 Ivory with theNew York Jets in 2015 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 29, 33 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1988-03-22)March 22, 1988 (age 37) Longview, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 223 lb (101 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Longview | ||||||||||||||
| College |
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| NFL draft | 2010: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Christopher Lee Ivory[1] (born March 22, 1988) is an American former professionalfootball player who was arunning back in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theWashington State Cougars andTiffin Dragons and was signed by theNew Orleans Saints as anundrafted free agent in 2010. In 2013, Ivory was traded to theNew York Jets, where he saw an expanded role, eventually becoming the team's primary running back by 2014 and being named to thePro Bowl in 2015. He then spent the next three seasons as a backup with theJacksonville Jaguars andBuffalo Bills.
Ivory earned letters in bothfootball andtrack and field in high school atLongview High School inLongview, Texas, playing on the Lobos team that included future NFL playersTrent Williams,Malcolm Kelly, andRobert Henson.[2][3] He was listed as a two-star recruit by bothRivals.com andScout.com.[4][5]
Ivory played three years forWashington State from 2006 to 2008.[6] Limited by injuries, in 22 games he had 91 carries for 534 yards and four touchdowns, as well as 23 kickoff returns averaging 22.8 yards.[7] When the coaches who had recruited him were replaced by a new coaching staff, Ivory found himself far down on the Cougars' depth chart.[2] In August 2009, Ivory was dismissed from the Washington State team for violating team rules.[8]
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | ||||||
| 2006 | Washington State | Pac-10 | FR | RB | 9 | 3 | 85 | 28.3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2007 | Washington State | Pac-10 | SO | RB | 8 | 60 | 313 | 5.2 | 2 | 13 | 50 | 3.8 | 0 |
| 2008 | Washington State | Pac-10 | JR | RB | 5 | 28 | 136 | 4.9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Career | Washington State | 22 | 91 | 534 | 5.9 | 4 | 15 | 51 | 3.4 | 0 | |||
Ivory then transferred toTiffin University, aDivision II school inTiffin, Ohio, whose team was coached by Dave Walkosky, a former Washington State assistant coach. In Ivory's final year of college football, he had 39 rushes for 223 yards in five games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Walkosky attempted to obtain amedical redshirt exemption to allow Ivory to play another year, but this was unsuccessful. Despite his brief stint at Tiffin University, Ivory's performance and speed attracted attention from NFL scouts, and he was thought to have a chance of becoming the first Tiffin University player to be drafted by the NFL.[9] The Saints became interested in Ivory, despite his injuries, after one of their scouts was impressed by Walkosky's enthusiastic recommendations.[2]
Ivory became eligible for the 2010 NFL Draft after his season, but he did not receive an invitation to perform at theNFL Combine. On March 16, 2010, Ivory attended Toledo's Pro Day and completed all of the combine and positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Ivory was projected to go undrafted by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 32nd best running back prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft11+1⁄2 in (1.82 m) | 222 lb (101 kg) | 4.48 s | 1.54 s | 2.60 s | 4.60 s | 7.20 s | 36 in (0.91 m) | 9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) | ||||
| All values fromToledo's Pro Day[10] | ||||||||||||
On April 27, 2010, theNew Orleans Saints signed Ivory as an undrafted free agent to a three-year, $1.22 million contract.[11][12]He had an impressive performance in training camp and preseason games, highlighted by a strong performance against theSan Diego Chargers that included a 76-yard touchdown on a swing pass.[13][14]
Early season injuries toReggie Bush andPierre Thomas left Ivory as the Saints' starting running back. He had a breakout game in Week 6 againstTampa Bay Buccaneers: his 158 yards on 15 carries were the most by any Saints running back sinceDeuce McAllister rushed for 165 yards in a 2003 game, and the most by a Saints rookie since a 179-yard effort byRicky Williams in 1999.[15][16] The performance earned him awards as bothPepsi NFL Rookie of the Week andFedEx Ground Player of the Week.[citation needed] Another strong performance in Week 11, with 23 rushes for 99 yards in a 34–19 win over against theSeattle Seahawks, led Seahawks coachPete Carroll to call Ivory "a freaking stud out there."[17] Ivory ended the regular season with 137 rushes for 716 yards, which led the team, and five touchdowns, but he also suffered repeated injuries during the year; after a foot injury in the Saints' last regular season game, he was placed on theinjured reserve list and was unable to play in thepostseason.[18][19][20] He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team.[21]
