Donte Stallworth Appears On the Field With the Washington Redskins

No matter what happens in Donte Stallworth’s personal life, the veteran wide receiver always seems to land with an NFL team.

Stallworth, who is recovering from a life-threatening hot air balloon crash that gave him serious burn injuries, appeared on the practice field for the Washington Redskins on Tuesday. In a published report by the Associated Press, Mike Shanahan was quoted as saying that he “hopes to sign (Stallworth) this week.” He was participating in Tuesday’s workout as a “tryout” player, but with his NFL pedigree, he is hardly the normal tryout candidate.

Stallworth has appeared in 115 NFL games with 6 teams, and has generally been a productive player for his entire career. While his career numbers won’t “wow” you (4,837 yards, 35 touchdowns), Stallworth possesses one of the great weapons on a football field in that he has outstanding speed. Even at age 32, Stallworth can still flat-out fly, and there is a reason that he continues to latch on with NFL rosters despite off-field troubles.

In addition to the aforementioned balloon accident, Stallworth pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter in 2009, after striking a pedestrian with his car while being legally intoxicated. Following the arrest/sentence, he sat out the 2009 NFL season, but managed to receive a contract with the Baltimore Ravens in 2010, and he appeared in 8 games that season.

As Shanahan indicated, it would be almost expected to see Stallworth receive a contract with the Redskins in the near future. It is unknown whether he can still perform at a high enough level to sustain NFL success, but he certainly keeps appearing on rosters, and that’s not changing anytime soon.