Jason Wright (American football)


Jason Gomillion Wright is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2004. Wright played college football at Northwestern.
Wright has also played for the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns. He received his MBA from Chicago Booth and is now a Partner at McKinsey & Company in Washington, DC.

College career

Wright finished his college career as the fourth all-time leading rusher with 2,625 yards, the third all-time all-purpose yards leader with 4,030 yards and the fourth all-time leading scorer with 210 points in Northwestern school history. Wright finished his career with 32 touchdowns on 487 carries, and added 577 yards and two touchdowns on 54 receptions. Wright also returned 31 kickoffs for 828 yards and one touchdown. He was the co-MVP of the 2003 Motor City Bowl, even though Northwestern lost the game. Wright also lettered in football and track at Diamond Bar High School, and had 4,268 yards in his high school career. He was a double-major in psychology and pre-medicine.
Member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Wright was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted rookie free agent on April 26, 2004, and was waived by the 49ers on August 31, 2004. Wright was run down and tackled from behind by Brock Lesnar in a 2004 preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Atlanta Falcons

He was picked up by the Atlanta Falcons and signed to its practice squad on September 7, 2004, but was subsequently waived on October 19, 2004. He was signed again to the Falcons' practice squad on October 25, 2004, and elevated to the active roster on December 14, 2004. He made his NFL debut versus the Carolina Panthers on December 18.

Cleveland Browns

He was waived by the Falcons on September 3, 2005 and signed by the Cleveland Browns on September 13, 2005, and assigned to the practice squad. Wright was then signed to the active roster on November 3, 2005, and waived on December 16, 2005. He was re-signed to the practice squad on December 20, 2005.
Wright saw playing time for the Browns when he made his Cleveland debut on November 6, 2005, versus the Tennessee Titans, when he had eight carries for nineteen yards and the Browns' first rushing touchdown of the season. He also had three receptions for fifteen yards. Wright also played on November 13, 2005, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he had one kickoff return for seventeen yards. He also added three carries for eight yards versus the Miami Dolphins on November 20, 2005. After Reuben Droughns was injured during the 2006 NFL season,Wright became the starter for a couple of games, only to be put in the injured reserve list in December to end his season.
On February 20, 2007 Browns general manager Phil Savage announced the team had extended Wright's contract through the 2008 NFL season.

Arizona Cardinals

An unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason, Wright signed a two-year, $2 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals on March 16. In July 2011, he announced his retirement from the NFL to attend business school at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.