Amari Rodgers – Wikipedia

Posted on by

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

American football player (born 1999)

American football player

Amari Jai Rodgers (born September 23, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

High school career[edit]

Rodgers attended Knoxville Catholic High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. As a senior, he caught 40 passes for 1,238 yards with 18 touchdowns. For his career, he had 3,498 receiving yards with 47 total touchdowns.[1] He was rated as a four star recruit and the 16th highest rated wide receiver recruit in the country by the 247Sports.com Composite, which aggregates the ratings of the major recruiting services.[2] Rodgers originally committed to University of Southern California, but flipped to Clemson when they gave him an offer late in the season.[3]

College career[edit]

As a freshman at Clemson in 2017, Rodgers had 19 receptions for 123 yards.[4] As a sophomore in 2018, he caught 55 passes for 575 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also returned a punt for a touchdown.[5]

Rodgers missed the first game of his junior season in 2019 due to an ACL tear in spring practice.[6] He finished the season with 30 receptions, 426 yards, and 4 touchdowns.[7] After the season, Rodgers announced he was returning for his senior season rather than entering the 2020 NFL Draft.[8] As a senior, Rodgers caught 77 passes for 1,020 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Professional career[edit]

Green Bay Packers[edit]

Rodgers was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round with the 85th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.[11] The Packers send their 92nd and 135th overall picks to the Tennessee Titans to move up and select Rodgers. He signed his four-year rookie contract on July 23, 2021,[12] worth $4.89 million, including a $923,000 signing bonus.[13] He saw his first NFL action on September 12, 2021, against the New Orleans Saints, recording one catch for 19 yards in the 38–3 loss. He finished the 2021 season with 169 yards off punt returns and 199 yards off kickoff returns with his longest being 23 and 27 yards.

During Rodgers’ second season, he proved to be inconsistent, totaling five fumbled punt returns over ten games. However, he was otherwise more efficient by nearing his 2021 totals in just over half a season, returning 139 yards off punt returns and 122 off kickoffs through week 10. In a week 10 win over the Dallas Cowboys, Rodgers lost his seventh fumble during a punt return, and was benched afterwards, replaced by cornerback Keisean Nixon. Head coach Matt LaFleur announced they would no longer ask Rodgers to return punts, and he was released by the Packers two days after the game.[14][15]

Houston Texans[edit]

The Houston Texans claimed Rodgers off waivers on November 16, 2022.[16]

NFL career statistics[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Year Team Games Receiving Kick Returns Punt Returns Fumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2021 GB 16 1 4 45 11.2 19 0 11 199 18.1 27 0 20 166 8.3 23 0 2 0
2022 GB 10 0 4 50 12.5 22 0 6 122 20.3 34 0 20 139 7.0 20 0 5 2
HOU 6 1 12 154 12.8 37 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0
Total 32 2 20 249 12.5 37 1 17 321 18.9 34 0 40 305 7.6 23 0 8 2
Source: pro-football-reference.com

Postseason[edit]

Year Team Games Receiving Kick Returns Punt Returns Fumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2021 GB 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 66 22.0 26 0 2 11 5.5 6 0 0 0
Total 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 66 22.0 26 0 2 11 5.5 6 0 0 0
Source: pro-football-reference.com

Personal life[edit]

Rodgers is the son of football coach Tee Martin.[17] He is close friends with former Packers teammate Randall Cobb, whom he met while Cobb was playing for Martin at the University of Kentucky.[18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Oliver, Gavin (July 4, 2017). “Fresh look at the freshmen: Amari Rodgers”. The Clemson Insider. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  2. ^ “Amari Rodgers, Knoxville Catholic, Wide Receiver”. 247Sports.com. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  3. ^ Keepfer, Scott (July 22, 2019). “Meet the Tigers: 3 things you probably don’t know about Clemson football’s Amari Rodgers”. USA Today. Retrieved April 16, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ “2018 Clemson Football Season Preview: Wide Receivers”. SB Nation. August 23, 2018. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  5. ^ “Player Stats: Amari Rodgers”. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  6. ^ Needelman, Joshua (September 10, 2019). “Clemson’s Amari Rodgers to Dabo Swinney: ‘I promise you, I’m ready”. The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  7. ^ “WATCH: Amari Rodgers motivated to show out as senior”. Tigernet.com. April 16, 2020. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  8. ^ Senkiw, Brad (March 25, 2020). “Clemson’s Amari Rodgers Reflects On Being Year Removed From Knee Injury”. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  9. ^ “Amari Rodgers Draft and Combine Prospect Profile”. National Football League. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  10. ^ “Amari Rodgers, Clemson, WR, 2021 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football”. draftscout.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  11. ^ “2021 NFL Draft: Packers select Clemson WR Amari Rodgers in the third round, No. 85 overall”. packers.com. April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  12. ^ “Packers sign WR Amari Rodgers”. packers.com. July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  13. ^ “Amari Rodgers”.
  14. ^ “Amari Rodgers Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College”. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  15. ^ “Packers release WR Amari Rodgers, RB Kylin Hill”. packers.com. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  16. ^ “Texans’ Amari Rodgers: Picked up by Houston”. CBS Sports. November 16, 2022.
  17. ^ Thomas, Chris (January 30, 2017). “How Clemson football landed Tee Higgins, Amari Rodgers”. Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  18. ^ Huber, Bill (July 31, 2021). “Trade Reunites Longtime Friends Cobb, Amari Rodgers”. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 13, 2021.

External links[edit]