Willis McGahee Willis Andrew McGahee , III ( born October 21 , 1981 ) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent . He played college football for the University of Miami , where he was recognized as an All - American . The Buffalo Bills selected him in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft . After a four - year career with the Bills , McGahee played for the Baltimore Ravens from 2007 to 2010 , and the Broncos for two seasons . He has been chosen for the Pro Bowl twice ( 2007 and 2011 ) . Early years . McGahee was born in Miami , Florida . He attended Miami Central High School for one season after transferring from Miami Springs High School where he played three seasons . College career . McGahee received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Miami , where he played for coach Butch Davis and coach Larry Coker ' s Miami Hurricanes football teams from 1999 to 2002 . McGahee broke several records in the 2002 season . He shattered school season records , carrying the ball 282 times for 1 , 753 yards ( 6 . 2 yards avg . ) and 28 touchdown s . Only UCF ' s Kevin Smith ( 29 in 2007 ) , Nebraska ' s Mike Rozier ( 29 in 1983 ) , Oklahoma State ' s Barry Sanders ( 37 in 1988 ) and Wisconsin ' s Montee Ball ( 39 in 2011 ) ran for more touchdowns in an NCAA Division I - A season . McGahee ' s ten 100 - yard performances broke the Hurricanes ' season record of eight , set by Ottis Anderson in 1978 ; he added 355 yards on 25 receptions ( 14 . 2 yard avg . ) that season . He gained 2 , 108 all - purpose yards during 2002 , which remains a Hurricanes ' season record . McGahee was a member of the 2001 University of Miami team , which won the Division I national championship in that year ( the fifth such national championship for the University of Miami since 1983 , the most of any university in the past 25 years ) . In 2002 , McGahee , along with Ken Dorsey , Andre Johnson , Kellen Winslow II , and others led Miami to an undefeated regular season and a No . 1 ranking , which included a trip to the National Championship game against second ranked Ohio State . Ohio State won the game in double overtime . Following his 2002 sophomore season , he was a first - team All - Big east selection and was recognized as a consensus first - team All - American . He was also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy , given to the nation ' s top player , finishing fourth in the voting ( 660 votes ) , while teammate Ken Dorsey finished 5th with 643 votes . In the early part of the fourth quarter during the 2003 Fiesta Bowl National Championship Game , McGahee suffered an injury after catching a screen pass from Dorsey . He was immediately hit by Buckeye safety Will Allen , bending his left knee backwards and causing tears of the ACL , PCL , and MCL . Prior to getting hurt , he had rushed for 67 yards and a touchdown , as Miami would lose the game in double - overtime , 31 – 24 . This injury required several surgeries and extensive rehabilitation before he would be able to play again . At the season ' s end , McGahee announced he would not collect on a $ 2 . 5 million insurance policy he had taken out before the Championship game , and therefore would enter the 2003 NFL Draft . At the conclusion of his collegiate career ( 2001 – 2002 ) , he rushed for 2 , 067 yards and 31 touchdowns . He majored in criminology . Track and field . McGahee was also a track star at the University of Miami , where he recorded personal best of 6 . 88 seconds in the 60 meters and 10 . 81 seconds in the 100 meters Professional career . Buffalo Bills . Prior to his knee injury in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl , McGahee was considered " a cinch top - five pick . " Afterwards , McGahee was projected a late third round pick due to risk of " a long rehabilitation process " . Eventually , he was selected with the 23rd pick in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills . Due to the length of the rehabilitation for his knee he sat out the entire 2003 season , but subsequently had two straight 1 , 000 - yard rushing seasons upon his return to playing . Following the 2006 season , after McGahee had made disparaging remarks about the city of Buffalo — including an implication that the Bills should move to Toronto — the Bills traded him to the Baltimore Ravens . The Bills received third and seventh round picks in the 2007 NFL Draft , and a third round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft . Baltimore Ravens . McGahee was traded to the Baltimore Ravens before the 2007 season . He replaced Jamal Lewis , who left the team to play for the Cleveland Browns . He was slated to earn $ 40 . 