Richie Leone

Richie Leone
refer to caption
Leone with the Ottawa Redblacks in 2023
No. 13 – Ottawa Redblacks
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1992-03-10) March 10, 1992 (age 32)
Roswell, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:211 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High school:Roswell (GA)
College:Houston
Undrafted:2014
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
CFL status:American
Career highlights and awards
  • 5× CFL All-Star (2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023)
  • 2× CFL West All-Star (2015, 2016)
  • 4× CFL East All-Star (2018, 2019, 2021, 2023)
  • First-team All-C-USA (2012)
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Stats at CFL.ca

Richie Leone (born March 10, 1992) is an American professional football punter for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played collegiate football for the University of Houston. He has also been a member of the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, BC Lions, and Arizona Cardinals.

Early life

Leone played high school football at Roswell High School at the quarterback, punter, and kicker positions.[1] While in high school, he averaged 44.1 yards per kick.[2]

College career

From 2010 to 2013, Leone played college football for the Houston Cougars as a punter and kicker and started for all four years.[3] He was on the Conference USA first-team in 2012 and the American Athletic Conference second-team in 2013. Leone was also a three-time semi-finalist for the Ray Guy Award.[3] He averaged 43.1 yards on punts and placed the ball within the opponents' 20-yard line on 52.4 percent of attempts during 2013.[4] In his senior year, Leone was named a second-team All-American.[5]

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Leone was one of five punters invited to the 2014 NFL scouting combine.[6] He went undrafted in the 2014 NFL draft, but was signed as a free agent by the Baltimore Ravens on May 12, 2014.[7][8] Leone competed with Sam Koch for the punter position in training camp,[9] and played in three preseason games.[10] He was waived on August 25 before the beginning of the regular season.[11]

BC Lions (first stint)

Leone was signed by the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on October 20, 2014, to their practice roster, but left the team a month later.[12][13]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On January 27, 2015, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Leone to challenge Brad Wing for the starting punter position, but he was released in May.[13][14]

BC Lions (second stint)

Leone returned to the Lions before their training camp as the Lions reportedly searched for a single player to handle punting, kickoffs, and kicking.[15] Leone remained on the active roster after the preseason as he fulfilled all three kicking duties. He made his CFL debut against the Ottawa Redblacks on July 4, 2015, where he scored two field goals from 11 and 13 yards as well as an extra point.[16] The following game, on July 10, Leone kicked a 56-yard field goal, setting a BC Lions record for longest field goal and tying the game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders 29–29 with 31 seconds remaining; a game which the Lions won in overtime.[17] As of August 3, 2015, Leone had the highest punt average in the CFL (50.1 yards).[18] He began his season with 13 consecutive made field goals before missing a 46-yard kick on August 6 in a game against the Edmonton Eskimos.[19] Leone was named a CFL All-Star as a punter in both the 2015 and 2016 season. Following the 2016 season Leone was granted a release by the Lions so he could sign with an NFL team.[20]

Arizona Cardinals (first stint)

On January 5, 2017, Leone signed a reserve/future contract with the Arizona Cardinals.[21] He was waived on September 2, 2017.[22]

Ottawa Redblacks (first stint)

On April 10, 2018, he was signed by the Ottawa Redblacks.[23] He was named an East Division All-Star as a punter at season's end.[24] In the following season, he was named both a divisional and CFL All-Star at punter.[25]

After the CFL canceled the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Leone opted out of his contract with the Redblacks on August 25, 2020.[26]

Arizona Cardinals (second stint)

On September 8, 2020, Leone was signed to the Cardinals' practice squad.[27] He was released on September 15.[28]

Ottawa Redblacks (second stint)

Leone with the Redblacks in 2023

Leone re-signed with the Redblacks on January 26, 2021.[29] Leone had another outstanding season in 2021 with Ottawa, and was named a CFL All-Star for the fourth time in his career.[30] He was again named a CFL All-Star in 2023.[31]

