Paul Richardson Jr. (born April 13, 1992) 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 ...

wide receiver. He played college football at

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He has also played for the

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 ...

Early years

Richardson attended Junípero Serra High School in

Gardena, California Gardena is a city located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 58,829 at the 2010 census, up from 57,746 at the 2000 census. Until 2014, the US census cited the City of Gardena as the plac ...

and

Los Alamitos High School Los Alamitos High School (also known as Los Al) is a public school for grades 9 to 12 located in Los Alamitos, California, and also serving the city of Seal Beach and the community of Rossmoor. It is the only traditional high school in the Los ...

Los Alamitos, California Los Alamitos () is a city in Orange County, California. The city was incorporated in March 1960. The population was 11,780 at the 2020 census, up from 11,449 at the 2010 census. The adjacent unincorporated community of Rossmoor uses the same 9 ...

. During his high school career, he had 110 receptions for 1,948 yards and 28

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

. He was also a letterman in basketball and track. In track, he had career-bests of 10.62 in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contes ...

, 21 seconds in the 200 meters and 40.66 seconds in the 4x100.

College career

Richardson originally attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, but was dismissed from the team prior to his freshman season after being placed under arrest for felony theft of a purse, along with his cousin Shaquille Richardson and another teammate, Josh Shirley. He then attended the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

. He played in all 12 games that year, recording 34 receptions for 514 yards and six touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2011, he played in nine games recording 39 receptions for 555 yards and five touchdowns. He missed four games due to injury. In April 2012, he tore his ACL which caused him to miss the season. He returned as a starter in 2013. During the season, he set the school record for receiving yards in a season of 1,343 yards. At the end of the season, Richardson announced his intent to declare for the 2014 NFL Draft.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Richardson was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round (45th overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut in the season opener against the Green Bay Packers but was not targeted. In Week 3 against the

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 headquar ...

, Richardson caught his first career NFL reception, which was for seven yards. In Week 13, he caught what would have been his first NFL touchdown, but it was called back due to a penalty. During Week 15, he caught his first NFL touchdown against 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 ...

. Richardson finished with 29 receptions, 271 yards, and a touchdown in his rookie season. In Seattle's opening divisional playoff matchup against the Carolina Panthers, after only having one reception for 21 yards, he went down in the third quarter with what was first believed to be a sprained knee at the time, was later revealed to be a torn ACL upon further inspection. He was then placed on the Injured reserve, ending his 2014-15 rookie campaign. On December 5, 2015, after making a 40-yard catch, Richardson hurt his hamstring and was subsequently placed on injured reserve. Richardson had a relatively quiet season again in 2016, until starting wide receiver Tyler Lockett suffered a season-ending injury in Week 16. In the Wild Card round of the playoffs against the Detroit Lions, he recorded three catches for 48 yards, including a one-handed touchdown catch on 4th and goal. In

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, Richardson would have his best season to date with career highs with receptions (44), receiving yards (703), and touchdowns (6).

Washington Redskins

Kenny Moore, Paul Richardson (44009796534)

Richardson signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the

on March 15, 2018. On September 9, 2018, Richardson made his Redskins debut, catching four passes for 22 yards in the season-opening win against the Arizona Cardinals. On September 16, Richardson recorded a season-high 63 yards on four receptions against the Indianapolis Colts. The following week, he recorded his first touchdown as a Redskin, scoring on a 46-yard reception against the Green Bay Packers. On October 14, in Week 6, Richardson caught three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown against the

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. ...

, his second touchdown of the season. On November 5, he was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. In Week 3 of the 2019 season against the Chicago Bears, Richardson caught eight passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. He was placed on injured reserve on December 14, 2019, after struggling with a nagging hamstring injury for several weeks. On February 14, 2020, Richardson was released by the Redskins.

Seattle Seahawks (second stint)

Richardson re-signed with the Seattle Seahawks on August 29, 2020. On September 5, 2020, Richardson was released from the Seahawks.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Seattle Seahawks bioColorado Buffaloes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Paul 1992 births American football wide receivers Colorado Buffaloes football players Living people Players of American football from Los Angeles Seattle Seahawks players Washington Redskins players Junípero Serra High School (Gardena, California) alumni