William Wilson "B. W." Webb Jr. (born May 3, 1990) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He played

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 gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at William & Mary, and was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in the fourth round of the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. He was also a member of the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. 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 ...

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 ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Early life

Webb was born in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

. He attended Warwick High School and Hampton Roads Academy under the tutelage of Coach Abe Mikell in Newport News, and played high school football for the Warwick Raiders. While working with Coach Abe Mikell, Webb developed his fundamentals and love of the game. He was a two-year starter at cornerback and wide receiver. Webb had seven career interceptions, two of which were returned for scores. He was named to first-team All-Peninsula District as a cornerback (2007), and earned honorable mention distinction as a junior. He was also a standout track athlete at Warwick, he ran a career best time of 6.60 seconds in the

55 metres 55 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field. The history of the event lies in the 60-yard dash, which is about 5 inches shorter than 55 metres. Since the 1960s alm ...

. He excelled in

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

as well. He was named to the All-America Team in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

College career

Webb decided to enroll in the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

, where he played for the

William & Mary Tribe football The William & Mary Tribe are a college football team representing the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. William & Mary competes in CAA Football, a single-sport NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision conference ope ...

team from 2008 to 2012. After redshirting in 2008, he was honored as the

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

(CAA) Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was also selected to the All-CAA second-team as a cornerback and to the all-league third-team as a punt returner. He was tied for second nationally with eight interceptions, including a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns, and totaled 160 interception return yards. In 2010, he was selected to the All-CAA first-team as a cornerback and garnered second-team honors as a punt returner after finished the season with 42 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, an interception and six passes broken up. In 2011, he earned first-team all-conference honors at cornerback for the second consecutive season, and finished the season with 40 tackles, 3.0 tackles for a loss and two interceptions. As a senior, he garnered first-team all-league distinction as a cornerback for the third consecutive season, he also earned second-team all-conference honors as a punt returner. He finished his career with nine postseason all-conference honors, and set a school record with 48 career starts. He started all 11 games and totaled 46 tackles, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, eight passes broken up and a tackle for loss. He was initiated as a member of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

fraternity at William and Mary.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

The

selected Webb in the fourth round (114th overall) of the

. Webb was the 16th cornerback drafted in 2013. On May 14, 2013, the Dallas Cowboys signed Webb to a four-year, $2.60 million

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $443,380. Webb entered training camp slated as the fourth cornerback on the depth chart. Head coach

Jason Garrett Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was most notably the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2010 to 2019. Garrett played college f ...

named Webb the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind

Brandon Carr Brandon Carey Carr (born May 19, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, and Baltimore Ravens. He played college football for ...

Morris Claiborne Morris Lee Claiborne (born February 7, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, winning the Jim Thorpe Award a ...

, and

Orlando Scandrick Orlando Lee Scandrick (born February 10, 1987) is an American former professional football cornerback. He played college football at Boise State University and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL draft. He also ...

. He made his professional regular season debut in the Dallas Cowboys’ season-opening 36–31 victory against the

. In Week 8, he collected a season-high three solo tackles and deflected a pass during a 27–23 win against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. Webb saw an increased snap count in Weeks 9–10 after Morris Claiborne was sidelined due to a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury. On December 9, 2013, Webb had a dismal performance and was benched in favor of

Sterling Moore Sterling Moore (born February 3, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback and coach who is a defensive assistant for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Southern Methodi ...

during a 45–28 loss at the

in a Week 13. He was surpassed by Sterling Moore on the depth chart and was demoted to the scout team for the remainder of the season. Webb was inactive as a healthy scratch for the Dallas Cowboys’ 24–22 loss to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in a Week 17. Webb finished his rookie season in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

with 16 combined tackles (13 solo) and one pass deflection in 15 games and zero starts. Throughout training camp, Webb competed against Sterling Moore, Tyler Patmon, Terrance Mitchell, and Dashaun Phillips to be the fourth cornerback on the depth chart. On August 28, 2014, the Dallas Cowboys waived Webb after he was inactive for their fourth preseason game due to a hip flexor.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 29, 2014, the

claimed Webb off of waivers. Head coach

Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led t ...

named Webb the fifth cornerback on the Steelers’ Depth Chart to begin the season, behind Ike Taylor, Cortez Allen, William Gay, and Brice McCain. He was activated for 11 games and played mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He was released by the team on September 5, 2015.

Tennessee Titans

On September 9,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, he 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 ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on November 8, for a game against the

in which he recorded his first career interception. He appeared in 9 games (2 starts), while registering 22 tackles, one interception and three passes defensed. On September 2,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, he was released as part of final roster cuts.

New Orleans Saints

On September 14,

, Webb was signed by the

, to provide depth at the

position after

Delvin Breaux Delvin Lionel Breaux (born October 25, 1989) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL). He was a member of the Louisiana Bayou Vipers, New Orleans Vo ...

suffered a broken fibula. He played in 14 games with eight starts with the Saints, recording career-highs of 28 tackles and 11 passes defensed to go along with one interception.

Chicago Bears

On April 5, 2017, Webb signed a one-year contract with the

. He was released on September 2, 2017.

Cleveland Browns

On December 19, 2017, Webb signed with the

. He was waived on December 29, 2017. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Browns on January 1, 2018. He was released on March 15, 2018.

New York Giants

On March 19, 2018, Webb signed a one-year contract with the

Cincinnati Bengals

On March 14, 2019, Webb signed a three-year contract worth $10.5 million with the

. He played in 15 games with 12 starts, recording 37 tackles, seven passes defensed, and one interception. On March 18, 2020, Webb was released by the Bengals.

Arizona Cardinals

On August 21, 2020, Webb signed a one-year contract with the

. He was released on August 27, 2020.

San Francisco 49ers

On August 4, 2021, Webb signed a one-year contract with the

. He was released on August 24, 2021.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

William & Mary Tribe bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, B. W. 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Newport News, Virginia William & Mary Tribe football players American football cornerbacks Dallas Cowboys players Pittsburgh Steelers players Tennessee Titans players New Orleans Saints players Chicago Bears players Cleveland Browns players New York Giants players Cincinnati Bengals players Arizona Cardinals players San Francisco 49ers players