| No. 82, 85, 87 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1977-10-26)October 26, 1977 (age 47) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Raines (Jacksonville) | ||||||||
| College: | Clemson (1997–2000) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2001: 1st round, 15th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Roderick F. Gardner (born October 26, 1977) is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He playedcollege football for theClemson Tigers.
Gardner playedcollege football atClemson University, where he started as aquarterback andsafety on thepractice squad (as atrue freshman) before switching to wide receiver his sophomore year. He was selected as a second team All-ACC during his junior year after setting the school record for catches, yards, and receptions per game.[1] His senior year, he not only made first team All-ACC, but was a first teamAll-American as well. In 2000, he was one of the ten finalists for theBiletnikoff Award after posting sixtouchdowns on 51receptions and 956 yards.[2]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | Vertical jump | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+1⁄4 in (1.89 m) | 219 lb (99 kg) | 33 in (0.84 m) | 10 in (0.25 m) | 4.48 s | 36.0 in (0.91 m) | |||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[3][4] | ||||||||||||
Gardner was chosen by theWashington Redskins with the 15th overall selection in the first-round draft pick of the2001 NFL draft.[5] During hisrookie year, he was selected asNFC Offensive Player of the Week after a 208-yard, one touchdown performance against theCarolina Panthers. His history at quarterback would lead the Redskins to utilize him ontrick plays during games; during the2003 NFL season he was 2-for-3 for 46 yards and two passing touchdowns (toChad Morton andTrung Canidate).
After four seasons in Washington, he was traded to the Carolina Panthers during the2005 offseason for a sixth-round pick in the2006 NFL draft.[6] He spent most of the season fourth on the Panthers'depth chart, behindSteve Smith,Keary Colbert, andRicky Proehl.
Gardner was waived by the Panthers on December 16, 2005, and he was then signed by theGreen Bay Packers on December 19, 2005.[7] He re-signed with Green Bay on March 21, 2006. On September 2, 2006, Gardner was waived by the Packers.[8]
In September 2006, he signed a three-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.[8] In 2006 with the Chiefs, he only had 2 receptions for 17 yards. He was released before the 2007 season.[9]
| Year | Team | GP | Receiving | Rushing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | |||
| 2001 | WSH | 16 | 46 | 741 | 16.1 | 85 | 4 | 28 | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| 2002 | WSH | 16 | 71 | 1,006 | 14.2 | 43 | 8 | 51 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | WSH | 16 | 59 | 600 | 10.2 | 35 | 5 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004 | WSH | 16 | 51 | 650 | 12.7 | 51 | 5 | 30 | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 2005 | CAR | 11 | 9 | 84 | 9.3 | 15 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GB | 2 | 4 | 67 | 16.8 | 33 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2006 | KC | 14 | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 13 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career[10] | 91 | 242 | 3,165 | 13.1 | 85 | 23 | 148 | 5 | 24 | 4.8 | 16 | 0 | 3 | |
Gardner competed on thethirty-sixth season of the American reality competition showThe Amazing Race with his wife Leticia,[11] finishing in third place.