Dewayne Washington Dewayne Neron Washington ( born December 27 , 1972 ) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League . He played for the Minnesota Vikings , the Pittsburgh Steelers , the Jacksonville Jaguars , and the Kansas City Chiefs . He was a first - round pick ( 18th overall ) in the 1994 NFL Draft from North Carolina State University . Amateur years . Washington played high school football at Northern High School in Durham , North Carolina , where he earned All - American honors from " Sporting News " , SuperPrep , and " USA Today " in 1989 . After high school Washington attended North Carolina State , grabbing 3 interception s his junior year . As a senior , Washington led the team with 4 interceptions , and also recorded 66 tackles ( 51 solo ) as a co - captain . Pro career . Minnesota Vikings . Dewayne Washington started all 16 games for the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie in 1994 . Washington recorded 75 tackles ( 69 solo ) , and had 3 interceptions for 135 yards and 2 touchdown s as a rookie . Dewayne Washington was named defensive rookie of the year by " College and Pro Football Weekly " and earned All - Rookie honors from " Pro Football Weekly " and Pro Football Writers of America . The Vikings won the NFC Central Division with a 10 - 6 record , but lost in the first round of the 1994 NFL playoffs . In 1995 , Washington played in only 15 games , recording 62 total tackles ( 57 solo ) , and had 1 interception for 25 yards . For the next 10 NFL seasons , he did not miss a game and he played in a total of 191 / 192 possible regular season games during his career . In 1996 , Washington recorded 75 tackles ( 72 solo ) . He had 2 interceptions for 27 yards and a touchdown that year . In 1997 , he had 84 tackles ( 74 solo ) . He had 4 interceptions that year for 71 yards , but no touchdowns . Washington was a starter for a Vikings that entered the 1997 NFL playoffs as a wildcard team , upset ting the New York Giants in the first round before falling to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional playoffs . Pittsburgh Steelers . On February 25 , 1998 , the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Dewayne Washington as an unrestricted free agent . 1998 proved to be Dewayne ' s best season in the NFL . In his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers , Washington had 93 tackles ( 82 solo ) . He had 5 interceptions for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns that year . These would be the last interceptions Washington would return for touchdowns in his career . In 1999 , Washington had a career low of 52 tackles ( 50 solo ) . However , he did manage to record 4 interceptions . In 2000 , Washington had 78 tackles ( 70 solo ) . He matched his career high with 5 interceptions , returning them for 59 yards . On July 19 , 2001 , the Pittsburgh Steelers re - signed Dewayne Washington to a multi - year contract . In 2001 , he had 77 tackles , but only 1 interception for 15 yards . He helped Steelers win the AFC Central with a 13 - 3 record , advancing to the AFC Conference Championship , where they were defeated by the New England Patriots . In 2002 he had only 54 tackles , and a career low 46 solo tackles . With a record of 10 - 5 - 1 , the Steelers lost in the divisional round of the playoffs . In 2003 Washington began to show signs of aging . That year , he had only 55 tackles ( 51 solo ) . He had only 1 interception for the second consecutive year , returning it for only 7 yards . This would be the end of Washington ' s six - season career in Pittsburgh . Jacksonville Jaguars . On February 27 , 2004 , the Pittsburgh Steelers officially cut Dewayne Washington , making him a free agent eligible to sign with any team . On March 9 , 2004 , the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Dewayne Washington to be a nickel back . In 2004 , Washington had 2 interceptions . Kansas City Chiefs . In training camp before the 2005 NFL season , the Kansas City Chiefs signed Washington to a one year - contract . Washington ' s signing was considered less significant due to the possibility of signing Ty Law before he signed with the New York Jets . Dewayne played almost always on special teams , recording 10 tackles , 9 being solo . Despite a 10 - 6 record that included 4000 yards passing by Trent Green and 1700 yards rushing by Larry Johnson , the Chiefs failed to make the playoffs . For the first season in his career , Washington went without an interception and only started one game . In his career , Washington recorded 31 interceptions and recovered 7 fumble s . He returned four interceptions and two fumbles for touchdowns . Washington has started all 8 playoff games he has appeared in . Personal . Dewayne is married and currently has three children .