CFL statistics

As of Dec 17, 2021[32] Kicking Punting Defense
PAT FG
Year Team GP Att Made Att Made Pct Long Single No Yards Avg Long Single Net Net Avg STT
2015 BC 17 38 27 39 30 76.9 56 3 119 5,893 49.5 83 9 4,868 40.9 4
2016 BC 18 30 25 51 35 68.6 52 7 97 4,778 49.3 78 13 3,581 36.9 5
2018 OTT 18 - - - - - - - 124 5,755 46.4 65 5 3
2019 OTT 18 - - - - - - - 132 6,383 48.4 77 6 5,204 39.1 4
2020 Season Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic
2021 OTT 14 - - - - - - - 106 4,912 46.3 67 0 4,315 40.7 N/A
Career 85 68 52 90 65 72.2 56 10 578 27,721 48.0 83 33 22,586 39.1 16

References

  1. ^ Meoli, Jon (August 4, 2014). "Rookie punter trying to seize his chance with Ravens". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  2. ^ Holcomb, Todd (December 27, 2009). "Georgia: Mason, Rogers lead all-class all-state team". MaxPreps. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Richie Leone". Houston Cougars. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  4. ^ Smith, Brian (February 20, 2014). "UH punter Leone ready for next stage at NFL draft combine". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  5. ^ Shelton, Christopher (January 4, 2014). "Leone prepares for final UH kick". The Daily Cougar. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  6. ^ "UH punter Richie Leone hoping for NFL chance". KHOU. February 24, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  7. ^ "Ravens Sign 17 Undrafted Free Agents". BaltimoreRavens.com. May 12, 2014. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  8. ^ "Transactions". Baltimore Ravens. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  9. ^ Butt, Jason (May 14, 2014). "Could Richie Leone push Sam Koch for his job as Ravens punter?". Baltimore Beat Down. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  10. ^ "Richie Leone". Baltimore Ravens. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  11. ^ Wilson, Aaron (August 25, 2014). "Ravens make a series of cuts as they trim roster to 75 players". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  12. ^ "Transactions". BC Lions. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  13. ^ a b Beamish, Mike (June 7, 2015). "BC Lions kicker, former Maple Ridge resident Paul McCallum officially granted his release". Maple Ridge Times. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  14. ^ Bryan, Dave (January 27, 2015). "Steelers Sign P Richie Leon". Steelers Depot. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  15. ^ Beamish, Mike (December 5, 2014). "B.C. Lions: Can Leone put the boot to rivals?". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  16. ^ "Burris leads Redblacks to victory over B.C. Lions". The Star. The Canadian Press. July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  17. ^ Beamish, Mike (July 11, 2015). "Leone's leg, Lulay's arm lead Lions to "crazy" win over Roughriders". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  18. ^ MacKenzie, Eric (August 3, 2015). "Leone's leg the least of Lions' problems". Vancouver 24 hrs. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  19. ^ Moddejonge, Gerry (August 7, 2015). "Tying kick wasn't a guarantee, says Edmonton Eskimos head coach". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  20. ^ "Lions' free agent Leone to sign with NFL's Cards - Article - TSN". TSN. January 3, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  21. ^ Urban, Darren (January 5, 2017). "Punter Richie Leone, Receiver Aaron Dobson Added". AZCardinals.com.
  22. ^ Urban, Darren (September 2, 2017). "Cardinals Make Moves To Reach 53-Man Roster". AZCardinals.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017.
  23. ^ "Transactions April 10 2018". OttawaREDBLACKS.com. April 10, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  24. ^ "Star Power: 2018 CFL Divisional All-Stars Announced". Canadian Football League. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  25. ^ "Stars Aligned: 2019 CFL All-Stars unveiled". Canadian Football League. November 27, 2019.
  26. ^ "Richie Leone released by Redblacks". CFL.ca. August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  27. ^ Urban, Darren (September 8, 2020). "Cardinals Sign Free Agent Defensive Lineman Angelo Blackson". azcardinals.com.
  28. ^ Dunk, Justin (September 16, 2020). "Former CFL K/P Richie Leone released by Cardinals, headed to workout for Ravens". 3downnation.com.
  29. ^ "Redblacks re-sign Leone, Evans, Korte and Coombs". OttawaRedblacks.com. January 26, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  30. ^ "REDBLACKS Leone, Dedmon named CFL All-Stars". Ottawa REDBLACKS. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  31. ^ "Stars of the show: 2023 CFL All-Stars, fan favourite unveiled". Canadian Football League. November 8, 2023.
  32. ^ "Richie Leone". CFL.ca. Retrieved September 16, 2015.