T . J . Duckett Todd Jeffery " T . J . " Duckett ( born February 17 , 1981 ) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent . He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons 18th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft . He played college football at Michigan State . Duckett has also played for the Washington Redskins , Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks . Early years . Duckett was a consensus prep All - America at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo , Michigan , where , as a senior , he was named Parade Magazine and Rivalnet National Player of the Year . In addition to running back , he played linebacker and quarterback . As a junior , he had 140 tackles , three sacks and two interceptions and accounted for 2 , 080 total yards and 20 touchdowns on offense . He was named Defensive Player of the Year by Prepstar , SuperPrep and Rivalnet . As a senior , also , he rushed for 1 , 623 yards ( 11 . 2 avg . ) and had 21 touchdowns . On defense , he recorded 102 tackles , nine sacks , and four forced fumbles . As a quarterback , he threw for 920 yards and nine touchdowns . He was the 1997 " Rivals " High School Junior of the Year . Duckett also participated in track and field , where he was a Three - time state Class - A shot put champion . He holds the state record in the shot put at 64 - 7 in track and field . He was also a member of the 400m relay team with a personal - best time of 10 . 6 in the 100m . College career . Duckett was the lead running back for the Michigan State University Spartans in 1999 - 2001 . In Michigan State ' s victory over Michigan in 2001 he caught a touchdown pass from Jeff Smoker as time expired to upset the Michigan Wolverines 26 - 24 . As a junior , he earned second - team All - Big Ten Conference honors with 1 , 353 yards rushing on 240 carries ( 5 . 6 avg . ) and seven touchdowns . He ran for more than 100 yards six times , including a career - high of 248 yards in a game against Iowa . As a senior , he started every game , leading the team with 263 carries for 1 , 420 yards ( 5 . 4 avg . ) and 12 scores . His 263 attempts rank eighth on the school ' s season - record list , while his 1 , 420 yards rank fourth . Duckett ' s totals at MSU were 621 carries for 3 , 379 yards ( 5 . 4 avg . ) and 29 touchdowns , 22 receptions for 151 yards with one score . His 621 rushing attempts rank seventh on the Spartans ' career - record chart . Duckett became the fifth all - time leading rusher for MSU , falling short of his brother Tico ' s 4 , 212 yards ( # 3 all time at MSU ) . His 29 touchdowns are sixth best in MSU history . Professional career . Atlanta Falcons . The Atlanta Falcons drafted Duckett in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft with the 18th pick overall . He played as part of the Atlanta Falcons " DVD " ( Dunn , Vick , Duckett ) rushing offense in 2003 - 2005 . Weighing more than 250 pounds , he was a " muscle " alternative to the 180 - pound Dunn . In 2002 he played in 12 games ( starting in three ) and rushed 130 times for 507 yards with four touchdowns . In 2003 , He started ten of 16 games and led the team with career - highs of 779 yards on 197 attempts and 11 touchdowns , in addition to 11 catches for 94 yards . He became the fourth Falcon ever with at least ten rushing scores in a single - season . His 11 rushing touchdowns that year rank as the third - highest single - season total in team history . In 2004 , Duckett played in 13 games and totaled 509 yards on 104 carries ( 4 . 9 avg . ) with eight rushing touchdowns . Duckett ' s most notable moment in the 2004 season came in a Divisional Playoff game against the Rams , where had a touchdown in the 4th quarter , sealing the decisive victory for the Falcons . In 2005 , He played in 14 games and had 380 rushing yards on 121 carries with eight touchdowns . He also had six receptions for 63 yards and two kickoff returns for 36 yards . Washington Redskins . Duckett was traded from the Falcons to the Redskins as part of a three - team deal on August 23 , 2006 , involving the Denver Broncos . The Redskins traded a draft pick to the Broncos , the Broncos traded wide receiver Ashley Lelie to the Falcons , and the Redskins received Duckett from the Falcons . He signed a two - year , $ 1 . 363 million contract with the last year voidable . In 2006 , he played in ten games , finishing with a career - low 38 rushes for 132 yards , two touchdowns and two receptions for 16 yards . Detroit Lions . On March 9 , 2007 he signed with the Lions . In Detroit , Duckett teamed up with Tatum Bell and Kevin Jones in a multiple back rotation . In 2007 , Duckett had 65 attempts for 335 yards ( 5 . 2 avg . ) with four rushing touchdowns . On December 23 , 2007 against the Kansas City Chiefs , Duckett carried the ball 15 times for a career - high 102 yards ( 6 . 8 avg . ) and a touchdown . Seattle Seahawks . On March 4 , 2008 , the Seattle Seahawks signed Duckett to a five - year contract worth $ 14 million . He served as a short - yardage back for the Seahawks . Duckett scored a touchdown on a one - yard run on September 14 , 2008 . Before the game , his number was changed from 45 to 42 . On September 20 , 2008 , Duckett scored twice on 19 carries for 79 yards . At the end of the 2008 season , Duckett had 172 rushing yards and a team high eight rushing touchdowns . During the offseason between the 2008 and 2009 seasons , Duckett again changed his number , this time to 44 . Despite reports that he would have an increased role in 2009 , he was released prior to the regular season on August 25 after the team signed running back Edgerrin James . Personal . T . J . ' s brother Tico Duckett was also a standout running back at Michigan State from 1989 until 1992 . Tico was the co - Big Ten offensive player of the year in 1990 and played briefly with the Washington Redskins . Every year , T . J . used participate in the annual St . " Bald - ricks " Children ’ s Cancer Fundraiser . For this , he grew his beard out the whole season and had it shaved off for the event in order to raise money for childhood cancer research . T . J . ' s mother died from cancer in 2000 and he has a tattoo of her on his upper right forearm and has her signature on his triceps . T . J . has recently started New World Flood , a non - profit organization that goes into schools and teaches kids how they can start a flood of community service and kind acts in their school , town , city , and world . In 2012 he started a nonprofit printing company for T shirts and other clothing items .