Richard Luke Lawton (born August 26, 1980 in

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, L ...

) 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 ...

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

. He was signed by the

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

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 2004. 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 ...

McNeese State McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

. Lawton has also been a member 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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

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 ...

and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

Early years

Lawton attended Saint Thomas More High School in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

, and lettered in football and baseball. He earned All-District and All-Parish honors in both sports.

College years

Lawton earned three-time All-Conference and two-time All-America honors at fullback from ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

''.

Mel Kiper Jr. Mel Kiper Jr. (; born July 25, 1960) is an analyst covering American football for ESPN. He has appeared on ESPN's annual NFL draft coverage since 1984, providing in-depth information on the nation's potential draft picks. Career Kiper said th ...

also listed Lawton as the top fullback prospect in the country in 2004 in all divisions. He finished his career at

with 1,114 rushing yards, 775 receiving yards and 31 touchdowns.

Professional career

Second stint with Giants

Lawton re-signed with the

in early 2005. He suffered a broken nose during training camp on August 22, 2005 and underwent surgery on August 24. He was waived on August 29.

New York Jets

Lawton 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, ...

on September 5, 2005. He was promoted to the active roster on November 18. He played in his first NFL game on November 20. He was waived on December 13, and re-signed to the practice squad on December 15. He was signed to a one-year contract worth $310,000 on January 4, 2006. He was released on July 27.

Indianapolis Colts

Lawton was signed to the

' practice squad on November 29, 2006. He remained on the practice squad for the rest of the 2006 season, and was re-signed on February 14, 2007. Lawton debuted for the Colts in the season-opener in 2007, but was released on October 29 and re-signed again on October 31. He was released again later in the season and was re-signed again on November 28. He caught his first touchdown pass from

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...

in the fourth quarter of the second meeting between the Colts and

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 ...

in week thirteen. The touchdown was the game winner, and clinched the

AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season, 2002 s ...

division for Indianapolis.

Philadelphia Eagles

Lawton was traded to the

on June 6, 2008 in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

. He was released on August 23, and the Eagles did not have to give up a draft pick to the Colts due to his release from the team.

Oakland Raiders

Lawton was claimed off waivers from the Eagles by the

on August 26, 2008. He was waived on August 30, and re-signed on September 3. Lawton was suspended for four games by the NFL on December 24, 2009, for violation of the league's ban on performance-enhancing substances. He was suspended for the last two games of the 2009 season and the first two games of the 2010 season. On September 21, 2010, however, as soon as the suspension was lifted, the Raiders released him.

References

External links

Oakland Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawton, Luke 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Lafayette, Louisiana American football fullbacks McNeese Cowboys football players Buffalo Bills players New York Giants players Atlanta Falcons players New York Jets players Indianapolis Colts players Oakland Raiders players