Washington played high school football at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California. He recorded 57 solo tackles, 29 tackle assists, 5 interceptions, 7 rushing attempts, 123 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns his senior year in 2010, earning league defensive MVP honors.[1]
College career
Washington played for the Fresno State Bulldogs of Fresno State University from 2012 to 2015. He was redshirted in 2011.[1] He played in 12 games in 2012, recording 8 solo tackles, 5 tackle assists, 2 pass breakups and 1 fumble recovery.[1][2] Washington also returned a blocked extra point attempt for two points.[1] He earned Mountain West (MW) All-Academic honors in 2012.[1] He started all 13 games in 2013, totaling 50 solo tackles, 21 tackle assists, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 2 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble.[1][2] Washington started the first 11 games of the season at strong safety and the final 2 at cornerback. He garnered MW All-Academic recognition.[1] He started all 14 games in 2014, recording 61 solo tackles, 17 tackle assists, half a sack, 2 interceptions, 7 pass breakups and 1 fumble recovery.[1][2] Washington started seven games at cornerback, six at safety and one at nickelback. He earned MW All-Academic honors in 2014.[1] He played in 11 games, all starts, in 2015, totaling 31 solo tackles, 9 tackle assists, 1 sack and 6 pass breakups.[3][1] Washington's first four starts of 2015 were at cornerback while his last seven were at strong safety. He missed one game due to injury.[1] He garnered MW All-Academic recognition in 2015.[4] Washington played in 50 games, starting 38, during his college career, recording 202 total tackles and 3 interceptions.[5] He participated in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in January 2016.[6] He majored in criminology corrections at Fresno State.[1]
Professional career
Washington was rated the 64th best cornerback in the 2016 NFL draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[7]
After going undrafted, Washington signed with the Detroit Lions on May 6, 2016.[8] He was waived by the Lions on September 3 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 4.[9][10] He was released on October 12 and signed to the Lions' practice squad on October 17, 2016.[11][12] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Lions on January 9, 2017.[13]
In 2018, Washington played in 13 games before being placed on injured reserve on December 22, 2018.[14]
On August 31, 2019, Washington was waived by the Lions.[15]
Arizona Cardinals
On September 1, 2019, Washington was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Cardinals.[16]
On March 27, 2020, Washington was re-signed by the Cardinals.[17]
On March 29, 2021, Washington re-signed with the Cardinals on a one-year contract.[18][19] He was placed on injured reserve on September 29, 2021 with a hamstring injury.[20] He was activated on December 18.[21]
On May 2, 2022, Washington re-signed with the Cardinals.[22] He was placed on injured reserve on September 1, 2022.[23] He was activated on November 12.[24]