Jerry Louis Eckwood (born December 26, 1954) is a former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He played for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

from 1979 to 1981, and was a key member of the Buccaneers team that made the first playoff appearance in franchise history in 1979. Eckwood played collegiately for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

from 1975 to 1978.

High school career

Eckwood was a highly recruited running back out of

Brinkley, Arkansas Brinkley is the most populous city in Monroe County, Arkansas, Monroe County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 2,700, down from 3,188 in 2010 United States census, 2010. Located with ...

, rushing for 2616 yards in 1973. He was signed to an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

with the Arkansas Razorbacks by then-head coach

Frank Broyles John Franklin Broyles (December 26, 1924 – August 14, 2017) was an American college football player and coach, college athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach for one season at the University of Missouri ...

Collegiate career

Eckwood played for the Razorbacks from 1975–78, and was a three-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

('75, '76, '78), playing both for Broyles and

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former college football coach and television analyst. He served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the N ...

. Eckwood was named 1st Team All

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

in 1975, rushing for 792 yards on 104 carries. His 7.62 yards per carry that season remained a school record until it was broken by

Felix Jones Felix Jones Jr. (born May 8, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Arkansas Razo ...

in 2007. Eckwood had six 100-yard rushing games in his Razorback career, five of those games occurring in 1975.

NFL career

1979 Season

Eckwood was taken in the third round of the

1979 NFL draft The 1979 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria ...

by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ahead of notable players such as

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Joe Montana Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Co ...

and

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

ers Kenny King, William Andrews, and Tony Franklin. Eckwood shared the backfield with quarterback Doug Williams and running back Ricky Bell. In 1979, Eckwood was the Buccaneers' second- leading rusher with 690 yards on 194 carries. He was, at the time, one of only 11 running backs to have gained 100 yards in his first professional game.Rosaforte, Tim. "Erratic Eckwood own worst enemy."

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute f ...

, December 21, 1980. Tampa Bay made the first playoff appearance in franchise history in 1979, advancing to the

NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Ame ...

, where they lost to the

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

9-0. Eckwood's 42-yard option pass to Larry Mucker was the Bucs' longest play of the game.

1980 Season

In 1980, Eckwood was again second in rushing with 504 yards, and was also second on the team with 47 receptions. He fell into some disfavor during this season, after fumbling at key points of four of the team's losses.

1981 Season

In 1981, Eckwood led the Buccaneers in rushing with 651 yards on 172 carries (3.8 avg.). In Eckwood's final NFL season, Tampa Bay finished with a 9-7 record, losing in the first round of the 1981 NFL playoffs to 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 ...

. Eckwood rushed 515 times for 1845 yards (3.6 avg.) and six touchdowns in his 3-year NFL career and was the starter in 30 of the 47 games he played in, all with the Buccaneers. He also caught 93 passes for 956 yards (10.3 avg.) and one touchdown.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Post-career

Legacy

Eckwood was selected the 79th greatest player in Buccaneer history in 2007. Eckwood's nephew, LaDarius Eckwood is a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

who played football with the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions after catching 108 passes in the 2008 season for

Springdale High School Springdale High School is a public high school in Springdale, Arkansas, United States for students in grades ten through twelve. Springdale High School is one of three high schools administered by the Springdale School District, the others bein ...

Concussion issues

Eckwood suffered several

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

s while playing in college and in the NFL. Since leaving the NFL, Eckwood has struggled with mental illness, and was committed to the Arkansas State Hospita

for several years. He currently suffers from

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

, and is housed in an

assisted living An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States. Still, the setting i ...

facility. Former Buccaneers president

Gay Culverhouse Gay Culverhouse (February 5, 1947 – July 1, 2020) was president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1991 to 1994 while her father, Hugh Culverhouse, owned the team. Inspired by Tom McHale, a former Buccaneers player who suffered from chronic trau ...

has assisted with his medical care and has cited him as an example of the mistreatment NFL players receive from their employers. Culverhouse recalled warning signs of Eckwood's future mental problems, citing times where he went to the wrong huddle or bench during games.Culverhouse, Gay
Throwaway Players: The Concussion Crisis from Pee-wee Football to the NFL.

Lake Forest, California Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 85,858 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to incorporation, the community had be ...

: Behler Publications, 2011. . pp. 130-134. ''

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.'' Retrieved November 24, 2013.Henderson, Joe
"Ex-Bucs running back's mind strays wildly, a likely consequence of multiple concussions."

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...

, July 25, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2018. Eckwood, who can no longer drive or live on his own, was approved to participate in the 88 Plan, an NFL program for former players suffering from various dementia-related symptoms, such as

hallucinations A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the compelling sense of reality. They are distinguishable from several related phenomena, such as dreaming ( REM sleep), which does not involve wakefulness; pse ...

forgetfulness Forgetting or disremembering is the apparent loss or modification of information already encoded and stored in an individual's short or long-term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual process in which old memory, memories are unable to be recall ...

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

, and the inability to process new information. Eckwood was also approved by the NFL to receive annual benefits of $136,000 for the remainder of his life."Broken Bucs: 1979 success came with costly toll on health."

The Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing ''Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''St. P ...

, July 25, 2010. ''www.tbo.com.'' Retrieved November 24, 2013.

References

External links

NFL Player Care Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckwood, Jerry 1954 births American football running backs Arkansas Razorbacks football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Living people People from Brinkley, Arkansas