Alexander Leatherwood (born January 5, 1999) is an American professional

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. He played

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for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

, where he was two-time CFP national champion and the winner of the Outland and Jacobs Blocking trophies in 2020. Leatherwood was selected by the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

in the first round of the

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but was released after his rookie season.

Early life

Leatherwood was born on January 5, 1999, and grew up in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, where he attended Booker T. Washington High School. He was named first-team All-Area by the ''

Pensacola News Journal The '' Pensacola News Journal'' is a daily morning newspaper serving Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida. It is Northwest Florida's most widely read daily. The ''News Journal'' is owned by Gannett, a national media holding company t ...

'' as a junior and senior. As a senior, he was named a first-team

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by ''

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'' and named to the second-team by ''

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'' and played in the All-America Bowl. Leatherwood was rated a consensus five-star and top 10 recruit for his class and committed to play

at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

during his junior year.

College career

Leatherwood enrolled at Alabama a semester early and played in seven games as a true freshman. He saw significant playing time in the 2018 CFP National Championship Game, entering the game at left tackle after starter Jonah Williams was injured in the third quarter. He was moved to right tackle during spring practice and moved again to right guard during fall training camp, winning the starting job going into his sophomore season. He started all 15 of the Crimson Tide's games, giving up 21 pressures, and was named second-team

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons

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(SEC) by the league's coaches. Leatherwood was moved back to the left tackle position following the season. He was named first-team preseason All-SEC and a second-team preseason All-American by ''

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'' entering his junior season. He was placed on the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that g ...

watchlist midway through the season. Leatherwood started every game for Alabama and was named first-team All-SEC by the league's coaches and second-team by the media and was named first-team All-America by the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

. After considering entering the 2020 NFL Draft, Leatherwood announced that he would return to Alabama for his senior season. As a senior, Leatherwood starting all 13 of Alabama's games as the Crimson Tide won the

2021 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game played on January 11, 2021, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The seventh College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determine ...

. He was named first-team All-SEC and was the co-winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy along with Alabama center Landon Dickerson. Leatherwood was a unanimous first-team All-America selection and was awarded the

as the nation's best interior lineman.

Professional career

Las Vegas Raiders

Leatherwood was selected by the

with the 17th overall pick in the

. On May 24, 2021, Leatherwood signed his four-year rookie contract with Las Vegas, a four-year, fully guaranteed deal worth $14.39 million. He moved to offensive guard due to struggles at tackle as a rookie and was waived on August 30, 2022.

Chicago Bears

On August 31, 2022, Leatherwood was claimed off waivers by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list on September 14, 2022. He was activated on October 28. On August 27, 2023, Leatherwood was released by the Bears.

Cleveland Browns

On August 30, 2023, Leatherwood was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. His contract expired when the team's season ended January 13, 2024.

Los Angeles Chargers

On May 29, 2024, Leatherwood signed with the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

. He was released on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad. Leatherwood was released by the Chargers on December 10.

Personal life

In June 2020, Leatherwood wrote a screenplay for a video in support of the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement. He appeared in the video along with other Alabama players and their head coach,

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. ( ; born October 31, 1951) is an American sportscaster and former Professional gridiron football, professional and college football coach. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's ''College GameDay (football TV program), Colleg ...

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leatherwood, Alex 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Pensacola, Florida American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Alabama Crimson Tide football players All-American college football players Las Vegas Raiders players Chicago Bears players Cleveland Browns players Los Angeles Chargers players