Christopher Dion Horton (born December 29, 1984) is an American football coach and former player who is the special teams coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played as a safety in the NFL for the Washington Redskins (now Commanders). Horton played college football for the UCLA Bruins, earning first-team All-American honors in 2007. He was selected by Washington in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL draft.
 Horton at Redskins training camp in 2011 | |||||||||||||||
| Baltimore Ravens | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Special teams coordinator | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | December 29, 1984 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 212 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | De La Salle (New Orleans, Louisiana) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | UCLA | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2008 / round: 7 / pick: 249 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| As a player: | |||||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Early life
editHe graduated in 2003 from De La Salle High School in New Orleans[1] where he was a teammate of Marquise Hill.
Professional playing career
editWashington Redskins
editHorton was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round (249th overall) of the 2008 NFL draft.[2] He officially signed a three-year, $1.191 million contract with the team on June 12, 2008. The contract included a $36,000 signing bonus.
Making his first NFL start for the Redskins in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints, Horton recovered a fumble and recorded two interceptions helping lead the team to a comeback victory. He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Saints. In the week 4 game against the Dallas Cowboys, he recorded his third interception of the season. On October 2, he was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month. For week 4 he was named Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. As a rookie, he finished third among rookies in interceptions behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Aqib Talib and Arizona Cardinals Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
Following the 2008 season, he was awarded $342,197 in additional pay from the NFL's performance-based pay system, which gives financial compensation based on a comparison of playing time to salary; this made him the third biggest beneficiary in 2008.[3]
Horton was released by the Redskins on September 3, 2011, just before the start of the 2011 season.[4]
New York Giants
editHorton signed with the New York Giants on March 15, 2012.[5] He was released on August 27, 2012.
Professional coaching career
editBaltimore Ravens
editHorton originally joined the Baltimore Ravens as part of their coaching internship program.[6] In 2015, the Ravens officially hired him as an assistant special teams coach.[7]
On March 15, 2019, it was announced Horton would be promoted to special teams coordinator after Jerry Rosburg announced his retirement from coaching.[8][6]
References
edit- ^ "De la Salle High School - New Orleans, 1949". Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ^ "2008 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
- ^ Bonus Pay SI.com, 2009
- ^ "Beck, Grossman make Redskins' roster; no word on No. 1 QB". Associated Press. September 3, 2011. Archived from the original on November 18, 2011.
- ^ Giants sign former Washington Redskins safety Chris Horton
- ^ a b Mink, Ryan (March 20, 2019). "Meet Chris Horton, the Ravens' New Special Teams Coach". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- ^ Tinsman, Brian (March 21, 2019). "Former Redskins player promoted to Ravens' special teams coordinator".
- ^ Brown, Clifton (March 15, 2019). "Ravens Special Teams Coordinator Jerry Rosburg to Retire". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved March 21, 2019.