Ivory spent the first six games of the 2011 season on thePUP list; after he was activated, he played in six games, with 79 rushes for 374 yards, and 22 carries for 70 yards in the Saints' two playoff games against theDetroit Lions in theWild Card Round and theSan Francisco 49ers in theDivisional Round.[22][23][24] In May 2012, the Saints paid Ivory an additional signing bonus to make up for the income he lost on the PUP list. He became arestricted free agent after the 2012 season.[25] He appeared in six games in the 2012 season and recorded 40 carries for 217 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.[26]
Ivory was traded to theNew York Jets on April 26, 2013, during the2013 NFL draft for the Jets' fourth round draft pick (106th overall).[27] He signed a three-year contract worth $10 million.[28] He made his Jets debut in the season opener against theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[29] On October 20, against theNew England Patriots, he had 34 carries for 104 yards.[30] On October 3, he had 139 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown against theNew Orleans Saints.[31] Overall, in the 2013 season, he had 833 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, and ten receiving yards.[32]
On September 7, 2014, he had a 71-yard touchdown run as part of a 102-yard performance against theOakland Raiders in the season opener.[33] It was the second longest touchdown run in Jets history;Bruce Harper ran for 78 yards in 1983. On October 16, against theNew England Patriots, he had 107 rushing yards and a touchdown.[34] Ten days later, he had his lone two-touchdown performance of the season against theBuffalo Bills.[35] Overall, he finished the 2014 season with 821 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, and 18 receptions for 123 yards and a receiving touchdown.[36]
In the 2015 season opener against theCleveland Browns, Ivory had 91 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 31–10 victory.[37] On October 4, 2015, during anNFL International Series matchup against theMiami Dolphins atWembley Stadium, Ivory rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown, setting a career-high in rushing yards.[38] He followed that up with 146 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown against theWashington Redskins.[39] Ivory won the AFC rushing title in the 2015 season beatingLatavius Murray by four yards, finishing the year with 1,070 rushing yards and his first Pro Bowl selection.[40] He was ranked 78th by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2016.[41]
Ivory signed a three-year deal with theJacksonville Jaguars on March 10, 2016.[42]
On October 16, 2016, Ivory had 11 carries for 32-yards and scored his first rushing touchdown with the team as the Jaguars defeated theChicago Bears by a score of 17–16.[43] On November 6, he had 107 rushing yards against theKansas City Chiefs.[44] Overall, he finished the 2016 season with 439 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 20 receptions, and 186 receiving yards.[45]
Ivory entered the 2017 season second on the depth chart behind rookieLeonard Fournette.[46] He played in 14 games with three starts, rushing for 382 yards and one touchdown.[47]
On February 23, 2018, Ivory was released by the Jaguars.[48]
On March 6, 2018, Ivory signed a two-year contract with theBuffalo Bills for $5.5 million, with $3.25 million guaranteed.[49] In Week 3, against theMinnesota Vikings, he had 126 scrimmage yards in the 27–6 victory.[50] He rushed for 385 yards and one touchdown along with 13 receptions for 205 yards in 2018.[51]
On March 27, 2019, Ivory was released by the Bills.[52]
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2010 | NO | 12 | 4 | 137 | 716 | 5.2 | 55T | 5 | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 2011 | NO | 6 | 2 | 79 | 374 | 4.7 | 35T | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | NO | 6 | 2 | 40 | 217 | 5.4 | 56T | 2 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | NYJ | 15 | 6 | 182 | 833 | 4.6 | 69 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | NYJ | 16 | 10 | 198 | 821 | 4.1 | 71T | 6 | 18 | 123 | 6.8 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2015 | NYJ | 15 | 14 | 247 | 1,070 | 4.3 | 58 | 7 | 30 | 217 | 7.2 | 36 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 2016 | JAX | 11 | 1 | 117 | 439 | 3.8 | 42 | 3 | 20 | 186 | 9.3 | 37 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 2017 | JAX | 14 | 3 | 112 | 382 | 3.4 | 34 | 1 | 21 | 175 | 8.3 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2018 | BUF | 13 | 1 | 115 | 385 | 3.3 | 21 | 1 | 13 | 205 | 15.8 | 55 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 108 | 43 | 1,227 | 5,237 | 4.3 | 71T | 29 | 107 | 948 | 8.9 | 55 | 3 | 20 | 10 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2011 | NO | 2 | 0 | 22 | 70 | 3.2 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | JAX | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 23 | 72 | 3.1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |