He recorded his first career interception on October 14, 2007, against

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Cleo Lemon Cleo Lemon Jr. (born August 16, 1979) is a wide receivers coach for the Jacksonville State Gamecocks and former American football quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League. He most recently played for the Toronto Arg ...

. He won his first Defensive Player of the Week award after his performance during week 6 of the 2008 NFL season against the New York Giants, where he had a 94-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Detroit Lions

On July 29, 2011, Wright signed with the Detroit Lions. During his one season for the Lions, he started all 16 games and recorded 74 tackles and four interceptions.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 14, 2012, Wright signed a five-year, $37.5 million contract with the

. On July 19, 2013, Wright was traded from the

to the

for a conditional late-round 2014 draft pick . After he failed his team physical, the trade was voided causing his rights to revert to the Buccaneers who subsequently released him.

San Francisco 49ers

On August 8, 2013, Wright signed a one-year deal with the

. On August 27, 2013, he was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list. On June 17, 2014, Wright announced his retirement from the NFL.Niners' Eric Wright retires from football
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References

External links

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Eric 1985 births Living people American football cornerbacks Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players San Francisco 49ers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players UNLV Rebels football players USC Trojans football players Players of American football from San Francisco