LEON Washington is the best bargain in football. During the Jets running back’s 40-yard kickoff return against the Patriots, Lethal Leon put a “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” move on safety Brandon Meriweather.
“Leon made a guy twist his ankle,” Jerricho Cotchery recalled with more than a tinge of awe.
Mark Sanchez’s nine-yard TD toss to Dustin Keller in the back of the end zone in the third quarter? Sanchez lofted it over Brandon McGowan, Meriweather’s replacement.
Lethal Leon makes $535,000 this year and wants an extension. There has been no breakthrough in contract negotiations.
If his teammates had a voice, their message would be loud and clear:
Show him the money.
They tell him that all the time.
” ‘Hey Leon, you deserve it, just stay patient,’ ” Lethal Leon was saying last night, quoting his teammates. “Even the coaches come up to me, ‘Hey, hang in there, keep working hard, you definitely deserve it.’ ”
As for reports that he is seeking $6 million per, Lethal Leon only would say, “I’m asking for what’s fair.”
Sanchez is asked how he would compare Lethal Leon to former USC teammate Reggie Bush.
“I think Leon’s so explosive. He’s been to the Pro Bowl as a returner, so you know he can do that,” Sanchez said. “He can catch out of the backfield, and he can run between the tackles. He can bounce it outside, and he’s had arguably more success than Reggie in the NFL. He’s a sharp guy, and he’s a pretty special player, arguably one of the best in the NFL.”
THE COMPARISON: “I hate to say it, because it’s Barry Sanders … as far as making people miss, you got to think Barry Sanders,” Cotchery said. “The guy made people look stupid out there.”
Lethal Leon (76 carries, 448 yards, six TDs rushing, 47-355-2 receiving) was a veritable afterthought in the offense a year ago when Eric Mangini trusted AFC-leading rusher Thomas Jones far more.
Rex Ryan took one look at Washington (29-118 rushing so far, 8-42 receiving, 29.4-yard kickoff return average) and realized that he absolutely had to just give him the damn ball.
Ground and Pound becomes Ground and Astound with Washington.
He loves the game. His loves being a Jet.
Show him the money.
“It’s not that difficult when I’m on the football field; it is tough when I get home,” Lethal Leon said. “I have two little boys. Not trying to separate myself from anybody else in America. Everybody wants the best for their family, and that’s how I feel.”
The 5-foot-8, 195-pound Washington can do for the Jets what running back Chris Johnson does for the Titans: ruin the game for the opponent. The Titans know: Washington sealed last November’s 34-13 victory in Nashville with a 61-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
THE COMPARISON: “Like a Brian Westbrook-type,” Kerry Rhodes said. “Westbrook can take it to the house any time he touches the ball. And he can run it between the tackles. He’s a tough guy.
“Leon’s a smaller guy, but he can run between the tackles, he can take it to the house, he can line up at receiver.”
Washington led the NFL with 2,332 combined yards last season and made the Pro Bowl as a kick returner. His crime: he is not viewed by the organization as a full-time back. Jones has collected $13.1 million in his first two seasons with the Jets and makes $900,000 this season.
THE COMPARISON: “When you saw LT [LaDainian Tomlinson] a lot of times when he’s out there, just shaking guys left and right, Leon has a lot of that for our team,” Keller said. “He’s so quick, it’s just ridiculous. I mean, the first tackler’s definitely not gonna bring him down.”
THE COMPARISON: “I had a chance to play with [former Chiefs returner] Dante Hall … any time he got the ball in his hands he can always take it to the house,” fullback Tony Richardson said.
Lethal Leon is 27. He and rookie Shonn Greene are the future.
Show him the money.