Perry Alphonso Riley Jr. (born May 3, 1988) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He was selected by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the fourth round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

. 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 ...

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Early life

Riley attended

Stephenson High School Stephenson High School (SHS) is a public school that serves grades 9–12 in the unincorporated area of DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. It has a Stone Mountain postal address but it is not in the city limits. It is part of the DeKalb Cou ...

Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,703 as of 2020. Stone Mountain is in the eastern part of DeKalb County and is a suburb of Atlanta that encompasses nearly 1.7 square miles. It lies near and ...

, where he, besides occasionally lining up at running back and strong safety, was part of a highly talented linebacker corps with teammates Kelvin Sheppard, Marcus Ball and Jermaine Cunningham. In his junior year, he registered 96 tackles, eight sacks and five forced fumbles. As a senior, Riley recorded 131 tackles, four interceptions, two sacks, five tackles for loss, and one defensive touchdown. Regarded as a three-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', Riley was listed as the No. 27 outside linebackers prospect in the nation. He chose LSU over

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, among others.

College career

In his

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

year at LSU, Riley saw action in seven games and was credited with four tackles. As a sophomore, he played all 14 season games for the Tigers and tallied 24 tackles, including 1.5 for losses and a half

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...

. Riley recorded two solo tackles in the

2008 BCS National Championship Game The 2008 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 7, 2008, an ...

versus

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. A starter in his junior year for the Tigers, Riley ranked among the team leaders in total tackles with 60, including 7.0 for losses and 1.5 sacks. He was also credited with an interception, three pass breakups, and three quarterback hurries. Riley was named Defensive MVP of the

2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl The 2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Louisiana State Tigers and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets played in Atlanta, Georgia on December 31, 2008. With sponsorship from Chick-fil-A, it was the 41st edition of the g ...

and a finalist for the 2008

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

Professional career

Washington Redskins

Riley was selected by the

in the fourth round (103rd overall) of the 2010 NFL draft. He was signed to a contract on June 18, 2010. He was inactive most of the 2010 season. He played very well during times that he was on the field, but also made costly penalties, most notably he committed a 15-yard block in the back penalty 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 ...

, nullifying

Brandon Banks Brandon DeSean Banks (born December 21, 1987) is an American former professional gridiron football, football wide receiver and return specialist. He was signed by the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted fre ...

' punt return touchdown that would have won the game. In the 2011 season, Riley would have his first career start in Week 10 against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

. He would continue being the starting right inside linebacker in place of Rocky McIntosh. In Week 16 against the Minnesota Vikings, Riley recorded his first career sack. Riley finished the season playing all 16 games, starting eight of them, and recording 68 combined tackles, one sack, and four pass breakups. Riley maintained his starting position at the right inside linebacker position by the start of the 2012 season. In Week 2 against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

, he recorded his first career forced fumble from wide receiver

Danny Amendola Daniel James Amendola ( ; born November 2, 1985) is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver. He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders football, Texas Tech Red Raiders and was signed by the Dall ...

, which was recovered by Josh Wilson and returned 30 yards for a touchdown. Riley continued to start at the "Ted" inside linebacker position at the start of the 2013 season. He recorded his first career interception on

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 ...

backup quarterback

Chase Daniel William Chase Daniel (born October 7, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Missouri Tigers, earning second-team All-American hono ...

in a Week 14 loss. Long-time defensive captain,

London Fletcher London Levi Fletcher-Baker (born May 19, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the John Carroll Blue Streaks and sign ...

, personally supported that the Redskins re-sign Riley after the season when Riley would become a free agent. During Fletcher's retirement announcement, he announced his confidence in Riley's abilities and stated "But as this season has gone, I really wanted to help Perry Riley develop a little bit more. I think he’s at that point where Perry doesn’t need me anymore. He’s that player that I know he can be." Riley was set to become a free agent in 2014, and it was announced on the day before free agency began that Riley had re-signed with the Redskins to a three-year, $13 million contract. He was released by the Redskins on August 30, 2016.

Oakland Raiders

On October 4, 2016, Riley was signed by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. Riley started all 11 games he played for the Raiders, compiling 38 tackles and 10 assists.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

LSU Tigers football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Perry 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Atlanta American football linebackers LSU Tigers football players Washington Redskins players Oakland Raiders players