Players

PRO (81-68/8-7): Signed a six-year contract extension on August 5, 2011 to keep him with the team through the 2016 season…selected to Pro Football Weekly’s Midseason All-Pro Team in 2011…named AFC Defensive Player of the Month (October) during the 2011 season…named an AFC Pro Bowl alternate in 2011...designated as the Steelers’ franchise player on February 18, 2011…named to his first Pro Bowl in 2009…named AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 16) in 2009…earned GMC Sierra Defensive Player of the Week honors twice in 2008 (Week 1, Week 7)…originally drafted by the Steelers in the second round (46^th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft.

2012 (11-11): 9/9 at Denver: Recovered a Willis McGahee fumble on a Broncos’ third-and-one attempt in the first quarter…marked his first fumble recovery in the regular season since 12/5/10 at Baltimore…9/16 vs. N.Y. Jets: Started at LOLB for the fifth consecutive home opener…sacked QB Mark Sanchez early in the third quarter for a six-yard loss, forcing a Jets’ punt…dating back to the regular season, marked the seventh time in the last 12 games he has played that he recorded at least a half-sack…led the team with six QB pressures…9/23 at Oakland: Recorded a seven-yard sack of QB Carson Palmer in the first quarter…became the sixth Steeler to record 50.0 sacks since sacks became an official statistic in 1982…became the fastest Steeler to record 50.0 sacks (73 games) since 1982,  a record that was previously held by LB Jason Gildon (95 games)…10/7 vs. Philadelphia: Started at LOLB…left the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return…10/11 at Tennessee: Inactive due to a hamstring injury…10/21 at Cincinnati: Returned to the starting lineup after missing one game due to a hamstring injury…recorded an interception late in the second quarter on a deflected Andy Dalton pass and returned it 16 yards to the Cincinnati 29-yard line…the Steelers tied the game 14-14 on their ensuing drive…marked his fifth career interception and first since 10/9/11 vs. Tennessee…marked the third straight season Woodley has recorded at least one interception…10/28 vs. Washington: Was part of a defense that held the number-one rushing team in the NFL to 86 yards on the ground…11/4 at N.Y. Giants: Recorded a sack and a forced fumble of QB Eli Manning on third down with just over three minutes left in the game, forcing a Giants punt…now has 51.0 career sacks…11/12 vs. Kansas City: Recorded a season-high eight stops…on third-and-goal from the three-yard line, tackle RB Jamaal Charles for a one-yard loss to force a field goal early in the second quarter…recorded his 300^th career tackle…11/18 vs. Baltimore: Registered an eight yard sack of QB Joe Flacco on third-and-eight on the first play of the fourth quarter, forcing a punt…including the postseason, has 10.5 sacks against the Ravens, marking the most sacks he has against any opponent...now has 52.0 sacks for his career, and is 1.5 sacks short of passing Greg Lloyd (53.5) for the fifth-most sacks in franchise history since sacks became an official statistic in 1982…added two QB pressures…11/25 at Cleveland: Left the game in the second quarter with a left ankle injury and did not return. Inactive due to a left ankle injury for the next two games (at Baltimore and vs. San Diego)…12/16 at Dallas: Started at LOLB after missing the previous two games due to a left ankle injury.

2011 (10-10/1-1): Started 10 games at LOLB, including the lone postseason contest…missed six of the final eight regular season games with a hamstring injury…named a Pro Bowl alternate…named to Pro Football Weekly’s Midseason All-Pro Team…named AFC Defensive Player of the Month for his efforts in the month of October…had 43 tackles and one interception…tied for the team-high with nine sacks…moved into eighth place on the Steelers’ all-time sacks list with 48…registered multiple sacks in a game for the 16^th time in his career…became the first player in team history to record at least 1.5 sacks in four consecutive regular-season games…had three tackles and one fumble recovery in the Wild Card Game at Denver…9/11 at Baltimore: Registered the team’s only sack, a nine-yarder…has posted at least one sacks in three of the past four Kickoff Weekend games…9/18 vs. Seattle: Had five tackles…added a half-sack with NT Steve McLendon for three yards…became 10^th in team history with 40.5 sacks (passing Ernie Holmes, 40)…was part of a defense that held the Seahawks to 164 total yards and had five sacks…9/25 at Indianapolis: Made his 50^th career start at LOLB…had seven tackles and two pass breakups…10/9 vs. Tennessee: Recorded four tackles and four QB pressures…had 1.5 sacks for 13.5 yards…recorded the teams’ first interception of the season and the fourth of his career…registered at least one interception and one sack in the same game for the fourth time in his career and second time against the Titans…10/16 vs. Jacksonville: Registered eight tackles and three QB pressures…recorded two sacks for minus-11 yards…recorded multiple sacks in back-to-back weeks for the first time since 12/29/09 vs. Baltimore (2.0) – 1/3/10 at Miami (2.0)…was part of a defense that held the Jaguars to 209 total yards…10/23 at Arizona: Tallied two sacks for a loss of 15 yards, marking the 15^th multi-sack game of his career during the regular season…marked the second time in his career that he registered multiple sacks in three consecutive regular-season games (2008)…with 46.0 career sacks passed Aaron Smith (44.0) and tied Dwight White (46.0) for eighth-most in Steelers’ history…forced a safety by pressuring QB Kevin Kolb into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone…10/30 vs. New England: Recorded two sacks…including the postseason, it marked the 12^th time in the past 15 games he registered at least a half sack…it was the 16^th regular-season game of his career with at least 1.5 sacks…dating back to 1982, it marked the first time that a Steelers’ player registered at least 1.5 sacks in four consecutive regular-season games…was part of a defense that held the Patriots to 43 yards rushing and 213 total yards…inactive for the next three games due to a hamstring injury, snapping a streak of 58 consecutive games played and 46 consecutive starts…marked the first time in his career he missed three consecutive games…12/4 vs. Cincinnati: Returned to action and re-injured his hamstring in the second quarter and did not return…12/8 vs. Cleveland: Was inactive due to a hamstring injury…12/19 at San Francisco: Returned to action after missing one game and posted two tackles before leaving in the third quarter with a hamstring injury…missed the final two regular season games due to a hamstring injury…AFC Wild Card Game 1/8 at Denver: Started at LOLB…had three tackles and one QB pressure…recovered his second career fumble in the postseason.  

      2010 (16-16/3-3): Started all 16 games at LB…his streak of consecutive games with at least a half-sack ended at 10 games, which is a team record…finished the season with 55 tackles…was second on the team in sacks with 10 and second on the team with 31 QB pressures…added two interceptions, one of which was returned for a 14-yard touchdown against Cincinnati in Week 14…also had three forced fumbles, two fumble returns and five pass breakups…was part of a defense that held its opponents to an NFL-best and Steelers’ team-record 62.8 rushing yards per game…started all three postseason contests…finished the postseason with 11 tackles and three sacks…9/12 vs. Atlanta: Had one sack for 10 yards in the first quarter…9/19 at Tennessee: Finished with three tackles, two QB pressures, one forced fumble, one interception and one sack…marked the 10^th straight game he posted at least a half-sack, which extended his team record…it was his second career interception…9/26 at Tampa Bay: Had four tackles, two pass breakups and three QB pressures…10/17 vs. Cleveland: Had four tackles, one quarterback pressure and had two pass breakups…posted a nine-yard sack in the first quarter…10/24 at Miami: Had four tackles and two QB pressures…left the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return…10/31 at New Orleans: Had four tackles…had one QB pressure…recovered his first fumble of the year in the fourth quarter…11/8 at Cincinnati: Had six tackles, two sacks, two QB pressures and one forced fumble…was part of a defense that held the Bengals to 54 yards rushing and had four sacks…11/14 vs. New England: Recorded three tackles and one QB pressure…11/21 vs. Oakland: Had three tackles and two QB pressures…posted a five-yard sack and forced his third fumble of the season late in the first half…was part of a defense that had six sacks and forced three Oakland turnovers…11/28 at Buffalo: Had three tackles…had four QB pressures…12/5 at Baltimore: Had three tackles and four QB pressures…recovered his second fumble of the season and returned it 19 yards to set up Pittsburgh’s game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter...was part of a defense that held the Ravens to less than 50 yards rushing and had four sacks…12/12 vs. Cincinnati: Posted a seven-yard sack in the second quarter…added a seven-yard sack in the fourth quarter…had a 14-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter…it was his third career touchdown (two fumble returns for touchdowns)…marked his third career game against the Bengals with at least two sacks…had three tackles and four QB pressures…was part of a defense that held the Bengals to 34 yards rushing, had three sacks and forced three turnovers…12/19 vs. N.Y. Jets: Recorded three tackles and two QB pressures…12/23 vs. Carolina: Had one QB pressure and one pass breakup as well as four tackles…was part of a defense that held the Panthers to 119 total yards…1/2 at Cleveland: Had one tackle…had one sack, giving him 10 on the season…was part of a defense that held the Browns to 43 yards rushing, had four sacks and forced three Browns’ interceptions…AFC Divisional Game 1/15 vs. Baltimore: Finished with three tackles…posted a five-yard sack in the first quarter, giving him nine sacks in his first five career postseason games…recovered his first career fumble in the postseason in the third quarter…was part of a defense that held the Ravens to 35 yards rushing, had five sacks and forced three turnovers…AFC Championship Game 1/23 vs. N.Y. Jets: Had five tackles…had one QB pressure and one pass breakup…had a seven-yard sack and now has 10 career postseason sacks, including at least one in each of his first six games…became the first player in the NFL to post at least one sack in six straight postseason games, surpassing Jason Buck (5)…became just the 10^th player to register 10 career postseason sacks since 1982…reached double-digits in sacks in just six games, the fewest number of playoff games to record at least 10 sacks since 1982…Super Bowl XLV 2/6 vs. Green Bay: Finished with three tackles and two QB pressures…had a six-yard sack, giving him three career sacks in the Super Bowl, which ties him for second place all-time on career sacks in the Super Bowl…was part of a defense that had three sacks and held the Packers to 55 yards rushing…extended his NFL record of recording at least one sack in seven consecutive postseason games.

