Erik Coleman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sacramento, California, U.S.
![]() Coleman with the Atlanta Falcons in 2009 | |||||||||||||
| No. 26, 24 | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Safety | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | May 6, 1982 Sacramento, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 207 lb (94 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| College | Washington State | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2004: 5th round, 143rd overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Erik James Coleman (born May 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL draft and also played for the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions. He played college football for the Washington State Cougars.
Coleman played college football at Washington State University. He majored in communications.
Professional career
New York Jets
Coleman was selected by the New York Jets in the fifth round (143rd overall) of the 2004 NFL draft.[1] He unexpectedly became one of the most important Jet defenders, cementing his starting role with interceptions in each of his first two NFL games. He finished the season as the NFL's highest grossing member of its performance-pay program, the league's plan for rewarding low-salary players who outperform their contracts. In week six of the 2005 season against the Buffalo Bills he made a career high 14 tackles. Before the 2006 season Coleman underwent an appendectomy, slowing his production that season. During his tenure with the New York Jets he started in 45 of 48 regular season games.
Atlanta Falcons

On March 1, 2008, Coleman was signed by the Atlanta Falcons. In the 2008 season, Erik Coleman had 95 total tackles, 6 passes deflected, and three interceptions. Those three interceptions were the most on the Atlanta Falcons team.
On February 9, 2011, Coleman was released from the Falcons.[2]
Detroit Lions
On February 18, 2011, Coleman signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions.[3] He was released on December 4, 2012.
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2004 | NYJ | 16 | 16 | 100 | 73 | 27 | 2.0 | 4 | 4 | 43 | 0 | 37 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | NYJ | 16 | 16 | 121 | 84 | 37 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | NYJ | 16 | 13 | 101 | 70 | 31 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | NYJ | 15 | 4 | 50 | 28 | 22 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 95 | 80 | 15 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 | 48 | 0 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 116 | 82 | 34 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | ATL | 12 | 1 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | DET | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | DET | 12 | 7 | 47 | 32 | 15 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 123 | 89 | 652 | 466 | 186 | 2.0 | 15 | 11 | 98 | 0 | 37 | 37 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Playoffs
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2004 | NYJ | 2 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | NYJ | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | ATL | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | ATL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 4 | 36 | 26 | 10 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
