Leon Washington gets 4-year deal

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RENTON, Wash. -- Leon Washington is getting rewarded for proving he could come back from a gruesome, career-threatening broken leg.

The Seattle Seahawks and Washington have agreed to a new four-year contract after a 2010 season during which Washington was in the discussions for NFL comeback player of the year.

The contract is worth about $12.5 million and could max out at $16 million, and it includes $3.5 million in guaranteed money, sources told ESPN.com's John Clayton and ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Washington's agent, Alvin Keels, announced on Twitter Tuesday morning that an agreement had been reached in principle between Washington and the team. The Seahawks confirmed later Tuesday afternoon that the deal had been finalized.

Washington came to Seattle in a draft-day trade with the New York Jets, but with plenty of questions whether he could return to the Pro Bowl form he showed in New York. Washington sustained a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in his right leg during a Jets game at Oakland in October 2009.

It didn't take long for Washington to prove he was back. If his sprinting touchdown run during the preseason didn't show Washington still had his burst, his welcome back came in Week 3 against San Diego. In Seattle's 27-20 win over the Chargers, Washington returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, including a 101-yard sprint to start the second half. He finished that day with 253 yards on kickoff returns, nearly matching Seattle's offensive output of 271 yards. He was the 10th player in NFL history to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game and just the third to have both be for 99 or more yards.

Later in the season, Washington returned a kickoff 92 yards for a score against San Francisco and had a long punt return against Carolina where he was tripped up just shy of the goal line.

Washington tied for the NFL lead with three kickoff returns for touchdowns and averaged 25.6 yards per return, good for eighth in the league. Washington also scored one rushing touchdown. He finished second in All-Pro voting as kick returner behind Chicago's Devin Hester.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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