Antonio Tavaras Chatman (born February 12, 1979) 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 ...

wide receiver and

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

. He was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2002. 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 ...

. Chatman also played for the

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,20 ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and

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 ...

College career

Chatman was born in

Jackson, Alabama Jackson is a city in Clarke County, Alabama, United States. The population was 5,557 at the 2020 census. It was one of three wet settlements in an otherwise-dry county. Geography Jackson is located along the western border of Clarke County at ...

and attended the Susan Miller Dorsey High School in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He attended

El Camino College El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

where he was a

Criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

major.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Chatman signed as an

with the

of the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

but was soon released.

Chicago Rush

He then joined the

of the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

in 2002. After two weeks on the bench behind offensive specialist

Joe Douglass Joe Douglass (born January 21, 1974) is a former American football wide receiver/linebacker. He most recently played for the Las Vegas Gladiators in the Arena Football League. High school career At South Salem High School, Douglass rushed for 2 ...

, a freak season-ending injury to Douglass during pre-game warmups pushed Chatman into the starting job in Week 3, and he responded with a strong

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season, leading the Rush in receiving with 74 catches for 1,068 yards and 23 touchdowns, and earning

All-Rookie Team honors in the process. He followed that campaign with an even better season in 2003, catching 123 passes for 1,636 yards and 29 touchdowns, and added 2,062 yards and 7 touchdowns on kick returns to set an AFL record for all-purpose yardage. Chatman was named to the All-Arena Second-team and was a runner-up for the league's Offensive Player of the Year award.

Green Bay Packers

His success in Chicago attracted the attention of the NFL's

, and he signed with that team for the

2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

. Upon joining the

, Chatman was largely relegated to a kick returning role, seeing only sparing action as a wide receiver his first season. In 2004, he gradually saw an increased role in the offense at receiver, before finally seeing extensive action as a starter in 2005 due to injuries to

Javon Walker Javon Liteff Walker (born October 14, 1978) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers 20th overall of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State. Walker also played for the Den ...

and Robert Ferguson. In his second to last game with the Packers, Chatman returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown. It was the first punt returned for touchdown for the Packers since

Allen Rossum Allen Bonshaca Lamont Rossum (born October 22, 1975) is a former American football cornerback and return specialist. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. R ...

did it in 2001.

Cincinnati Bengals

Chatman signed with the

prior to the

2006 NFL Season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006. The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh defeating the Miami in t ...

. However, in 2006 he missed several of the Bengals early games due to injury, and eventually was put on

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 ...

. On September 7, 2007 the Bengals cut him but re-signed him a few days later for the 2007 season. On February 26, 2008, the Bengals reached a new two-year agreement with Chatman. On November 16, 2008, Chatman suffered a cervical injury in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Chatman was released on November 17, 2009, with an injury settlement after being placed on

earlier in the year.

Sacramento Mountain Lions

Chatman was selected with the third pick of the sixth round and 28th selection overall in the

2010 UFL Draft The 2010 UFL Draft was the second draft of the United Football League. The draft took place on Wednesday, June 2, beginning at 7 p.m. EDT. The draft was held over a period of 12 rounds during which each of the five UFL teams was allowed one pick ...

by the

Sacramento Mountain Lions The Sacramento Mountain Lions was a professional 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 rect ...

on June 4, 2010 where he will be re-united with former

teammate Chris Perry and

Doug Gabriel Douglas Gabriel (born August 27, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at UCF. Gabriel was also a member of the New Engla ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal

Chatman is married to his wife Minisha; the couple has two children, Deyja and Keyonn.Cincinnati Bengals bio
/ref>

References

External links

Just Sports StatsArena football statsCincinnati Bengals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatman, Antonio 1979 births Living people People from Jackson, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama American football wide receivers American football return specialists Susan Miller Dorsey High School alumni Cincinnati Bearcats football players San Francisco 49ers players Chicago Rush players Green Bay Packers players Cincinnati Bengals players Sacramento Mountain Lions players