12 million through a seven - year contract , making him one of the league ' s highest paid running backs . In his first season with Baltimore he rushed for 1 , 207 yards and 7 rushing TDs . McGahee also made his first Pro Bowl in 2007 , on the strength of five 100 + yard games , and a streak of seven straight games with a rushing TD . He also recorded his first career receiving TD , along with a career high 231 receiving yards on 43 receptions . Due to a cracked rib injury suffered against the Seattle Seahawks late in the season , he came up just short ( roughly 30 yards ) of having his best career rushing season , as he had been on pace to do so at the time with his best yards - per - carry average and his best career yards - per - game average . Until his injury , he had been ranked in the Top 5 rushing leaders all season . McGahee was slated to be the starting running back under new coach John Harbaugh in 2008 , but various injuries through the season , including eye , shoulder , knee and ankle injuries , kept him from achieving his fourth 1 , 000 - yard season in the NFL . Fullback LeRon McClain wound up taking a majority of the snaps that season , as both McGahee and rookie Ray Rice suffered injuries during the season . Despite his injuries , McGahee still rushed for 671 yards and 7 scores , including a career - long 77 - yard touchdown run against the Dallas Cowboys . He was instrumental in what Baltimore dubbed their " Three - Headed - Monster " rushing attack and still played a key role in the team ' s 11 - 5 record and playoff berth . McGahee ' s first career post - season play came in 2008 , and he did not disappoint . With minor injuries to McClain and Rice , the Ravens relied on McGahee to carry their rushing attack in the playoffs , where he was vital in a 27 - 9 victory over the Miami Dolphins in the wildcard round , and in a close 13 - 10 victory over the top rated Tennessee Titans in the divisional round . During the , Willis was the Ravens ' primary offensive weapon , scoring two touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers to keep the game close . However , following a hard helmet - to - helmet hit by Ryan Clark , he was taken off the field on a stretcher to be evaluated by team physicians . He would later be diagnosed with no serious injury and was hailed for his heroic play . McGahee spent the 2009 offseason more seriously dedicated to rehabbing and coming back better than ever . Despite McGahee ' s extra training , the Ravens decided to go with second - year player Ray Rice as their starter . McClain ' s carries were drastically reduced , as he took on his traditional run blocking FB role , but McGahee ' s carries were also severely limited during several games , as the team either tried to have a pass - heavy attack , or relied almost entirely on Rice . Despite this , Willis remained fresh and injury free the entire season , and would actually become the teams ' leading scorer , with 14 TDs ( 12 rushing , 2 receiving ) . In Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs , he scored 2 rushing TDs and 2 receiving TDs in one game , another career record . His 14 regular season TDs saw him tied for second most TDs in the league in 2009 . It was speculated by some that if OC Cam Cameron had given Willis more carries , he could have easily eclipsed the 1 , 000 - yard rushing mark for the season , as his 5 . 0 yards - per - carry average was a career best . He also ended the season with his best career game , racking up 167 yards and 3 TDs against the Oakland Raiders . He also added 60 yards and a TD in a wildcard round 33 - 14 blowout of the New England Patriots . During the 2010 offseason , Willis McGahee opted to remain with the Baltimore Ravens , instead of going to another team as a possible starter . In week one versus the Jets , McGahee scored the game ' s only touchdown on a 1 - yard run which contributed to a Ravens ' win . McGahee scored a crucial 9 - yard touchdown against the Steelers in week four . In week five , McGahee rushed for 67 yards and a 30 - yard touchdown against the Broncos . In week 7 , McGahee faced his former team , the Buffalo Bills . In that game , McGahee had 74 total yards which included a 25 - yard run and a 2 - yard touchdown . In week 9 , McGahee scored a touchdown on a 32 - yard screen reception on Baltimore ' s opening drive . This marked the first time in the season that the Ravens had scored on the opening drive . In week 14 against the Texans , McGahee scored the team ' s first touchdown on a 1 - yard run . In week 15 versus the Saints , McGahee had 7 carries for 53 yards and a 28 - yard run up the middle . In the 2010 Wildcard Playoff Game against the Kansas City Chiefs , McGahee scored a 25 - yard touchdown run late in the 4th quarter that sealed the win for Baltimore . The Ravens won 30 - 7 . The Ravens released McGahee on July 28 , 2011 , to allow the team to free up salary cap space . In his four seasons as a Baltimore Raven , he accrued over 3300 total yds . from scrimmage , as well as 35 total regular season TDs , including 31 rushing TDs . That makes him the highest touchdown scoring Raven in the last half decade . Denver Broncos and comeback . On July 30 , 2011 , McGahee signed a four - year deal with the Denver Broncos worth $ 9 . 5 million , $ 3 million being guaranteed . Following an injury in Week 1 to Knowshon Moreno , McGahee became the primary back for the Broncos and in Week 2 versus the Cincinnati Bengals , he rushed for 101 yards on 28 carries and a 1 - yard touchdown run , in which he also brought back the famed " Mile High Salute " . In a Week 3 loss to the Titans , McGahee ran for 52 yards on 22 carries and had a 5 - yard reception for a touchdown . During a Week 4 loss to the Packers , McGahee rushed 15 times for 103 yards with two receptions for 10 yards . In a Week 5 loss to the Chargers , McGahee rushed for 125 yards on 16 carries . In the Week 7 win against the Dolphins , in the early second half McGahee already racked up 76 yards with an average of 4 . 