Eli Rogers
 Eli Rogers during the 2016 NFL season. | |||||||||
| No. 17 Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | December 23, 1992 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Miami, Florida | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Miami (FL) Northwestern | ||||||||
| College: | Louisville | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2015 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2016 | |||||||||
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Eli Lamar Rogers[1] (born December 23, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals.
High school career
Rogers played for head coach Billy Rolle at Northwestern High School. Among his teammates was his current Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Artie Burns. He joined teammates Teddy Bridgewater, Amari Cooper, Michaelee Harris, Corvin Lamb, and Jermaine Reve when he played in the Under Armour all-American Game. A four-star prospect by Rivals.com and rated as the No. 35 wide receiver, Rogers recorded 59 receptions for 691 receiving yards with three scores as a senior despite being injured for two games.
College career
As a freshman at the University of Louisville in 2011, Rogers played for the Louisville Cardinals. On October 15, Rogers recorded the Cardinals' longest reception, 58 yards against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Paul Brown Stadium, but lost the game, 25–16.[2] Rogers had a productive season that led the Louisville Cardinals to the 2011 Belk Bowl, but the team lost against the NC State Wolfpack, 31–24. Rogers finished third in school history in receptions and sixth in receiving yards. Rogers finished the season with 454 receiving yards, 41 receptions, 1 touchdown. He had 7 receptions and eight punt returns for 54 yards in the 2013 Belk Bowl.[3]
In 2012, Rogers finished second on the team with 46 receptions and third with 505 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. He also had a career-high 10 receptions against Syracuse. In the Sugar Bowl he had 4 catches for 61 yards in a win over Florida.
As a junior in 2013, Rogers played in all 13 games with one start. He finished third on the team with 44 receptions and 536 receiving yards. He also tied his career-high of 10 receptions in a game against UCF and his career-high of 4 receiving touchdowns during the season. He led the Cardinals to the 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl, winning 36–9 over the Miami Hurricanes.
During his senior year in 2014, Rogers saw action in all 13 games and had 45 receptions, 525 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns. He also had a career-high 112 punt return yards.
Professional career
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40‑yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10 in | 180 lb | 34¾ in | 8½ in | 4.39 s | 1.57 s | 2.62 s | 4.10 s | 6.71 s | 34½ in | 9 ft 9 in | ||||
| All values from Louisville Pro day [4] | ||||||||||||||
Rogers signed a three-year contract worth $1.575 million as an undrafted free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers.[5][6] He spent the entire 2015 season on injured reserve.[7]
He entered training camp competing with Cobi Hamilton, Demarcus Ayers, and Marcus Tucker to be the Steeler's fifth wide receiver on their depth chart. The Steelers named Rogers their fifth wide receiver to begin the season.[8]
He earned his first career start in the Pittsburgh Steeler's season-opener after Markus Wheaton was unable to play due to a shoulder injury. He finished the 38-16 victory against the Washington Redskins with six receptions for 59 receiving yards and a touchdown.[9] Roger's first career touchdown reception came on a three-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger.[10][11]
During a Week 9 contest against the Baltimore Ravens, he led the Steelers in receiving yards after making six catches for a career-high 103-yards. The following week, Rogers started his fourth game of the season and caught four passes for 42 receiving yards and a touchdown during the Steeler's 30-35 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. On December 28, 2016, he made five receptions for 75-yards and caught the go-ahead touchdown on a 24-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger with less 3½ minutes left in the fourth quarter to help the Steelers defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 24-20.[12] Rogers finished his rookie season with 48 receptions for 594 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 13 games and eight starts. His 72.7% catch rate ranked No. 10 among NFL wide receivers in 2016.[13]
References
- ↑ "Pittsburgh Steelers: Eli Rogers". Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ↑ "www.fbs.schedules.com". Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.gocards.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/eli_rogers_762890.html
- ↑ "Eli Rogers – Louisville, WR : 2015 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ↑ "Eli Rogers Signs 3-Year $1.575M Contract with Pittsburgh Steelers". May 6, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.steelers.com/team/roster/99ecd3fc-4650-4ab8-9680-717ca6c6bcd3
- ↑ "Steelers' Eli Rogers: Impresses in poor Pittsburgh effort". cbssports.com. August 19, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
- ↑ "Ourlads.com: Pittsburgh Steeler's Depth Chart". ourlads.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ↑ "NFL Game Center: Week 1-2016 | Washington Redskins Vs. Pittsburgh Steelers". NFL.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/_/id/20178/steelers-staying-true-to-identity-with-aggressive-playcalling
- ↑ Ingrassia, Nunzio (September 12, 2016). "Eli Rogers' first NFL TD is one of the craziest you'll ever see". foxsports.com. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
- ↑ "NFL Game Center: Week 16-2016 | Cincinnati Bengals Vs. Pittsburgh Steelers". NFL.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ↑ "Eli Rogers Advanced Stats and Metrics Profile: Efficiency". PlayerProfiler.com.