Denver Broncos Portis was drafted by the
Denver Broncos with the 51st overall pick in the second round of the
2002 NFL draft. Portis rushed for over 1,500 yards in each of his first two seasons with the Broncos, averaging 5.5 yards per carry in that span. The latter is an NFL record for a running back's first two seasons. On December 15, 2002, Portis became the youngest player (21 years, 105 days) to score 4 touchdowns in a game in a 31–24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. The very next season on December 7, 2003, Portis became the youngest player (22 years, 97 days) to score 5 touchdowns in a game in a 45–27 victory, which also happened against Kansas City. 's NFL off-season, Clinton Portis held at least 18 Broncos franchise records, including: • Rush Yards: rookie season (1,508 in 2002) • Rush Yds/Att: career (5.5), season (5.52 in 2002), game (9.91 on 2003-12-07 KAN), rookie season (5.52 in 2002), rookie game (9.5 on 2002-12-29 ARI) • Rushing TDs: game (5 on 2003-12-07 KAN), rookie season (15 in 2002) • Rush Yds/Game: career (106.9) • Total TDs: game (5 on 2003-12-07 KAN), rookie season (17 in 2002), rookie game (4 on 2002-12-15 KAN; with
Mike Anderson) • Yards from Scrimmage: rookie season (1,872 in 2002) • All Purpose Yards: rookie season (1,872 in 2002) • 100+ yard rushing games: rookie season (8) • Games with 1+ TD scored: rookie season (10) • Games with 2+ TD scored: rookie season (5; with
Mike Anderson) • Games with 3+ TD scored: rookie season (1; with
Jon Keyworth,
Terrell Davis and
Mike Anderson)
Trade Before the 2004 season, the Broncos traded Portis to the Washington Redskins for cornerback
Champ Bailey and a second-round draft pick in the
2004 NFL draft which the Broncos used to select
Tatum Bell (and Bell wore Portis's number 26 in Denver). Washington signed Portis to an eight-year contract worth $50.5 million. At that time, there were criticisms regarding the trade, namely that shut-down corners like Bailey were hard to come by and that adding a second-round pick for Portis was too much and one-sided. Critics also felt that Portis was simply a product of the Broncos' O-line scheme, and would not have much success in Washington, which was usually suited to more physical, power runners (such as
Stephen Davis or
John Riggins).
Washington Redskins 2004 He finished 2004 with 1,315 yards for a 3.8 yard rushing average. He had an especially tough time finding the end zone, finishing with eight total touchdowns (5 rushing, 2 receiving, and one passing).
2005 Portis bounced back in the 2005 season. Although he did not get into the end zone until the fifth game of the season, he finished strong and had 12 total touchdowns (11 rushing and one passing). On a 14-yard run against the
Philadelphia Eagles on January 1, 2006, he broke the Redskins' franchise record for the most rushing yards in a season with 1,516 yards and tied the most 100+ yard games in a season (5). He ended the game with 112 rushing yards.
2006 There was no immediate indication from the Redskins as to when Portis might return to active playing status. However, he returned early into Washington' game against the
Minnesota Vikings, where he gained 39 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown. The Washington Redskins lost 16–19, the clock expiring as Washington kicker
John Hall missed wide left on a field goal. Portis rebounded in following weeks with 16 carries for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns against the
Houston Texans, and 27 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown against the
Jacksonville Jaguars. Nagged by injuries all season, Portis suffered another setback in the first quarter of Washington's November 12 loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles. Portis left the game with a hand injury and was replaced by backup
Ladell Betts. X-rays revealed that Portis broke his right hand during the game. He was operated on and placed on the Redskins' Injured Reserve list three days later, on November 15.
2007 ,
2007 Washington agreed to guarantee Portis' 2008–2009 and a large portion of his 2010 base salaries in March. This would equal up to $15 million in guarantees. Portis, also got a $9.32 million "signing bonus" upon restructuring. He would finish the 2007 season with 1,262 yards rushing and 11 rushing touchdowns along with 389 yards receiving.
2008 In 2008, Portis fell just short of what would have been his fourth 1500 yard rushing season in seven years, finishing with 1487 yards and an average of 4.3 yards per carry. His season was highlighted by a five-week stretch in which Portis gained nearly 700 yards, ending in an October 26 victory over the Detroit Lions. During this span Clinton Portis joined O.J. Simpson as the only players in NFL history to rush for at least 120 yards in five consecutive games twice in a career (Portis first did it over two seasons with four games with Denver in 2003 and one game with Washington in 2004). Portis led the NFL in rushing as late as November 23 before nagging injuries and limited playing time slowed him down; he gained only 281 yards in his final five games as Washington lost four of five to miss the playoffs. Despite this, he was selected to the Pro Bowl over
DeAngelo Williams, despite Williams having better stats at the end of the season. Some controversy was caused on December 9, 2008, when Clinton Portis made negative statements about Washington coach
Jim Zorn in his weekly appearance on WTEM-AM radio, criticizing Zorn for giving inconsistent messages and sarcastically calling him a "genius." Portis was still smarting from his lack of playing time in Sunday's 24–10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, when he was removed from the game after the first series of the second half. In the offseason, Portis stated that he tried to forge a better relationship with Zorn, but admitted that he did not have the rapport that he shared with former head coach
Joe Gibbs, which he classified as a "great relationship," and stated that Gibbs was "one of the best men as far as guidance, or the way he lives his life, an example of a true champion."
2009 During a Week 9 game versus the
Atlanta Falcons, Portis suffered a concussion. The hit caused Portis to lose consciousness and leave the game. Portis missed four consecutive games with concussion-like symptoms. Portis went to see a specialist in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 1, 2009. It was reported that on December 8, Portis was officially placed on
injured reserve. It took four months for him to gain clearance to play again.
2010 The start of the 2010 season saw the reunion of Portis and newly appointed coach,
Mike Shanahan, Portis' former coach from his first two career seasons with the
Denver Broncos. Despite a positive outlook with a new coaching staff, injuries continued to plague Portis as he had to deal with
abdomen and
groin injuries. During his seventh year as a Redskin, Portis played only five games and tallied only 227 yards rushing throughout the season, which included two touchdowns. Both touchdowns were scored in the September 19 home game versus the
Houston Texans. On February 28, 2011, Portis was released by the Washington Redskins after failed contract re-negotiations and repeated injuries. Following his release, Portis felt that passion had been missing from the team since Gibbs retired, saying, "I never seen nobody give up or with their head down with Coach Gibbs. As many close games as we played...you can't say one time that we gave up. There was a passion and toughness amongst everybody on that field to fight until time expired."
Retirement during the Taylor's jersey retirement ceremony On August 21, 2012, Portis announced his retirement, cementing his status as 26th all-time in career rushing yards. He officially retired on August 23 and during the press conference it was announced that he made it into the list of the 80 Greatest Redskins of All-Time. After retirement, Portis admitted to have suffered 10 concussions. In 2013, Portis joined former players such as
Daunte Culpepper,
Cadillac Williams and
Art Monk in a civil lawsuit against NFL over concussion and head injuries. ==Career statistics==