Verron Ulric Haynes ( ; born February 17, 1979) is a

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

ian-born 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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. Verron Haynes was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in the fifth round of the

2002 NFL Draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...

, following three successful college football seasons at

The University of Georgia ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. With the Steelers, he won

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. Verron appeared on the cover of ''

Pittsburgh Magazine Pittsburgh Magazine is a lifestyle magazine covering the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. It hosts an annual "40 Under 40" featuring prominent young Pittsburghers. It's known for listicles including Pittsburgh's 25 Best Restaurants, Best of the 'Bur ...

''s 25 Most Beautiful People issue in January 2007. As of 2010, Haynes serves as an International commentator and television personality for ESPN International. Born in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

, before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at age seven and then to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for

North Springs High School North Springs Charter High School (formerly called North Springs High School from 1963 to 2007) is a charter high school located in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States. It is the only magnet school in the Fulton County School System The Ful ...

. His father Ulric "Buggy" Haynes was a soccer player in the Trinidad and Tobago national team.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

In five seasons with the Steelers from 2002 to 2006, Haynes gained 660 yards on 159 carries (4.2 average per carry) and three touchdowns. He also recorded 39 receptions for 322 yards (8.3 average per reception) and two touchdowns, including one from wide receiver

Antwaan Randle El Antwaan Randle El (; born August 17, 1979) is an American football coach and former player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He is currently the wide receivers coach for the Detroit Lions of the Nati ...

. Haynes missed most of the 2006 season due to a knee injury. On March 1, 2007, he was cut by the Steelers in order to save cap room. However, he re-signed with the team on June 4, 2007. On September 1, 2007, he was released again. He was re-signed on December 24 when starting running back

Willie Parker William Everett Parker Jr. (born November 11, 1980) is an American former football running back who played for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for North Carolina, he ...

was placed on

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 ...

Atlanta Falcons

Haynes signed with the

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 ...

on April 29, 2009.Falcons sign former UGA running back, release Bergeron
On December 5, 2009, he was released by the Falcons and re-signed on December 8.

Personal

Haynes serves on the board of directors of TurningPoint, a women's health care organization in Alpharetta, Georgia. He is involved in philanthropic efforts and the forming of The Red Sail Watersports company. In addition, Haynes runs The Verron Haynes Foundation and football clinics and camps and comments for ESPN International.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bio

Pittsburgh Steelers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Verron 1979 births Living people Players of American football from Atlanta American football fullbacks Georgia Bulldogs football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Atlanta Falcons players Trinidad and Tobago players of American football American sportspeople of Trinidad and Tobago descent