Frostee Lynn Rucker (born September 14, 1983) 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 wit ...
defensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
. He played
college football at
USC, and was drafted by the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
in the third round of the
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...
. Rucker has also played for the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
,
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...
, and
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...
.
Early years
Rucker went to
Tustin High School
Tustin High School is a public high school in Tustin, California, United States. It is part of the Tustin Unified School District. It was established in 1921 as the Tustin Union High School.
History
Founded in 1921, Tustin High School was ori ...
in Tustin, California, which
DeShaun Foster,
Matt McCoy,
Chris Chester and
Sam Baker also attended. He played running back and linebacker at Tustin High School and was named All-Golden West League MVP as a Senior in 2000. He attended
Santa Ana High School during his junior year and earned All-League honors as a linebacker. He played both his freshman and senior years at Tustin High.
College career
Rucker attended
Colorado State before transferring and playing at
USC from 2002 to 2005.
Professional career
Pre-draft
Cincinnati Bengals
Rucker was selected by the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
in the third round (91st overall) of the
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...
. He was placed on the
injured reserve
The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
list his rookie year in 2006.
In 2007, Rucker contributed on special teams and situational opportunities on defense. He started the final regular season game against the Miami Dolphins and finished with five tackles.
In 2008, Rucker started 4 games and played in 11 (both career highs). He finished with 24 total tackles, two forced fumbles, and a pass defensed.
In 2009, the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
won the
AFC North
The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was adopted after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL ...
and Rucker finished with 13 tackles, and an interception returned 26 yards.
In the 2010 season, Rucker had 17 tackles, a sack, and a pass defensed.
In 2011, Rucker had 44 tackles and four sacks. He also led all defensive ends in stops per snap percentage.
Cleveland Browns
Rucker signed with the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
on March 14, 2012. He was released during the 2013 offseason on February 5, 2013.
Arizona Cardinals
Rucker signed with the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...
on March 21, 2013.
On March 17, 2017, Rucker re-signed with the Cardinals.
On November 5, 2017, in Week 9 against the 49ers, Rucker was ejected after being involved in a fight with
Carlos Hyde
Carlos Dawon Hyde (born September 20, 1990) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Ohio State University and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Hig ...
. On November 10, 2017, Rucker was fined $9,115 for his role in the fight.
Oakland Raiders
On June 12, 2018, Rucker signed with the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...
.
Personal life
Rucker was among a group of investors that placed a
marijuana legalization initiative on the Ohio ballot in 2015. The initiative would have granted exclusive grow rights to Rucker and the other investors in the plan, but ultimately it was defeated.
Ohio marijuana legalization measure fails
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References
External links
Cleveland Browns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rucker, Frostee
1983 births
Living people
People from Tustin, California
Players of American football from California
American football defensive ends
USC Trojans football players
Cincinnati Bengals players
Cleveland Browns players
Arizona Cardinals players
Oakland Raiders players
Sportspeople from Orange County, California