Eli Rogers

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Eli Rogers
refer to caption
Rogers with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2016
Personal information
Born: (1992-12-23) December 23, 1992 (age 31)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school:Miami Northwestern
(Miami, Florida)
College:Louisville
Position:Wide receiver
Undrafted:2015
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:78
Receiving yards:822
Receiving touchdowns:4
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Eli Lamar Rogers (born December 23, 1992) is an American football wide receiver. He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2015.

Early life

Rogers played for head coach Billy Rolle at Northwestern High School. Among his teammates was future 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.[1] 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.[2]

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

Pre-draft

Coming out of Louisville, Rogers was projected to go undrafted in the 2015 NFL draft and was not a highly sought after undrafted free agent. He also did not receive an invitation to the NFL Combine. On March 11, 2015, he participated at Louisville's pro day and performed all of the required combine and positional drills for team representatives and scouts. Representatives from all 32 NFL teams were present, including New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, and Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert to scout Rogers, DeVante Parker, Jamon Brown, Gerald Christian, Gerod Holliman, and 17 other prospects.[3] He was ranked as the 132nd-best wide receiver prospect available in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[4]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 10 in
(1.78 m) 		187 lb
(85 kg) 		29+7⁄8 in
(0.76 m) 		9 in
(0.23 m)		 4.57 s 1.57 s 2.62 s 4.10 s 6.71 s 34.5 in
(0.88 m)		 9 ft 9 in
(2.97 m)		 19 reps
All values from Louisville Pro Day[5]

Pittsburgh Steelers

2015

Rogers signed a three-year contract worth $1.575 million as an undrafted free agent with the Steelers.[6] He spent the entire 2015 season on injured reserve.[7]

2016

Rogers entered training camp in 2016 competing with Cobi Hamilton, Demarcus Ayers, and Marcus Tucker to be the Steelers' fifth wide receiver. The Steelers named Rogers their fifth wide receiver to begin the season.[8]

He earned his first career start in the 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 yards and a touchdown.[9] Rogers' 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 yards and a touchdown during a 35–30 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 Roethlisberger with less than 3:30 left in the game to help the Steelers defeat the Bengals 24–20.[12] Rogers finished his first active season with 48 receptions for 594 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games and eight starts. His 72.7% catch rate ranked tenth among all NFL wide receivers in 2016.[13]

2017

With a crowded position at wide receiver in 2017, Rogers entered training camp competing with Sammie Coates, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Cobi Hamilton, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Justin Hunter, and Demarcus Ayers for a job as a backup wide receiver. He was able to impress team officials enough to be named the Steelers' fourth wide receiver to begin the regular season, behind Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, and Heyward-Bey.[14]

He earned his first start of the season as the Steelers' slot receiver during a 21–18 season-opening victory over the Cleveland Browns, finishing with two receptions for 11 yards. The following game, Rogers caught four passes for 43 yards in a 26–9 victory over the Vikings. Rogers was a healthy scratch for Weeks 3 and 4, with the Steelers choosing to play Smith-Schuster and Hunter.[15] He finished the season with 18 receptions for 149 yards and one touchdown. In the divisional round of the playoffs against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Rogers suffered a torn ACL, causing the Steelers to not tender him a contract, as he was set to be a restricted free agent in 2018.[16]

2018

On July 25, 2018, after visits with the Chiefs and Browns, Rogers re-signed with the Steelers on a one-year deal.[17] He was suspended the first game of the 2018 season for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.[18] On September 1, 2018, he was placed on the physically unable to perform list to start the season while recovering from the torn ACL.[19] He was activated off PUP on December 15, 2018.[20] He recorded 20 yards on 4 receptions in his first game back against the New England Patriots and finished the season with 12 receptions for 57 yards in three games.[21]

2019

On March 14, 2019, Rogers signed a two-year contract extension with the Steelers.[21] He was released on August 31, 2019.[22]

