Shawn Springs

Shawn Springs (born March 11, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning All-American honors. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks third overall in the 1997 NFL draft, and played for the Seahawks, Washington Redskins and New England Patriots, and was a Pro Bowl selection in 1998.

Early life Springs was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, and largely raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. He is the son of NFL player, Ron Springs, who was a running back at Ohio State University and subsequently played for Tampa Bay and the Dallas Cowboys. Shawn was an all-state selection in high school football at Springbrook High School where he played running back and cornerback.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks selected Springs third overall in the 1997 NFL draft. The Seahawks decided to secure their ability to draft Springs by trading their first (11th overall), second (41st overall), third (70th overall), and fourth round (100th overall) in the 1997 NFL Draft to the Atlanta Falcons in return for their first (3rd overall) and third round (63rd overall) picks.

He became the highest pick used to select a cornerback in the history of the NFL draft. Jeff Okudah tied his record when he was selected third overall in the 2020 NFL draft. In 2025, Travis Hunter was selected 2nd overall as a cornerback/wide receiver.

He started 10 games in his rookie season, recording one interception. Springs was selected to the 1999 Pro Bowl in his second season in the NFL, after starting all sixteen games, and recorded 76 tackles, seven interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns. He started every game of his next two seasons in Seattle, recording five interceptions in the 1999 season and two in the 2000 season.

Washington Redskins Springs was signed as a free agent on March 4, 2004, by the Washington Redskins. In his first season in Washington, he led the team in interceptions with five, and sacks with six, and was the first cornerback to lead his team in sacks and interceptions in NFL history. In the 2005 season, Springs played much of the season with a leg injury; he finished the year with one interception and recorded 50 tackles in 15 starts. The 2006 season saw Springs on the bench for most of the year, battling nagging injuries while the Redskins compiled a 5–11 season. He was eventually placed on injured reserve on December 26 with a fractured scapula. Springs ended the 2007 season with 62 tackles and four interceptions, the latter in the last four regular-season games, as he helped the Redskins make the playoffs.

Springs was released by the Redskins on February 27, 2009.

New England Patriots Springs signed a three-year contract with the New England Patriots on March 11, 2009. He started four of the first eight games of the 2009 season for the Patriots. In November, he missed a four-game stretch with a knee injury, despite being listed as probable on each week's injury report. After back-to-back losses, he returned to start the final four games of the season and the Patriots' playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He finished the season with one interception, 40 tackles, and four passes defended.

On May 18, 2010, the Patriots released Springs.

NFL career statistics Year Team GP Tackles Fumbles Interceptions Cmb Solo Ast Sck FF FR Yds Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD 1997 SEA 10 38 34 4 0.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 6 1998 SEA 16 75 60 15 0.0 1 1 0 7 142 20 56 2 21 1999 SEA 16 73 63 10 0.0 0 1 0 5 77 15 42 0 15 2000 SEA 16 84 71 13 0.0 1 0 0 2 8 4 8 0 14 2001 SEA 8 20 16 4 0.0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 2002 SEA 15 59 54 5 0.0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 12 2003 SEA 12 43 37 6 1.5 0 0 0 1 8 8 8 0 11 2004 WAS 15 64 52 12 6.0 1 0 0 5 117 23 38 0 12 2005 WAS 15 50 47 3 0.0 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 0 9 2006 WAS 9 38 35 3 0.0 0 0 0 1 4 4 4 0 8 2007 WAS 16 62 57 5 0.0 1 1 0 4 63 16 53 0 15 2008 WAS 9 36 31 5 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 2009 NE 12 40 35 5 0.0 0 0 0 1 8 8 8 0 4 Career 169 682 592 90 8.5 5 5 0 33 429 13 56 2 138

Personal life Springs is the son of former NFL running back Ron Springs. He has four children, Skyler, Samari, Shawn II, and Sedona.