Evan Junior Rodriguez (born September 21, 1988) is a former

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 with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. He is Moorish American from his Nigerian & Puerto Rican descent. Rodriguez grew up in

North Bergen, New Jersey North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by a ...

and played football at

North Bergen High School North Bergen High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade from North Bergen, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the North Bergen School District. Th ...

Professional career

2012 NFL Draft

He was drafted in the fourth round with the 111th overall pick in the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Chicago Bears

On May 8, Rodriguez signed a 4-year contract with the Chicago Bears. In 2012, Rodriguez appeared in 12 games with five starts, catching four passes for 21 yards. On June 10, 2013, Rodriguez was released.

Miami Dolphins

On June 11, 2013, Rodriguez was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. Rodriguez was cut from the Miami Dolphins on September 1, 2013.

Buffalo Bills

The

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

signed him on November 4, 2013. On August 29, 2014, they released him in their finals cuts for the 53-man roster.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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) NFC South, South divisio ...

signed him to their practice squad on November 25, 2014, after

Jorvorskie Lane Jorvorskie Javion Lane (born February 4, 1987) is a former American football fullback. He played tailback and fullback for the Texas A&M Aggies college football team. He played tailback during his freshman through junior seasons, and switched ...

was ruled out for the rest of the season.

San Antonio Commanders

In December 2018, Rodriguez signed with the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home ga ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(AAF). The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Seattle Dragons

Rodriguez was drafted in the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

by the

Seattle Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons (formerly known as the Seattle Dragons) are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The team is a franchise of the new XFL and plays its home games at Lumen Field in Seattle. Originally founded ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Personal life

During his time at West Virginia, Rodriguez was charged with felony assault in relation to a physical altercation he had with a female residence hall adviser; the charge was later reduced to misdemeanor disturbance and trespassing. He was later arrested for disorderly conduct at Temple in April 2009. On March 21, 2013, Rodriguez was arrested in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

for disorderly intoxication and resisting a police officer without violence. Rodriguez had been in Miami to train with some of his teammates, but after his arrest, faced a $1,500 bail. Later in the year, on May 31, Rodriguez was arrested for

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

, speeding and improper lane switching on

Interstate 90 in Illinois Interstate 90 (I-90) in the US state of Illinois runs roughly northwest-to-southeast through the northern part of the state. From the Wisconsin state line at South Beloit, it heads south to Rockford before heading east-southeast to the ...

References

External links

Chicago Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Evan 1988 births Living people American football tight ends American football fullbacks Buffalo Bills players Chicago Bears players Lehigh Valley Steelhawks players Miami Dolphins players North Bergen High School alumni People from North Bergen, New Jersey Puerto Rican players of American football San Antonio Commanders players Seattle Dragons players Players of American football from Hudson County, New Jersey Temple Owls football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players