2009 (16-16): Started all 16 games at OLB…had 84 tackles…led the team with 13.5 sacks, also a career high…had one forced fumble and one fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown, the second of his career…named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 16…was selected to his first Pro Bowl…9/10 vs. Tennessee: Finished with four tackles (one solo), two QB pressures and one pass defense…9/20 at Chicago: Recorded three tackles (two solo) and two QB pressures…9/27 at Cincinnati: Finished with three tackles (one solo), one pass defense and one QB pressure…surpassed 100 career tackles (101)…10/4 vs. San Diego: Registered two QB pressures and one pass breakup…10/11 at Detroit: Finished with five solo tackles, two pressures and 2.0 sacks…10/18 vs. Cleveland: Recorded five tackles (four solo)…10/25 vs. Minnesota: Tallied five tackles (two solo), three pressures and one recovered fumble for a 77-yard touchdown...second fumble return for a touchdown in his career…11/9 at Denver: Recorded four solo tackles and one QB hit…11/15 vs. Cincinnati: Registered five tackles (four solo), one pressure and one sack…11/22 at Kansas City: Made his 17^th consecutive start at OLB…recorded five tackles (four solo), four pressures and two sacks…marked as his fifth career game with multiple sacks…11/29 at Baltimore: Recorded seven tackles (six solo), one pressure and one sack…12/6 vs. Oakland: Tallied eight tackles (six solo) including three tackles for losses, three QB hits and two sacks…marked his sixth career game with at least two sacks and his third this season…12/10 at Cleveland: Finished with eight solo tackles, three QB hits and one sack…marked his fifth consecutive game with a sack…12/20 vs. Green Bay: Recorded four tackles (three solo), three QB hits, one pass breakup and a half-sack…marked his sixth straight game with at least a half-sack, the longest tenure in his career…12/27 vs. Baltimore: Registered 10 tackles (seven solo), two sacks, one pass breakup and a forced fumble…marked his seventh straight game with at least a half-sack, breaking the team’s previous record of six held by Greg Lloyd in 1994…1/3 at Miami: Recorded five tackles (four solo), one pass breakup, one QB hit and two sacks.

