With a team that featured Washington and star running back Jim Kiick, Wyoming finished the season undefeated at 10–0 before losing to Louisiana State University in the Sugar Bowl, 28–13.
A few months later, Washington was charged with assaulting a 19-year-old student referee during an intermural basketball game.
[3] Washington was not drafted by the NFL when he was expelled, but he soon found an opportunity with the Canadian Football League.
With Ottawa trailing 14–11 in the fourth quarter, Washington was part of a "quick pitch sweep left" play that would see him take a toss from the quarterback that saw the ball hit the ground but bounce right back to his arm that he would then take for a 79-yard touchdown run from scrimmage, establishing a Grey Cup record that still stands.
He elected to play for the BC Lions that season, where he was utilized more as a receiver than rusher, catching 28 passes for 475 yards (while rushing only three times) before joining the 49ers as a free agent.
[5] Washington would be utilized for each of rushing, receiving, and returning kicks that season for San Francisco.
He ran for 59 yards on 16 carries with one catch and four returns in the 24-20 victory over Washington to set up a second-straight NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys.
[8] In 1973 preseason, Washington suffered a cracked kneecap due to a hard tackle on artificial turf that saw him put on painkillers and cortisone injections.
He then joined the Buffalo Bills to close out his last two seasons in the NFL, where he played mostly as returner in 1975, running back 35 kickoffs for 923 yards.
Washington struggled heavily after his playing career was over, due to lingering injuries and a drug addiction, which led to the breakup of his marriage and a brief period of homelessness.
In 1983 he filed for disability benefits with the NFL, citing a degenerative bone disease and depression.