Professionally, Washington spent four years as a running back for the United Football League's Sacramento Mountain Lions.

He made his Broadway debut in a 2022 revival of the August Wilson play The Piano Lesson and reprised his role in its 2024 film adaptation.

[4] At the age of seven, he played a student in Spike Lee's 1992 feature film Malcolm X, which starred his father in the title role.

[10] Washington stayed with the team after their move to Sacramento, playing for the Mountain Lions until 2012, when the league abruptly folded that October.

[11][12] Washington began acting in 2015 in the role of Ricky Jerret, an NFL player, in the HBO drama series Ballers.

[18] The film was a commercial success, earning Washington both Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

[27][28] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised Washington's "star-in-the-making" performance, writing, "A former football running back, the actor brings a natural athletic grace to the stunts and hand-to-hand combat that forge a visceral bond between his character and the audience.

[30][31] He starred as Harold Woodman, a lawyer and war veteran, in the ensemble period film Amsterdam (2022), directed by David O.

[33] Washington performed in a Broadway revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson beginning in September 2022 and ending in January 2023.