Position | Linebacker
Born | Cleveland, Ohio
Date-of-Birth | May 19, 1975
Height | 5’10”
Weight | 242 lbs
College | John Carroll (transferred from Saint Francis, PA)
NFL Career | 16 seasons (7 with Washington) Teams | St. Louis Rams 1998-2001, Buffalo Bills 2002-2006, Washington Redskins 2007-2013
Career Highlights
- Signed with the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 1998
- Super Bowl XXXIV champion (1999 season)
- Played 256 consecutive games and started 215 consecutive games — the most career starts ever by a linebacker
- NFL combined tackles leader (2011)
- Finished his career with 2,039 total tackles
- College Football Hall of Fame inductee (2019) — the first player from John Carroll University ever inducted
- Washington Redskins/Commanders Ring of Fame (2019)
- 90 Greatest Commanders
Awards
- 4x Pro Bowl (2009-2012), all with Washington
- 2x Second-team All-Pro (2011, 2012)
- Bart Starr Award (2012)
- NCAA Division III National Linebacker of the Year (1997)
- NCAA Division III unanimous All-American (1997)
London Fletcher Never Missed a Game in 16 Years, and Nearly Nobody Wanted Him
Every team in the NFL passed on London Fletcher in 1998. He spent the next sixteen years making that decision look foolish, one relentless, uninterrupted season at a time.
From Division III to the NFL
Fletcher grew up in Cleveland and starred at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School before a winding path to the pros. He played basketball at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania before transferring to John Carroll, a Division III school outside Cleveland. He set the school’s career tackles record and won National Linebacker of the Year honors as a senior. None of it convinced a single NFL team to draft him.
The Rams signed him anyway, on a modest one-year deal. Fletcher wasn’t shy about his expectations even then. “I’m gonna sign this contract,” he told the team, fully aware he wasn’t getting a bonus as an undrafted rookie. He meant it as a promise, not a complaint.
Iron Man in St. Louis
Fletcher spent his rookie year mostly on special teams. By 1999, he’d claimed the starting middle linebacker job outright. Head coach Dick Vermeil made the call simple after evaluating the position that offseason. “London Fletcher is our middle linebacker,” he said. That decision paid off immediately — Fletcher anchored the defense behind the “Greatest Show on Turf” offense, and the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV.
The NFL’s Most Durable Man
Fletcher spent five seasons in Buffalo before signing with Washington in 2007. He became the defense’s signal-caller and captain almost immediately, a role he held for all seven of his seasons. Through it all, he simply never left the field. By his final season, Fletcher had played 256 consecutive games and started 215 straight — the most career starts by a linebacker in NFL history, and a streak that outlasted teammates, coaches, and entire rebuilding cycles.
Finally Getting His Due
Recognition came late but consistently once it arrived. Fletcher didn’t make his first Pro Bowl until 2009, his twelfth season, after being passed over as an alternate eleven times. He made up for it by going four years in a row, from 2009 through 2012, and led the entire NFL in combined tackles in 2011 at age 36.
He capped his final season by helping Washington reach the playoffs in 2012, a fitting note to close out a career built almost entirely on showing up. Fletch still had 111 tackles in his 16th NFL season.
A Hall of Fame Case Still Building
Fletcher has never been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, despite a resume that includes 2,039 tackles – the second most in NFL history behind only Ray Lewis – and the most durable career any linebacker has ever put together. Not being called to Canton is an absolute travesty.
He is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, and Washington inducted him into its own Ring of Fame in 2019.
Life After Football
Fletcher moved into broadcasting almost immediately, joining CBS Sports Network as a studio analyst before returning to Washington’s radio booth in 2022 as an in-game analyst alongside play-by-play voice Bram Weinstein. He and his wife, Charne, raised three children together. Charne passed away from cancer in September 2024, a profound loss for London.
Fletcher legally added his father’s surname, becoming London Fletcher-Baker, a small gesture honoring both parents who raised the toughest, most reliable player of his generation.
Career Statistics
| Team | Year | G | GS | Tack | Int | FR | Sk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 1998 | 16 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| St. Louis | 1999 | 16 | 16 | 89 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 |
| St. Louis | 2000 | 16 | 15 | 133 | 4 | 0 | 5.5 |
| St. Louis | 2001 | 16 | 16 | 119 | 2 | 0 | 4.5 |
| Buffalo | 2002 | 16 | 16 | 149 | 0 | 2 | 3.0 |
| Buffalo | 2003 | 16 | 16 | 133 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 |
| Buffalo | 2004 | 16 | 16 | 144 | 0 | 1 | 3.5 |
| Buffalo | 2005 | 16 | 16 | 158 | 1 | 2 | 4.0 |
| Buffalo | 2006 | 16 | 16 | 146 | 4 | 1 | 2.0 |
| Washington | 2007 | 16 | 16 | 129 | 3 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Washington | 2008 | 16 | 16 | 133 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Washington | 2009 | 16 | 16 | 142 | 1 | 0 | 2.0 |
| Washington | 2010 | 16 | 16 | 136 | 1 | 3 | 2.5 |
| Washington | 2011 | 16 | 16 | 166 | 2 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Washington | 2012 | 16 | 16 | 139 | 5 | 0 | 3.0 |
| Washington | 2013 | 16 | 16 | 111 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 |
| Career Total | 16 seasons | 256 | 240 | 2,039 | 23 | 12 | 39.0 |
G = Games played, GS = Games started, Comb = Combined tackles (solo + assisted), Int = Interceptions, FR = Fumble recoveries, Sk = Sacks. Fletcher’s entire career falls after 1994, when the NFL began consistently recording tackles league-wide, so this table includes them — unlike earlier-era defensive Legends on this site, where tackle data is too unreliable to include. Bolded season led the NFL in combined tackles. Fletcher also scored 2 defensive touchdowns on interception returns and 1 on a fumble recovery. Stats via Pro Football Reference.
