Ryquell Keeman Armstead (born October 30, 1996) 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 ...

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 ...

for the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. Th ...

. He played college football at

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 ...

and was drafted by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Early life and high school career

Armstead was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey, and grew up in

Millville, New Jersey Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 28,400,Millville Senior High School Millville Senior High School is a comprehensive community public high school located in Millville, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in eleventh grade and twelfth grade as part of the Millville Public Schools. ...

, including a school-record 337 yards against Absegami High School.

College career

Armstead played four seasons for the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and mascot for Temple University since its founding in the 1 ...

. Armstead spent his first two seasons as a backup to starter Jahad Thomas and rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman. He received significantly more playing time as a sophomore and rushed for 919 yards on 156 carries and a team-leading 14 touchdowns as the Owls went on to win the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

(AAC) championship. Armstead struggled with injuries in his first year as a starter, rushing for 604 yards and five touchdowns. As a senior, Armstead rushed for 1,098 yards on 210 carries (5.2 average) and scored 13 touchdowns. He was named first team All-AAC despite nagging injuries. Armstead finished his collegiate career as the Owls' fourth-leading rusher with 2,812 yards and fourth in school history with 34 rushing touchdowns.

College statistics

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Armstead was drafted by the

in the fifth round with the 140th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Armstead signed a rookie contract with the Jaguars on May 9, 2019. Armstead made his NFL debut in the Jaguars season opener on September 8, 2019, gaining seven yards on a single carry in a 40–26 loss to 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 ...

. Armstead scored his first career touchdown, a seven-yard reception (also the first of his career) from

Gardner Minshew Gardner Flint Minshew II (born May 16, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He began his college football career at Northwest Mississippi, winning the NJCAA National Footba ...

, on September 29, 2019 against 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 headquar ...

. Armstead finished his rookie season with 35 carries for 108 rushing yards and 14 receptions for 144 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Armstead was placed on the reserve/

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list by the team on August 2, 2020. He was activated on August 20. He was placed back on the COVID-19 list on September 4, 2020. On October 25, 2020 it was reported that he would miss the rest of the season due to COVID-19 and that he had been hospitalized twice having significant respiratory issues. He was waived after the season on May 17, 2021.

New York Giants

On May 18, 2021, Armstead was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants. He was waived on June 24.

New Orleans Saints

On October 6, 2021, Armstead was signed to 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 ...

practice squad. On October 28, 2021, Armstead was waived by the Saints.

Green Bay Packers

On November 3, 2021, Armstead was signed to the Green Bay Packers practice squad.

Jacksonville Jaguars (second stint)

On December 22, 2021, Armstead was signed to the active roster of the

. He was waived on August 29, 2022.

DC Defenders

On November 17, 2022, Armstead was drafted by the

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 ...

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bio

Temple Owls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstead, Ryquell 1996 births Living people African-American players of American football American football running backs Green Bay Packers players Jacksonville Jaguars players Millville Senior High School alumni People from Bridgeton, New Jersey People from Millville, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Cumberland County, New Jersey New York Giants players New Orleans Saints players 21st-century African-American sportspeople