DC Defenders

Rogers with the DC Defenders in 2020

On November 22, 2019, Rogers was selected by the DC Defenders of the XFL in the 2020 XFL Supplemental Draft.[23] In his first game with the Defenders, Rogers hauled in 6 passes for 73 yards in the 31–19 win against the Seattle Dragons.[24] On February 15, 2020, Rogers played in a week two game for the Defenders, which took place during his mother's funeral. She had died earlier in the week.[25] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[26]

Montreal Alouettes

Rogers signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on January 22, 2021.[27]

Tampa Bay Bandits

Rogers was selected by the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League (USFL) in the 13th round of the 2022 USFL draft.[28] He was placed on the reserved list on April 1, 2022.

Orlando Guardians

The Orlando Guardians of the XFL selected Rogers in the first round of the 2023 XFL Supplemental Draft on January 1, 2023.[29] The Guardians folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[30]

References

  1. ^ "www.fbs.schedules.com". Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  2. ^ "Eli Rogers Bio - GoCards.com | Official Website of University of Louisville Athletics". Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  3. ^ Gil Brandt (March 16, 2015). "Parker seals first-round status at Louisville pro day". NFL.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  4. ^ "Eli Rogers, DS #132 WR, Louisville". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  5. ^ "Eli Rogers – Louisville, WR : 2015 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  6. ^ Blankenbaker, Mark (May 6, 2015). "Eli Rogers Signs 3-Year $1.575M Contract with Pittsburgh Steelers". The Crunch Zone. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  7. ^ "Steelers' Eli Rogers: Impresses in poor Pittsburgh effort". cbssports.com. August 19, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  8. ^ "Ourlads.com: Pittsburgh Steeler's Depth Chart". ourlads.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  9. ^ Jeff.Hartman (September 12, 2016). "Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Washington Redskins Week 1 Winners and Losers". Behind the Steel Curtain. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  10. ^ Fowler, Jeremy (September 12, 2016). "Steelers staying true to identity with aggressive play calling". ESPN.com.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Jeff.Hartman (December 18, 2016). "Winners and Losers after the Steelers win over the Bengals". Behind the Steel Curtain. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  13. ^ "Eli Rogers Advanced Stats and Metrics Profile: Efficiency". PlayerProfiler.com.
  14. ^ "Ourlads.com: Pittsburgh Steeler's depth chart: 10/01/2017". Ourlads.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  15. ^ "Eli Rogers". NFL.com. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  16. ^ Fowler, Jeremy (January 20, 2018). "Source: Steelers WR Eli Rogers suffered ACL tear in loss to Jaguars". NFL.com.
  17. ^ Varley, Teresa (July 25, 2018). "Steelers sign Rogers". Steelers.com.
  18. ^ Teope, Herbie (August 21, 2018). "Steelers' Eli Rogers suspended for first game of season". NFL.com.
  19. ^ Varley, Teresa (September 1, 2018). "Steelers reduce roster to 53". Steelers.com.
  20. ^ "Rogers activated, Gilbert to Injured Reserve". Steelers.com. December 15, 2018. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  21. ^ a b Varley, Teresa (March 14, 2019). "Rogers signs a new deal". Steelers.com.
  22. ^ Varley, Teresa (August 31, 2019). "Steelers make roster cuts". Steelers.com.
  23. ^ "SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT RESULTS". XFL.com. November 22, 2019.
  24. ^ "Three Stars: Defenders vs. Dragons". XFL.com. February 8, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  25. ^ "Former Pittsburgh Steelers WR Eli Rogers Skips Mother's Funeral To Play In XFL Game". February 17, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  26. ^ Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  27. ^ "Alouettes ink quarterbacks Philip Nelson and Broc Rutter". MontrealAlouettes.com. January 22, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  28. ^ Camenker, Jacob (February 23, 2022). "USFL Draft tracker: Complete results, rosters for new football league". Sporting News.
  29. ^ "Supplemental Draft Picks 2023". XFL.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  30. ^ Seifert, Kevin (January 1, 2024). "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
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