2008 (15-15/3-3): Started 15 regular-season games at OLB in his first season as a starter…missed the November 9 game against the Colts with a calf injury…recorded 78 tackles (53 solo), 11.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a team-high four fumble recoveries…also had one interception and one pass defensed…earned GMC Sierra Defensive Player of the Week honors during his first NFL start against the Texans in Week 1 when he made six tackles (four solo), had one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery…won GMC Sierra Defensive Player of the Week again in a Week 7 victory over the Bengals when he recorded five tackles (four solo), had a career-high (tied) two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery…scored his first NFL touchdown on a seven-yard fumble return against the Ravens on September 29…started all three postseason games…finished second on the team in the postseason with 19 tackles (13 solo)…led the team and the NFL with six postseason sacks…now has two sacks in each of his four postseason games, an NFL record…his forced fumble of Kurt Warner late in Super Bowl XLIII clinched the Steelers’ victory…9/7 vs. Houston: Made his first career start at OLB…made six tackles (four solo)…had a sack of Matt Schaub in the first quarter for a loss of nine yards…registered his first career interception in the second quarter when he picked off Schaub and returned the ball six yards…recovered a Schaub fumble in the fourth quarter that was forced by James Harrison…finished second (tied) behind Brett Keisel with two QB pressures…9/14 at Cleveland: Finished with six tackles (two solo)…also had one QB pressure…9/21 at Philadelphia: Recorded three tackles (two solo) and one sack…tied Harrison for the team lead with three QB pressures…9/29 vs. Baltimore: Finished with a then career-high eight tackles (six solo)...had 1.5 sacks and forced one fumble…recovered a Joe Flacco fumble that was forced by Harrison and returned it seven yards for his first career touchdown…10/5 at Jacksonville: Finished with seven tackles (six solo)…recorded his second multiple-sack game of the season with two sacks totaling 19 yards…had two QB pressures…10/19 at Cincinnati: Finished with five tackles (four solo)…recorded a career-high two sacks of Ryan Fitzpatrick for a total loss of 12 yards…on the Bengals next-to-last defensive possession he sacked Fitzpatrick, causing his second forced fumble of the season, which he recovered for his team-leading third recovery of the season…had one QB pressure…10/26 vs. New York Giants: Finished with five tackles (three solo)…had two QB pressures…11/3 at Washington: Recorded five tackles (three solo) and tied his career high with two sacks…11/16 vs. San Diego: Returned to the lineup after missing the previous game with a calf injury…finished with five tackles (three solo) and one pass defensed…had two QB pressures…11/20 vs. Cincinnati: Finished with three tackles (two solo)…recorded one sack for a loss of three yards, giving him 10.5 sacks for the season…11/30 at New England: Had four solo tackles, two QB pressures, and one sack…recovered his fourth fumble of the season…12/7 vs. Dallas: Finished with six tackles (four solo) and three QB pressures…12/14 at Baltimore: Recorded four tackles (three solo) and had two QB pressures…AFC Divisional Game 1/11 vs. San Diego: Made his first career postseason start at OLB…finished with six tackles (five solo) and two QB pressures…had two sacks, his second consecutive multiple-sack postseason performance…AFC Championship Game 1/18 vs. Baltimore: Finished with a team-high nine tackles (five solo) and had two QB pressures…posted a four-yard sack in the third quarter and a five-yard sack in the fourth quarter…became the first player in NFL history to record three consecutive multiple-sack playoff games…Super Bowl XLIII 2/1 vs. Arizona: Made his third consecutive postseason start…recorded four tackles (three solo), had one pass defense, one QB pressure and one forced fumble…recorded two sacks, extending his NFL record for consecutive multiple-sack playoff games to four.

2007 (13-0/1-0): Appeared in 13 games and the playoff loss to Jacksonville as a reserve OLB and special teams contributor…had one tackle in NFL debut, a Week 1 win over Cleveland…for the season he registered 13 tackles and four sacks, which tied for third on the team…had five QB pressures…forced a fumble in the Week 7 loss at Denver…had three tackles and two sacks in the playoff loss to Jacksonville...9/9 at Cleveland: Played in his first NFL game at OLB…logged his first career tackle...9/16 vs. Buffalo: Saw extensive action after James Harrison went down with an injury at the end of the first half…registered 36 snaps and logged two tackles (one solo) while also getting one sack for a loss of eight yards...9/23 vs. San Francisco: Saw action on eight defensive plays and still managed to log a sack for the second consecutive week for a loss of three yards...10/21 at Denver: Saw eight defensive snaps and registered his third career sack for a loss of 11 yards…also forced his first career fumble when he sacked Jay Cutler...11/5 vs. Baltimore: Saw extensive action on special teams and registered one solo tackle…also saw defensive snaps on Baltimore’s last two possessions of the game but did not register a defensive tackle…inactive for the next two games...12/2 vs. Cincinnati: Saw his only action on special teams...12/9 at New England: Was inactive...12/16 vs. Jacksonville: Played in his 11^th game of the season and finished with one solo tackle...12/20 at St. Louis: Saw action on 27 defensive plays and finished the game with a team- high four quarterback pressures and three tackles (one solo)...12/30 at Baltimore: Saw action in his third consecutive game and finished with two solo tackles, including a sack for a loss of 14 yards...AFC Wild Card Game 1/5/08 vs. Jacksonville: Saw extensive action on defense, while playing in his first career postseason game and finished with three solo tackles…posted his first postseason sack in the second quarter for a loss of 13 yards…added his second career postseason sack in the fourth quarter for a loss of six yards.

