In trying to do some research on Donald Washington, the soon-to-be 30-year old cornerback the Steelers signed after a tryout this weekend, I came across a Toronto Argonauts news release from 2014 that perfectly illustrates how much of a crapshoot the NFL draft can be.
Washington was one of three former NFL players signed by the CFL franchise and one of two that were former fourth-round NFL picks. The other was Thaddeus Gibson.
If that name sounds familiar it’s because the Steelers made the selection in 2010. Gibson never played in a game for the Steelers. He bounced around with four other NFL teams before hooking on in the CFL. He currently is a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Washington was a fourth-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009. He has a better NFL resume, with 32 games played from 2009-11, but he hasn’t played much football the past four seasons. He only played in three games with the Argonauts before being released. He signed with the Hamilton Tiger Cats last summer and only played in five games.
Washington, who turns 30 on July 28, left Ohio State after his junior season. At the NFL scouting combine, he ran 4.49 and recorded a 45-inch vertical leap. Combine that with the fact that’s 6 feet, and it was enough for the Chiefs to take him in the fourth round.
Those measurables apparently were the same reason the Steelers signed him. It certainly can’t be his CFL resume from the past two seasons when he posted 34 tackles and no interceptions.
There was some buzz last spring when the Steelers signed CFL pass rusher Shawn Lemon. At least Lemon put up some impressive stats in the CFL, with 30 career sacks.
Lemon didn’t last long with the Steelers. He was with the team in OTAs and minicamp, but was released after two days at training camp in Latrobe.
Washington is hoping for a longer stay, but it doesn’t bode well that he was Gibson’s teammate twice and neither stint was with an NFL team.
First Published: May 10, 2016, 12:49 p.m.
