Ricardo Eugene Mathews (born July 30, 1987) 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was drafted by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

in the seventh round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

. 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 ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He also played for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, and

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Professional career

He was a member of the 2009 Cincinnati Bearcats college football team. Ricardo graduated from Jacksonville, Florida's

Terry Parker High School Terry Parker High School is a public high school in the Duval County Public School district, located in Jacksonville, Florida. The school celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.http: ...

and was a three time First-Team All Conference Selection for Terry Parker's football team. Ricardo was also a conference champion wrestler and made it to the Florida state championships in track.

Indianapolis Colts

2010: Rookie season

Mathews was selected in the seventh round (238th overall) by the

in the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

. On July 29, 2010, the Indianapolis Colts signed Mathews to a four-year, $1.83 million contract. He started his rookie season as the fifth defensive end on the Colts' depth chart behind Dwight Freeney,

Robert Mathis Robert Nathan Mathis (born February 26, 1981) is a former American football defensive end and outside linebacker who played his entire 14-year career with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footbal ...

, Eric Foster, and

Fili Moala Siaosi Toutoupau'u "Fili" Moala (born June 23, 1985) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football at Southern California, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Early yea ...

. On October 10, 2010, he made his regular-season debut with the Colts in a victory over 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 tea ...

. In Week 10, he made his first career tackle during a 23–17 victory over 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) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. He finished his rookie season with one tackle and appeared in eight games.

2011

During training camp and OTAs Mathews was switched from defensive end to defensive tackle when the Indianapolis Colts went from a 3-4 base defense to a 4-3. Mathews was released by the Colts during final team cuts on September 3, 2011. On September 5, 2011, he was signed to the Colts'

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. On September 11, 2011, the Colts waived him from their practice squad. On October 5, 2011, the Colts signed Mathews to the active roster after Eric Foster suffered an injury. He played in his first game of 2011 during the Colts' Week 5 match-up against the

. Mathews made two solo tackles and deflected two passes in the 24–28 loss. On October 30, 2011, Mathews had three tackles and made his first career sack on

Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College and was drafted in the sixth round ...

, as the Colts lost, 10–27, to the Tennessee Titans and fell to 0–8. On January 1, 2011, he had his best statistical game of the season, compiling a season-high five tackles in a 13-19 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

2012

During the 2012 off-season, the Indianapolis Colts fired head coach Jim Caldwell and hired

Chuck Pagano Charles David Pagano (born October 2, 1960) is a former American football coach and player. Pagano spent six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 to 2017. He also served as the defensiv ...

in his place. Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky implemented a 3-4 defensive base, moving Mathews back to defensive end, his original position. Although he played in the first two regular-season contests, he did not record a tackle until Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. On October 21, 2012, he received his first career start and made one tackle during a 17–13 win over 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 December 2, 2012, Mathews made a season-high three combined tackles during a 35–33 victory over the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. In his third season with the Colts, he made 13 total tackles and one pass deflection while playing in 15 games and starting five of them.

2013

In the 2013 season, he made two tackles in the season-opening victory over 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 Raide ...

. On December 15, 2013, Mathews collected two solo tackles in a 25–3 victory over the

. The next game, he was credited with half a sack and made two combined tackles during the Colts' 23–7 win at the

. He finished the 2013 season with 18 combined tackles, a pass deflection, and half a sack in 16 games and one start. The

finished with an 11–5 record and made the playoffs. On January 4, 2014, Mathews played in his first career playoff game and made two combined tackles in a 45–44 wild-card victory over the

. The following game, he made three solo tackles in a 22–43 loss to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. With the Colts, he recorded 51 tackles and 1.5 sacks and played in 52 games with six starts.

Houston Texans

2014

On April 15, 2014, the

signed Mathews to a one-year, $730,000 contract. He was released by the Texans during final roster cuts on August 30, 2014.

San Diego Chargers

Mathews was signed by the

on September 1, 2014. He began the regular season as the fourth defensive end on the Chargers' depth chart behind

Kendall Reyes Kendall A. Reyes (born September 26, 1989) is a former American football defensive end. In 2010, he served as one of four team captains for the University of Connecticut Huskies and was named to the All-Big East Conference first-team following t ...

Corey Liuget Corey Devon Liuget (born March 18, 1990) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football at Illinois, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. College career During his three ...

, and

Tenny Palepoi Tenny Tatoi Palepoi (born December 19, 1990) is a former American football defensive tackle. He first enrolled at Snow College before transferring to the University of Utah. Palepoi attended Skyline High School in Holladay, Utah. His brother, Ant ...

. On September 28, 2014, he made his Chargers debut, recording a sack and two tackles in a 33–14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. On October 5, 2014, Mathews collected two solo tackles and forced the first fumble of his career in a 31–0 win over the

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

. During a Week 8 match-up at the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

, Mathews recorded three solo tackles in the Chargers' victory. The next game, he received his first start with the Chargers and finished with two solo tackles in the 0–37 loss to 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 ...

. On December 20, 2014, Mathews and Dwight Freeney sacked

Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt dur ...

, forcing a

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

which led to a recovery and

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

by Corey Liuget. Mathews finished the 2014 season with career-high stats, recording 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and 21 tackles in 12 games and two starts.

2015

On March 10, 2015, the Chargers signed him to a one-year, $960,000 contract that included a signing bonus of $155,000. On October 4, 2015, Mathews received his first official start of the season and made one solo tackle in 30–27 victory over the

. The following game, he made two combined tackles and sacked

' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger during the Chargers' 20–24 loss. In Week 7, he collected a season-high three solo tackles against the

. He finished his last season with the Chargers with a total of 22 combined tackles and one sack in 16 regular- season contests and seven starts.

Pittsburgh Steelers

2016

On March 31, 2016, the

signed Mathews to a one-year, $760,000 contract. He started the regular season as the third defensive end on the depth chart behind

Cameron Heyward Cameron Phillip Heyward (born May 6, 1989) is an American football defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college foot ...

and

Stephon Tuitt Stephon Jakiel Tuitt (born May 23, 1993) is a former American football defensive end who played eight seasons, all with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Steelers in the second round of the 2014 ...

. Although he played in the Steelers' season opener, Mathews did not make a tackle until the second week of the season against the

. He finished the 24-16 win with only one combined tackle. On October 16, 2016, he received his first official start of the season but did not register a statistic against the

. The following game, he received his second consecutive start and had two combined tackles in a 16-27 loss to the

. On December 4, 2016, Mathews made two combined tackles and sacked

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

quarterback Eli Manning for his first sack of the season during the Steelers' 24-14 victory.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bearcats bio

Houston Texans bio

Indianapolis Colts bio

San Diego Chargers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Ricardo 1987 births Living people Terry Parker High School alumni Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Cincinnati Bearcats football players Indianapolis Colts players Houston Texans players San Diego Chargers players Pittsburgh Steelers players