Samari Toure Rolle (born August 10, 1976) is a retired
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 ...
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
. He was drafted by the
Tennessee Oilers
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to the ...
in the second round of the
1998 NFL Draft
The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...
. He played
college football at
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
.
Rolle has also played for the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
. He was selected to the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
.
Early years
Rolle attended
Miami Beach High School
Miami Beach Senior High School (Beach High, MBSH) is a secondary school located at 2231 Prairie Avenue Miami Beach, Florida, across from the Miami Beach Convention Center and Botanical Garden. It is located at the corner of Prairie Avenue and D ...
in
Miami Beach, Florida, where he was named Super Prep Dixie Defensive Player of the Year and was a Dream Team selection by Blue Chip Illustrated. As a senior, he tallied 62 tackles and six
interceptions on defense, and threw for 1,217 yards and eight
touchdowns
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 Amer ...
at
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
, he also rushed for 402 yards and returned three punts for
touchdowns
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 Amer ...
. He was a teammate of future pro bowler Duane Starks. He then played in the Super 24 Florida-Georgia All-Star Game.
College career
Rolle played
College football at
Florida State University. He played in 38 games with 24 starts and made 12 interceptions and 111 tackles in his four-year career. In his senior season he was named First-Team All-
ACC
ACC most often refers to:
* Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US
*American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...
and ''Football News'' Third-Team
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
. Four of his 12 career interceptions came against rival
Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...
.
Professional career
Tennessee Oilers/Titans
Samari Rolle was selected by the
Tennessee Oilers
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to the ...
in the second round (46th overall) of the
1998 NFL Draft
The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...
. In his rookie season he played in 15 games and finished the campaign with 30 tackles. The following year, he recorded 69 tackles, three sacks and four interceptions. He shares the franchise record with three interceptions in one game in 1999 against 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 1999, the Titans made it to
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis ...
in which Rolle started, however they lost to the
Kurt Warner
Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend f ...
-led
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arr ...
. He was selected to the 2000
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
after recording a seven interception season, one of which he returned for a touchdown. In 2001, he made 56 tackles and three interceptions. The following season, he started in every game and finished the season with 48 tackles and two interceptions. In 2003, he only played in 13 games after dislocating his elbow, but finished the season with 31 tackles and six interceptions. He was released by Tennessee at the end of the 2004 season for
salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...
reasons and finished the campaign with 28 tackles.
Baltimore Ravens
Rolle signed for the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
as an unrestricted free agent on March 7, 2005. His first year in Baltimore was decent as he recorded 41 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 11 pass deflections. However, in 2006 he struggled against the deep ball in several early games, most notably in week 6 against the Panthers where Rolle gave up two long touchdowns to
Drew Carter and
Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to:
Academics
* Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager
* Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...
. However Rolle rebounded and played relatively well in the second half of the season. He finished the season with 52 tackles and three interceptions.
Through week 10 of the 2007 NFL season, Rolle missed five games due to an undisclosed illness. On November 14, 2007, talk show hosts filling in on the Anita Marks show on Baltimore ESPN Radio 1300AM mentioned that Rolle was being treated for seizures, but no further elaboration was provided. On November 21, 2007, Rolle disclosed that the illness was
epilepsy
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...
due to years of giving and receiving crushing hits during his football career. He finished the season playing in only six games and ended the campaign with 22 tackles and one interception and won the "
Ed Block Courage Award
The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to a player from each team in the National Football League (NFL) who are voted for by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a ...
"..
Even though he made ten regular season starts with three interceptions in 2008, Rolle's injuries continued to limit his playing time. He missed six games with shoulder and neck problems, and was inactive for the AFC championship playoff contest against the
Pittsburgh Steelers due to a
groin
In human anatomy, the groin (the adjective is ''inguinal'', as in inguinal canal) is the junctional area (also known as the inguinal region) between the abdomen and the thigh on either side of the pubic bone. This is also known as the medial comp ...
injury. He got an interception as a starter in the other two postseason matches. It came in a 13–10 win against
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, his former team.
Rolle was released by the team on March 18, 2009, only to be re-signed by the team on April 6. He was released again on April 13, 2010.
NFL statistics
Personal life
Rolle wore the number #22 as a tribute to his high school teammate and former Ravens cornerback
Duane Starks.
On June 13, 2007, Rolle was in South Africa on board a small commuter airplane returning from a safari when the door at the back of the plane flew off. Rolle was on the plane with his wife along with then-
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
cornerback
Lito Sheppard
Lito Decorian Sheppard (born April 8, 1981) is an American football coach and former cornerback. During his playing career, he played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first ...
, then-
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 ...
running back
Fred Taylor, their respective wives and three other people. However, no one was seriously hurt and the flight landed safely.
His name "Samari" means strength. He is of Bahamian and Cuban descent. Along with his wife, Danisha, and the Samari Rolle Foundation, in 2002, he kicked off a bowling tournament featuring his Titans teammates, members of the media and corporate sponsors. Rolle and Danisha have 2 daughters, Samara, 20 and Amari, 14 and a son, Jamir, 15
Baltimore Ravens bio
On May 7, 2010, Rolle announced his retirement from the NFL after 12 seasons citing neck injuries as the main reason.
Rolle is currently an assistant football coach at Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach, Florida
Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles (83 kilometers) north of Miami, Delray Beach is in the ...
.
References
External links
Official website
Baltimore Ravens bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolle, Samari
1976 births
Living people
American people of Bahamian descent
Players of American football from Miami
People with epilepsy
American football cornerbacks
Florida State Seminoles football players
Tennessee Oilers players
Tennessee Titans players
Baltimore Ravens players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
Miami Beach Senior High School alumni
Ed Block Courage Award recipients