Ben Leber
Ben Leber (born December 7, 1978 in Council Bluffs, IA) is an American football linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL. He previously played for the San Diego Chargers. He attended Kansas State University.
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Personal
Named to several high school All-America teams at Vermillion (S.D.) High School. Two-time all-state selection in South Dakota. Earned Academic All-State with a 3.9 grade point average in high school. Also ran the 100-meter dash as a track athlete in high school. He and his wife Abby have moved back to the Upper Midwest after spending the last four years in California.
College
A two-time All-Big 12 selection, he finished his college career with 216 tackles, 46 tackles for a loss and 13.5 sacks. His 216 tackles was fifth most in Kansas State history. Earned his college degree at K-State in business-general management.
2002
Drafted in the third round of the 2002 nfl draft with the 71st selection, Leber played in all 16 games and started 14 of them. Finished the year with 49 tackles, five sacks and three forced fumbles. Earned a spot on the Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie Team.
2003
Started all 16 games, finishing fourth on the Chargers with 75 tackles, three sacks and one forced fumble.
2004
Started all 16 games for the Chargers, finishing the season with 58 tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery.
2005
Was injured during training camp and again during the season, losing his starting job to rookie Shawne Merriman in the process at San Diego. Finished the season with 22 tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery.
2006
Signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Vikings on March 11, 2006. After 4 seasons with the San Diego Chargers. Finished the season with 46 tackles, three sacks, one interception, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one fumble rec. td.
Career Statistics
| Season | Team | GP | Tckl | Ast | Total | SCK | INT | INT TD | PD | FF | Fum Rec | Fum TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | San Diego Chargers | 16 | 41.0 | 9 | 50 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | San Diego Chargers | 16 | 69.0 | 11 | 80 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | San Diego Chargers | 16 | 49.0 | 11 | 60 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | San Diego Chargers | 9 | 18.0 | 4 | 22 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 34.0 | 12 | 46 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2007 | Minnesota Vikings | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 72 | 211.0 | 47 | 258 | 15.0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 1 | |
Career Playoff Statistics
| Season | Team | GP | Tckl | Ast | Total | SCK | INT | INT TD | PD | FF | Fum Rec | Fum TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | San Diego Chargers | 1 | 5.0 | 2 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 1 | 5.0 | 2 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |