Amari Jai Rodgers (born September 23, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 202 ...

High school career

Rodgers attended

Knoxville Catholic High School Knoxville Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville. History Knoxville Catholic High School, originally located on East Magnolia Avenue, reg ...

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

. 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. 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. Rodgers originally committed to

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

, but flipped to Clemson when they gave him an offer late in the season.

College career

As a freshman at Clemson in 2017, Rodgers had 19 receptions for 123 yards. As a sophomore in 2018, he caught 55 passes for 575 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also returned a punt for a touchdown. Rodgers missed the first game of his junior season in 2019 due to an ACL tear in spring practice. He finished the season with 30 receptions, 426 yards, and 4 touchdowns. After the season, Rodgers announced he was returning for his senior season rather than entering the 2020 NFL Draft. As a senior, Rodgers caught 77 passes for 1,020 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Rodgers was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round with the 85th overall pick of the

. The Packers send their 92nd and 135th overall picks to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

to move up and select Rodgers. He signed his four-year rookie contract on July 23, 2021, worth $4.89 million, including a $923,000 signing bonus. He saw his first NFL action on September 12, 2021, against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, 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 The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

, Rodgers lost his seventh fumble during a punt return, and was benched afterwards, replaced by cornerback

Keisean Nixon Keisean Nixon (born June 22, 1997) is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona Western before transferring to South Carolina, and was signed by the Oa ...

. 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.

Houston Texans

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

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Rodgers is the son of football coach

Tee Martin Tamaurice Nigel "Tee" Martin (born July 25, 1978) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach at th ...

. He is close friends with former Packers teammate Randall Cobb, whom he met while Cobb was playing for Martin at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

References

External links

Houston Texans bioClemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Amari 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Knoxville, Tennessee African-American players of American football American football wide receivers Clemson Tigers football players Green Bay Packers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople Houston Texans players