2 yards per carry . It looked as if McGahee was on pace for his third - straight 100 yard game , and fourth of the season . However , McGahee fractured his hand early in the second half as well . In that game McGahee could ' ve moved up from 10th in the NFL in rushing to 8th . McGahee was unable to play the following week against the Lions due to his injury . The Broncos lost 45 - 10 . However , the following week against the Raiders McGahee came back with a strong performance . He put up 163 rushing yards , which included a 60 - yard touchdown and 24 - yard touchdown . That game moved McGahee up to 9th in the NFL rushing leaders statistics . In a Week 10 bout against the Chiefs , McGahee was favored to have another 100 yard game , giving him a total of 5 on the season . However , in the first quarter McGahee ran up one of his blockers legs , and suffered a left hamstring injury . He was taken to the locker room and listed as questionable to return . Coach John Fox stated in a post - game press conference that McGahee was fine and could ' ve returned in an emergency situation . Fox also said McGahee would most likely be able to play in the next game . McGahee then was moved from 9th to 12th in the NFL Rushing Leaders statistic board . During Week 11 against the Jets , McGahee only picked up 18 yards on the ground . McGahee stated after the game that he did not feel quite like himself . It is very probable that his hamstring was bothering him . On November 23 , 2011 , McGahee was named a team captain after the release of captain and backup quarterback Kyle Orton . Coach Fox attributed this to the fact that McGahee " had the next most votes when we took the vote [ for team captain ] back before the season started . " In the Week 12 versus the Chargers , he rushed for 117 yards on 23 carries . The 117 yards included two 20 - plus yard runs . One of which was a 24 - yard run in overtime which set up the Broncos inside of the 20 - yard line . This critical run set up the game winning field goal for Denver . In a Week 13 win against the Vikings , he picked up 111 yards on the ground , which included a 24 - yard touchdown run . This game moved McGahee back up to 10th in the NFL in rushing . This marked McGahee ' s sixth 100 yard performance on the year in which he leads the NFL . After a week 14 win against the Chicago Bears , McGahee had 920 yards on the season . He was expected to eclipse the 1 , 000 - yard mark for the first time since his first season with the Ravens in 2007 . On Week 15 against the New England Patriots , McGahee rushed for 70 yards averaging 10 yards per carry and 7 carries but was unfortunately pulled out of the game due to an hamstring injury . With only 10 yards to go to eclipse the 1 , 000 - yard mark , Willis was able to accomplish that feat on a 24 - yard run against the Buffalo Bills in week 16 . He ended the game with only 64 yards rushing and 15 carries . The next week against the Kansas City Chiefs , McGahee rushed for 145 yards on 28 carries averaging 5 . 2 yards per carry which marked his seventh ' s 100 yard performance tying for 1st place with Houston Texans running back Arian Foster for most individual triple - digit rushing performances during the 2011 season . January 17 , 2012 , McGahee was added to the 2012 Pro Bowl Roster to replace Arian Foster . For the 2012 season , McGahee started as the number one running back on the Broncos depth chart . Quarterback Peyton Manning promised to bring a much different offense to the Broncos for 2012 . McGahee played well , averaging 4 . 4 yards per carry through his first ten starts . After amassing 731 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games , McGahee suffered a season - ending injury in Week 11 in a game against the San Diego Chargers on November 18 , 2012 . The injury occurred when his knee was hit by the helmet of San Diego Chargers cornerback Quentin Jammer during the second quarter of the Broncos ' 30 - 23 win . Coach John Fox initially stated that McGahee would not be placed on Injured Reserve , but on November 19 McGahee underwent an MRI that revealed a torn medial collateral ligament and compression fracture in his right knee . McGahee was placed on Injured Reserve on November 21 , while the Broncos used the NFL ' s new " Designated for Return " label , meaning that he could potentially play in the post season . McGahee was designated for assignment on June 13 , 2013 due to health concerns and then waived on June 16 . Cleveland Browns . After the Cleveland Browns traded Trent Richardson , their first - round ( third overall ) pick in the 2012 NFL Draft , to the Indianapolis Colts for their first - round choice in 2014 , the Browns brought in McGahee to replace him . After passing his team physical , McGahee agreed to terms with the Browns . McGahee rushed for 2 . 7 a carry and 2 TD ' s in 12 games for the Browns , both career lows for a season .