Johnathan Lamar Sullivan (born January 21, 1981) 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 ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, 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 ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and was selected sixth overall by the

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 ...

in the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

Professional career

Sullivan was selected sixth overall by the

in the

. In the 2004 preseason, Sullivan reported to training camp out of shape, at nearly 350 pounds, and lost his starting job. Sullivan was inactive for the final eight games of the 2004 season due to a combination of poor play, bad attitude and lackluster work ethic. When Sullivan was inactive for a game against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, he appeared in the press box for the pregame meal. In the 2005 preseason, Saints general manager

Mickey Loomis Mickey Loomis (born 1956) is an American professional football executive who is the executive vice president and general manager of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He was named the 2006 PFWA Executive of the Year. ...

pulled Sullivan out of a team meeting to tell him to improve his diet and behavior. In June 2006, the Saints traded Sullivan to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in exchange for

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 ...

Bethel Johnson. Neither Johnson nor Sullivan ever played for his new team, as Johnson was waived and signed with 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 ...

in September 2006. Sullivan never played for New England and was waived on October 9, 2006.

Personal life

On June 26, 2006, Sullivan was stopped by police near

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and charged with possession of less than an ounce of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

, among other charges.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Johnathan 1981 births Living people American football defensive tackles Georgia Bulldogs football players New Orleans Saints players New England Patriots players Players of American football from Griffin, Georgia