| No. 60, 77, 75, 90 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | (1964-01-21)January 21, 1964 Sacramento, California, U.S. | ||||
| Died: | October 24, 2013(2013-10-24) (aged 49) Seattle, Washington, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 278 lb (126 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Norte Del Rio (Sacramento) | ||||
| College: | Washington | ||||
| NFL draft: | 1987: 1st round, 7th pick | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Reginald O'Keith Rogers (January 21, 1964 – October 24, 2013) was an American professionalfootball player who was adefensive tackle who played four seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDetroit Lions (1987–1988),Buffalo Bills (1991), andTampa Bay Buccaneers (1992).
A consensusAll-American for theWashington Huskies inSeattle under head coachDon James, Rogers was chosen seventh overall in the1987 NFL draft by theLions.[1] However, he only played six games of his rookie season due to a slew of emotional problems, even spending time in a counseling center.[2] His second season in1988 ended after only five games when his car struck another vehicle and killed three teenagers early on Thursday, October 20.[3][4][5] He was later found to have ablood alcohol content of 0.15, the legal limit in Michigan being 0.10 at the time.[6] The Lions waived him in July1989, not because of the felony charges, but because he broke his neck in the collision.[7] In 1990, he was convicted ofvehicular homicide and spent 13 months in prison.[6]
Following his sentence, Rogers had brief stints with Buffalo and Tampa Bay, but was out the NFL after the1992 season. He made his way to theCanadian Football League and played for theHamilton Tiger-Cats (1993–94) and one of the U.S. expansion teams, theShreveport Pirates (1995). He played 33 games in the CFL and accumulated 18 sacks and 91 tackles in three-down football.
Rogers is often considered among the biggest draft busts in NFL history. In 2008,ESPN named him the 13th-biggest bust since theAFL-NFL merger.[8] A year earlier,Yahoo! Sports named him the worst #7 pick since the merger.[9]
On November 26, 2008, Rogers was involved in a hit-and-run collision inTukwila that resulted in his arrest and a charge ofDUI. It was his fifth arrest for DUI in the state of Washington, dating back to his college days at UW.[10]
Rogers also played three seasons for theHusky basketball team under head coachMarv Harshman.[11]
Rogers had six children; twins Reggie & Regina, Amanda, Brittany, Isiah, and Jackie. His eldest daughter Brittany died from an enlarged heart.[citation needed]
His daughter, Regina Rogers-Wright, attended UCLA and University of Washington and was an All American and 2012 WNBA draft nominee. Regina, lead the nation in field goal percentage her senior year at the University of Washington with 57%. Regina, recently had her jersey retired at Chief Sealth International School in 2020. He was the younger brother ofCleveland Browns safetyDon Rogers, who died of cocaine poisoning at age 23 in June 1986.[12]
At age 49, Rogers was found dead at his home in Seattle in 2013.[13] An autopsy revealed that he died of combinedcocaine andalcoholintoxication.[14]