Eric Joseph Winston (born November 17, 1983) 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

. He played in college at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

and was selected by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in the third round of the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

. Winston also played for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

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

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 ...

. He was the president of the

National Football League Players Association The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor unions in the United States, labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive directo ...

(NFLPA) from 2014 to 2020.

Early life

Winston played high school football at Robert E. Lee High School in

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Midland County with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a ...

, where he was ranked amongst the most talented high school

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

s in the country. He played alongside fellow NFL running back Cedric Benson, and the two helped the Rebels win three straight Texas 5A state championships.

College career

Winston chose to attend college at the

after being heavily recruited by several other schools. At

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Winston majored in International Finance and Marketing and played

. He initially was set to play

for the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

, but made the switch before his sophomore year. Winston was widely considered one of the best

s to enter the

. However, an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

injury during his junior year made his draft stock drop, and several draft scouting organizations expressed slight worry over the possible implications of the injury and subsequent surgery on his play. Winston was also a standout student, graduating in three years with a GPA above 3.5, and he was a 2005

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection. He was a member of the

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as Pike is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and provisional chapters across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate mem ...

Fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

Professional career

Houston Texans

Winston was selected in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He started the final seven games as a rookie at right tackle in 2006 and proceeded to start 87 games for them until 2011. He signed a contract extension prior to the 2008 season. The Texans released him on March 12, 2012.

Kansas City Chiefs

Winston signed with the

on March 17, 2012. On October 7, 2012, Winston spoke out about Kansas City Chiefs fans, who he thought were cheering an injury to quarterback Matt Cassel. No video evidence has ever been produced to support Winston's claim. In a post game interview, he claimed "this isn't the Roman Colosseum" and "it is hard economic times". He mentioned that he came to the understanding he probably won't live as long because he plays this game, but cheering over a player getting knocked out is "100% sickening". He was released by the Chiefs on March 7, 2013.

Arizona Cardinals

Winston signed a one-year contract with the

on July 25, 2013.

Seattle Seahawks

Winston signed a one-year contract with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

on July 29, 2014. Winston failed to make the final 53-man roster, and was released on August 30, 2014.

Cincinnati Bengals

Winston signed a one-year contract with the

on December 2, 2014. On March 9, 2016, the Bengals re-signed Winston to a one-year, $1.09 million contract. On March 10, 2017, the Bengals re-signed Winston to his third consecutive one-year contract. He was released on September 2, 2017. He was re-signed by the Bengals on November 8, 2017.

NFL Players Association

In March 2014, Winston was elected president of the

(NFLPA), succeeding Domonique Foxworth. Prior to being elected president, Winston had been involved with the NFLPA in other capacities, including being elected as a co-alternate NFLPA representative for the

in 2010 and serving on committees for agent discipline and finance. He was also vocal during the 2011 NFL lockout. Winston has stated that his first priorities for his presidency will be player health and safety, financial literacy, and workplace conditions, especially in the locker room. He was succeeded by J. C. Tretter in March 2020.

Personal life

Winston is married, and has three daughters and one son. He also does volunteer work for the

Shriners Hospitals for Children Shriners Hospitals for Children, commonly known as Shriners Children's, is a network of non-profit children's hospitals and other pediatric medical facilities across North America. Children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord inj ...

References

External links

*
Miami Hurricanes football bio

Houston Texans bio

Seattle Seahawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winston, Eric 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Midland, Texas Legacy High School (Midland, Texas) alumni American football offensive tackles Miami Hurricanes football players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Kansas City Chiefs players Arizona Cardinals players Seattle Seahawks players Cincinnati Bengals players National Football League Players Association presidents Trade unionists from Texas