Ryan Clark ( American football ) Ryan Clark ( born October 12 , 1979 ) is an American football safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football at Louisiana State University ( LSU ) , and was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2002 . Clark has also played for the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers . On January 25 , 2012 , he was named to his first career Pro Bowl , replacing the injured Ed Reed . He also appeared as one of the players for the fictional Gotham Rogues team in " The Dark Knight Rises " . Early years . Clark was born in Marrero , Louisiana . From 1993 to 1997 , Clark attended Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero , Louisiana . College career . At Louisiana State University , Clark started 36 consecutive games for the LSU Tigers football team . In 2000 , he was selected to the All - SEC second team by the league ' s coaches . Clark ranked third on the Tigers in 2001 with 88 tackles , including 63 solo , and also intercepted three passes . He recorded five tackles , including a 13 - yard sack , in the Sugar Bowl and was LSU ' s Special Teams Player of the Year in 1998 . In 2002 , Clark was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Giants . Professional career . New York Giants . Clark played for the Giants for two seasons . He played in the first six games of the 2002 season for Giants , all on special teams . He was waived during the bye week and signed with the practice squad two days later , remaining there for the rest of the season . Clark had a breakout season with the Giants in 2003 , starting four games and appearing in every game , either on defense or special teams . He posted 23 tackles ( 17 solo ) and one sack , two pass deflections and five special teams stops . Washington Redskins . He signed as a free agent to the Washington Redskins prior to the 2004 season . He stepped in for injured safeties Matt Bowen and Andre Lott early in the season and played in 15 games , starting 11 . He led Redskins defensive backs with 91 tackles and ranked fourth on the team in tackles . Clark played in thirteen games in the 2005 season making 57 tackles and three interception s . While he played well for Washington and wanted to re - sign with the team , the Redskins decided to cut ties with him and signed Adam Archuleta to be their new starting safety . Pittsburgh Steelers . He signed with the Steelers as a free agent on March 15 , 2006 replacing former safety Chris Hope who signed with the Tennessee Titans . In 2006 , Clark made 72 tackles playing free safety for the Steelers , along with one interception and three fumble recoveries . He played 13 games and started 12 of them , missing the final three with a groin injury . During training camp before the 2007 season , he remained starter despite playing a position battle with second year player Anthony Smith . During a 2007 game against the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High , Clark developed severe pain in his left side and had to be rushed to the hospital . It turned out that Clark had suffered a splenal infarction due to the sickle cell trait from which he has suffered since he was a child ; these are usually a risk at high altitudes . Clark had to have his spleen and gall bladder removed , ending his season . He lost 30 pounds after the removal , but returned to the Steelers in 2008 . Although Clark has been medically cleared to play in Denver ' s thin air without any complications , the Steelers have deactivated him for the four games they have played in Denver since then — a 2009 Monday Night game , a 2010 preseason game , a 2011 playoff game and the 2012 season opener — out of an abundance of caution . Clark was the Steelers ' recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award in 2008 . To honor his former Redskins teammate , the late Sean Taylor , Clark wears Taylor ' s # 21 during practices . Personal . Clark was active in the community while with the Giants , participating in the 2002 United Way Hometown Huddle by conducting a football clinic at the Highbridge Center for members of Alianza Dominicana , a local United Way agency that services families in Washington Heights . He joined forces with students from the Leadership In Public Services High School located at Ground Zero for " Operation PaintFest . " Sponsored by the Foundation for Hospital Art , the participants created paintings of hope that would later be donated to the five New York hospitals involved in the September 11th tragedies . Since recovering from his crisis in 2007 , Clark has been involved with sickle cell disease awareness , research , treatment and programming in Pittsburgh . In 2012 , he announced the formation of Ryan Clark ' s Cure League to raise awareness about sickle cell trait and eventually find a cure .