Chris Rowland (born December 19, 1997) 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 Philadelphia Stars of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He played college football for the

Tennessee State Tigers The Tennessee State Tigers and Lady Tigers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee State University (TSU), located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The Tigers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and ...

. After college, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2020.

High school

Rowland attended

Ravenwood High School Ravenwood High School is a public high school located in Brentwood, Tennessee, which serves the eastern part of Williamson County. Opened in 2002, the $24.5 million facility, designed by architect Charlie Johnson, progressively grew its studen ...

for high school. Rowland mostly played in the

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

position at Ravenwood. After graduating in 2016, Rowland opted to play for Tennessee State.

College career

In the 2019 college football season, Rowland was the only player in Division I to record a touchdown via a kick return, punt return, reception, and rush. He also broke the HBCU record for most receptions in a single season, a record which was previously set by

Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championsh ...

. For his efforts, he was named first-team all-conference as both a receiver and kick returner and received the Deacon Jones Trophy as the best player at an HBCU.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Rowland signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an

following the 2020 NFL Draft on April 27, 2020. He was waived during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, and signed to the team's practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on December 26 and January 2, 2021, for the team's weeks 16 and 17 games against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. On August 31, 2021, Rowland was waived by the Falcons.

Tennessee Titans

On November 10, 2021, Rowland was signed 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 ...

practice squad. He was released on November 23.

Philadelphia Stars

On March 10, 2022, Rowland was drafted by the Philadelphia Stars of the

. He was transferred to the team's inactive roster on April 22, 2022, with a shoulder injury. He was transferred to the active roster on April 30.

Statistics

Post Season

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowland, Chris 1997 births Living people American football wide receivers Tennessee State Tigers football players African-American players of American football Players of American football from Tennessee Atlanta Falcons players 21st-century African-American sportspeople Philadelphia Stars (2022) players