COLLEGE: Helped the Wolverines lead the nation in rush defense his senior season, allowing just 43.38 yards per game and ranked fourth nationally with an average of 3.23 quarterback sacks per game...his 50.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage rank second in school history behind Mark Messner (70, 1985-88)...holds the Michigan career record with 10 forced fumbles... his four forced fumbles in 2006 tied the school season record that was set by Mike Taylor in 1971...became the first ever Michigan player to capture the prestigious Lombardi Trophy as the nation’s top college football lineman, and he is the ninth player from the Big Ten Conference to receive the honor...was also the first player in school annals to win the Ted Hendricks Award (nation’s premier defensive end). 2006: Consensus All-American first-team selection...named Chevy Defensive Player of the Year...unanimous All-Big Ten Conference first-team choice...named National Defensive Player of the Year by Rivals.com...also chosen Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year by the league’s coaches and media... recipient of the Richard Katcher Award, given to U-M’s top defensive lineman/outside linebacker, for the second time in his career...shared David Brandon Leadership Award honors with offensive tackle Jake Long...elected team co-captain, starting all 13 games at Rush defensive end...recorded 36 tackles (28 solos) and led the team for the second straight year with 12 sacks for minus 119 yards and 16.5 stops for losses totaling 131 yards...his 119 sack yards are the most ever by a Michigan player in a season...also recovered four fumbles, returning one 54 yards for a touchdown...tied the school season record with four forced fumbles. 2005: Earned All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention from the league’s coaches and media...started eight games and played in 11 contests at “rush” linebacker, missing the Northwestern game and most of the Ohio State tilt with an arm injury...finished fifth on the team with 48 tackles (28 solos)...led the squad with seven sacks for minus 57 yards and 14 stops for losses of 67 yards...caused three fumbles and recovered another...also deflected one pass. 2004: All-Big Ten Conference second-team selection by the league’s coaches, earning honorable mention from the media...recipient of the Richard Katcher Award, as Michigan’s top outside linebacker...played in all 12 games and started 10 contests at right outside linebacker, leading the team with 16 stops for losses of 72 yards...finished second on the squad with 70 tackles (58 solos) and four sacks for minus 40 yards...was named Rose Bowl Defensive Player of the Game after collecting a game-high 11 tackles (9 solos) and four stops for losses of 7 yards vs. Texas (his four stops behind the line of scrimmage vs. the Longhorns matched a Michigan Bowl record and tied for the seventh-best single-game mark in school history). 2003: College Football News and Rivals.com Freshman All-American honorable mention...The Sporting News Freshman All-Big Ten Conference pick...played in all 13 games and made two starts at defensive end (Illinois and Purdue)...registered 23 tackles (15 solos), two sacks for minus 12 yards and four stops for losses totaling 16 yards.

PERSONAL: Attended Saginaw High School, (Saginaw, Mich.), playing football for head coach Don Durrett...USA Today, Parade, CNN/Sports Illustrated, G&W Recruiting Report and Super Prep All-American first-team choice and named Michigan’s Gatorade Player of the Year...Prep Football Report, Super Prep and Max Emfinger’s Blue Chip Recruiting rated him the nation’s second-best linebacker...Super Prep rated him the second-best player in the Midwest...G&W Recruiting Report ranked Woodley the fourth-best defensive player in the country, while both Rivals.com and College Football News rated him the nation’s third-best inside linebacker...member of Prep Star’s Dream Team Top 100 list and listed as the best player in Michigan on The Detroit News Blue Chip list and by the Detroit Free Press...a four-year starter on defense and three-year starter on offense, Woodley collected 192 career tackles at linebacker...also recovered six career fumbles…recorded 80 tackles and 10 sacks as a senior and also blocked one punt that he returned 30 yards for a score...made 120 tackles, 12 sacks, eight pass break-ups and five fumble recoveries in his junior season...also lettered three years in basketball, averaging 13 points and 13 rebounds as a senior, in addition to participating in track, finishing third in the state in the shot put during his junior season...nicknamed “Wood”...son of Janice Staples and Terry Woodley...Full name: LaMarr Dewayne Woodley.