# Jonathan Babineaux

Jonathan Joel Babineaux (born October 12, 1981) is an American former professional football player who played his entire 12-year career as a defensive tackle with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the Falcons in the second round of the 2005 NFL draft.

## Early life

Babineaux attended Lincoln High School in Port Arthur, Texas. In football, as a senior, he was the team captain of the Bumble Bees football team, and a first-team All-Conference linebacker. He also was an excellent punter, averaging 40 yards per punt. In basketball, he helped his team to be ranked the best in the state of Texas. He also participated in baseball, golf, and track and field.

## College career

Babineaux attended the University of Iowa where he played from 2000 to 2004. He finished his collegiate career with 131 tackles (39 for losses), 19 sacks, 24 quarterback hurries, one interception, two pass deflections, four fumble recoveries, and five forced fumbles.

## Professional career

Babineaux was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round with the 59th overall pick of the 2005 NFL draft. On November 25, 2008, he signed a five-year contract extension with the Falcons. In 2009, he had nine tackles and 2.5 sacks against the Washington Redskins. He had a career-high six sacks in 2009, which led all NFL defensive tackles. In 2010, he posted 31 tackles, one interception, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery, which was returned for a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks. In the 2011 season, he recorded 21 total tackles and one sack.
Babineaux started all 16 games in the 2012 season and recorded 3.5 sacks, 31 total tackles, and one interception. In the 2013 season, he recorded 42 total tackles and one sack. He signed a three-year, $9 million contract extension with the Falcons on March 11, 2014. In the 2014 season, he recorded 31 total tackles and two sacks. In the 2015 season, he recorded 30 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, and one interception. In the 2016 season, he recorded 22 total tackles.
At the end of the 2016 season, Babineaux and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, where they faced the New England Patriots on February 5, 2017. In the Super Bowl, he recorded one assisted tackle as the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat. After the Super Bowl, Babineuax retired from the NFL after a 12-year career.

## NFL career statistics

Legend :
| | Led the league |
| Bold | Career high |

### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD |
| 2005 | ATL | 16 | 6 | 31 | 24 | 7 | 0.5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | ATL | 16 | 1 | 29 | 24 | 5 | 1.0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | ATL | 14 | 9 | 45 | 41 | 4 | 3.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| 2008 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 38 | 31 | 7 | 3.5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 47 | 37 | 10 | 6.0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | ATL | 15 | 15 | 27 | 19 | 8 | 4.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2011 | ATL | 13 | 13 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 1.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 31 | 25 | 6 | 3.5 | 11 | 1 | -2 | 0 | -2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 1 |
| 2013 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 42 | 28 | 14 | 1.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| 2014 | ATL | 15 | 15 | 31 | 14 | 17 | 2.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | ATL | 16 | 4 | 30 | 22 | 8 | 1.5 | 9 | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | ATL | 16 | 6 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 185 | 133 | 394 | 291 | 103 | 27.0 | 91 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 24 | 10 | 10 | 34 | 2 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD |
| 2008 | ATL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | ATL | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | ATL | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | ATL | 2 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | ATL | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | 8 | 6 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 2.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |

## Personal life

Jonathan is the older brother of former Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans safety Jordan Babineaux. Jonathan is also of Louisiana Creole descent.