Theo Riddick (born May 4, 1991) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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of the

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(NFL). He played

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at Notre Dame and was selected by the

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in the sixth round of the

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. He has also played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Early life

Raised in

Somerville, New Jersey Somerville is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in and the county seat of Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Immaculata High School in

Somerville, New Jersey Somerville is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in and the county seat of Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

career, which also included a state championship in 2006, leading his team to victory and a perfect 12–0 season. In June 2016, Immaculata's football field was named for Riddick. Considered a four-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', he was rated as the tenth-best all purpose back in the nation. He accepted a scholarship offer from Notre Dame over offers from

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

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, and

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College career

Riddick attended and played college football for Notre Dame from 2009 to 2012. As a freshman at Notre Dame in 2009 under head coach Charlie Weis, Riddick started off his career as a reserve and primarily on special teams as a

kick 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 positio ...

. He made his collegiate debut in a victory over Nevada. He rushed for 160 yards on 29 carries (5.5 avg) and tallied 849 kickoff return yards on 37 returns. Before the season ended, Weis was fired. In 2010, under new head coach Brian Kelly, he made the move from

to slot receiver. In his first season as a receiver, he amassed 40 catches for 414 yards and three touchdowns, including a career game against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

in which he recorded 10 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown. In 2011, he did not have the break out season many had hoped, he recorded 38 catches for 436 yards and three touchdowns. He also played running back following an injury to starter Jonas Gray near the end of the season. In his final season, as a senior in 2012, he made the move back to running back. Splitting carries with fellow senior classmate Cierre Wood, he rushed for 917 yards on 190 carries (4.8 avg) and five touchdowns. He also recorded 36 receptions for 370 yards and two touchdowns. On October 20, 2012, he had a then career-high 143 rushing yards in a victory over BYU. On November 24, 2012, he had a career day with 146 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to go along with 33 receiving yards in the victory at Southern California. He was an integral piece to the Irish's 2012 undefeated regular season. In the BCS National Championship, he had 37 rushing yards and a six-yard receiving touchdown in the 42–14 loss.

College statistics

Professional career

Detroit Lions

The

selected Riddick in the sixth round (199th overall) of the

. Riddick was the 21st running back drafted in 2013. On May 30, 2013, the Detroit Lions signed Riddick to a four-year, $2.25 million

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

that includes a

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of $91,000. Riddick was drafted due to his position flexibility. The Lions had plans to use Riddick at running back, slot receiver, third-down back, fielding punts, and kick returns. In 2013, he scored his first career touchdown on a two-yard run in Week 16 against the

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. Overall, in his rookie season, he finished with 25 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, four receptions, and 26 receiving yards. Riddick saw an expanded role in the receiving game in the 2014 season. In Week 6, against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, Riddick scored another touchdown on a nine-yard pass from

Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Georg ...

as part of a 75-yard receiving game. Two weeks later, against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, he had 74 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Overall, in the 2014 season, he finished with 51 rushing yards, 34 receptions, 316 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns. Riddick saw expanded usage in the 2015 season, especially in the passing game. In the season opener against the

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, he had two receptions for 37 yards and a receiving touchdown. On October 11, against 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. The ...

, he had 10 receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. In a Week 16 game against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the 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 ...

, he caught seven passes for 63 yards, giving him 668 receiving yards on the season. This set a Lions franchise record for running backs, surpassing the 662 receiving yards gained by James Jones in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. Riddick finished the season with 80 receptions and 697 yards, both franchise records for a running back. On September 9, 2016, the Detroit Lions signed Riddick to a three-year, $11.55 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $3.85 million. In the 2016 season opener against 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, Riddick had 45 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, five receptions, 63 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. He was the Lions' top running back in 2016 after a season-ending injury to Ameer Abdullah in Week 2. On October 9, against the

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, he had six receptions for 33 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. He played in 10 games with 8 starts in 2016, rushing for 357 yards and one touchdown to go along with 53 receptions for 371 yards and five touchdowns. He had been dealing with a lingering wrist injury towards the end of the season, leading him to be placed on injured reserve on December 31, 2016. In the 2017 season opener against the

, Riddick had six receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown. On December 10 against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, he had 29 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Overall, in the 2017 season, he finished with 286 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 53 receptions, 444 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. In a similar role to the prior year in the 2018 season, Riddick had 40 carries for 171 rushing yards and 61 receptions for 384 receiving yards. On July 27, 2019, Riddick was released by the Lions after six seasons.

Denver Broncos

On August 4, 2019, Riddick signed with the

. He was placed on injured reserve on September 2, 2019, with a shoulder injury.

Las Vegas Raiders

Riddick signed with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

on August 23, 2020. He was released on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on October 3 for the team's week 4 game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was promoted to the active roster on November 5. He was placed on the reserve/

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list by the team on November 21, and activated on December 2. On March 19, 2021, Riddick re-signed with the Raiders on a one-year contract. He announced his retirement from the NFL on July 30, 2021.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddick, Theo 1991 births Living people Immaculata High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Manville, New Jersey Players of American football from Somerset County, New Jersey American football running backs American football wide receivers Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Detroit Lions players Denver Broncos players Las Vegas Raiders players