Antoine Winfield is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 cornerback

Cornerback

A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...

 in the NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at The Ohio State University, winning the Jim Thorpe Award

Jim Thorpe Award

The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport legend Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986...

 as the nation's top defensive back

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

 in 1998. Winfield was selected by the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft

1999 NFL Draft

The 1999 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17-18, 1999...

. Since 2004, he has played for the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

. He has 14 interceptions while with the Vikings, along with three touchdowns. One of his most memorable plays of his career was when he returned a blocked field goal for 59 yard touchdown against New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

 on Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

.

Winfield attended Garfield High School

Garfield High School (Akron, Ohio)

Garfield High School is a public high school located off of N. Firestone Blvd. in Akron, Ohio. It is 1 of 7 high schools in the Akron Public Schools district.-History:...

 in his hometown of Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio

Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

. He is regarded as one of the most physical corners in the league, known for his bone-jarring hits, and was ranked by Peter King

Peter King (sportswriter)

Peter King is an American sportswriter. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated and its Web site, including the weekly multiple-page column Monday Morning Quarterback. He is the author of five books, most notably Inside the Helmet, as well as a TV analyst and reporter...

 of Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

as the 31st best player in the NFL. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2008.

Buffalo Bills

During Winfield's years with the Bills he did not make a Pro Bowl, despite outstanding play.

Minnesota Vikings

On July 23, 2009 the Vikings signed Winfield to a new five-year, $36 million contract. The deal includes $16.1 million in guarantees. He made his second straight Pro Bowl in 2010 after replacing injured Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

-Arizona Cardinals:Rodgers-Cromartie was drafted by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. On July 25, he signed a 5-year, $15.1 million contract with the team that includes $9 million in guarantees. Rodgers-Cromartie was named the starting nickelback for the 2008 season, behind...

. After making the 2010

2011 Pro Bowl

The 2011 AFC–NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2010 season. It took place at 7:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 30, 2011 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii...

 Pro Bowl squad, he made an interception that led to a touchdown in an NFC 55-41 victory.

External links

• College football career summary from the Ohio State University
  Ohio State University
  The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
  
  website
• CNNSI.com Draft Video