Leigh Edmond Bodden (born September 24, 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 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 ...
. He was originally signed 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 ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in 2003. He played
college football at
Duquesne. Bodden has also played for the
Detroit Lions and the
New England Patriots.
Early years
Bodden was born in
Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and also a close, urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States Census.
History
Before Europeans reached the area, the upper ...
. He attended
Northwestern High School in Hyattsville. In 1998, his final season with the Wildcats, Bodden helped lead his school to a 10–2 record.
College career
The holder of nearly every
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit
, image = Holy Gh ...
interception
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...
record, Bodden picked off seven passes in his senior season, 2002, under head coach Greg Gattuso, including a school record-tying three interceptions versus
Iona College
Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...
. Duquesne's defense was ranked number one in all of
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 ...
Division I-AA in 2002 in total and scoring defense and second in pass and pass efficiency defense. He was the
Atlantic 10 Conference long jump champion in 2002.
In his final season with Duquesne, Bodden was an American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division I-AA All-American and the 2002
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and ...
Football League Defensive Player of the Year. He also was a consensus All-American as a junior. In total, he caught 28 interceptions during his time at Duquesne, second in the nation during that period.
Professional career
Cleveland Browns
Despite his strong collegiate career, Bodden received little press and went undrafted in 2003. However, Bodden made the 53-man roster 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 (A ...
out of training camp in 2003 and contributed heavily as a special teams player and nickel cornerback, playing in 13 games in his rookie year. He recorded his first career NFL interception against the
Arizona Cardinals off a fourth-quarter pass by
Josh McCown.
The 2004 season saw Bodden further establish himself as a force on special teams. He tied for the team lead with 18 special tackles and recorded his first career forced fumble. Bodden's season ended in the third quarter of a Week 8 match-up against
AFC North rival
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
. He suffered a left shoulder strain and was later placed on
injured reserve for the remainder of the season due to a biceps injury.
In 2005, Bodden had a breakthrough season. He gained one of the starting cornerback positions under new head coach
Romeo Crennel after an injury to
Gary Baxter
Gary Wayne Baxter (born November 24, 1978) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2001 National Football League draft. He played college football at Baylor.
College career
...
. Despite missing Weeks 2 and 3 with an injury, then Weeks 4–6 as inactive, he became a favorite of defensive coordinator
Todd Grantham and secondary coach
Mel Tucker
Melvin Tucker II (born January 4, 1972) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he has held since 2020. Previously, Tucker served as the head football coac ...
. In a Week 1 loss to the
Cincinnati Bengals, he totaled seven tackles, a forced fumble, and his second career interception. He contributed in defensive efforts against Houston (ten tackles and one interception in a 19-16 loss), Miami (five tackles in a 22–0 win), and Oakland (six tackles and one interception in a 9–7 win). In Week 17, Bodden forced a fumble, caught an interception, and tallied five tackles. His contributions helped the Browns to a 20–16 win over the Ravens. As a result of his solid performance in 2005, Bodden received a four-year contract extension. Bodden spent most of the 2006 season battling injuries and only played in nine games, with two interceptions.
On September 5, 2007, Bodden was arrested following an incident outside
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is an international airport in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the primary airport serving Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, the largest and busiest airport in the state, and the 43rd busiest ...
, where he was picking up his girlfriend and their children. Bodden backed his 2004
GMC Yukon
GMC may refer to:
Government India
* Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat
* Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu
* Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh
* Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam
* Gwalior ...
SUV into a parking spot in the airport's arrivals area.
Cleveland police reported that Bodden failed to comply when asked to pull his vehicle over. When asked a second time by police, he reportedly did comply, but pulled his SUV into an illegal parking zone and left it there. Officers alleged that Bodden was verbally abusive when asked for his driver's license. Bodden was released from jail after posting $1,000 bond and entered not guilty pleas to charges of resisting arrest, failing to comply with an officer and a traffic offense. Bodden apologized for the incident on September 6, and did not face a team or league-imposed suspension for conduct.
Despite the incident, Bodden returned to start all 16 games in 2007. On December 23, Bodden recorded two interceptions in a Browns loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. His six interceptions on the season were a career high, as were his 88 tackles.
Detroit Lions
On February 29, 2008, Bodden was traded to the
Detroit Lions along with a third round draft choice in a deal for
defensive tackle Shaun Rogers. Bodden started all 16 games for the
0-16 Lions in 2008, recording 73 tackles and an interception. Bodden was released by the Lions on February 9, 2009.
New England Patriots
Bodden signed a one-year contract with the
New England Patriots on March 11, 2009. He started 14 of the 15 games he played for the Patriots in
2009. In a Week 11 matchup against the
New York Jets, Bodden intercepted rookie Jets quarterback
Mark Sanchez
Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) and was draft ...
three times, returning one for a 56-yard score and tying a team high. He finished the season with a team-high five interceptions, along with 55 tackles, 18 passes defended, and one forced fumble.
The Patriots and Bodden were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension prior to the start of free agency in March 2010. After visiting with the
Houston Texans on March 8, 2010, Bodden was reported to have signed a deal with the Patriots the very next day. The following day, details of the contract were released: the total value of the deal was $22 million over 4 years, with $10 million guaranteed.
The contract was front-loaded, with nearly two-thirds ($14 million) of the net value coming in the first two years.
Bodden was placed on injured reserve by the Patriots on August 31, 2010, with a shoulder injury. He missed all of the 2010 NFL season. Bodden was released on October 28, 2011 and retired from playing football.
References
External links
Duquesne Dukes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodden, Leigh
1981 births
Living people
People from Washington, D.C.
Players of American football from Washington, D.C.
African-American players of American football
American football cornerbacks
Duquesne Dukes football players
Cleveland Browns players
Detroit Lions players
New England Patriots players
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American people