Wikipedia

Naaman Roosevelt

Naaman I. Roosevelt[1] (born December 24, 1987) is an American former professional football wide receiver who is currently the receivers coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). During his playing career, he was a member of the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He played college football for the Buffalo Bulls.

Naaman Roosevelt
refer to caption
Roosevelt with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2024
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Position:Receivers coach
Personal information
Born: (1987-12-24) December 24, 1987 (age 36)
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:189 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute
(Tonawanda, New York)
College:Buffalo
Undrafted:2010
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
  • CFL West All-Star (2017)
  • First-team All-MAC (2008)
  • Third-team All-MAC (2007)
Career NFL statistics
Games Played:16
Receptions:25
Receiving yards:396
Receiving touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Career CFL statistics
Games Played:67
Receptions:301
Receiving yards:4,134
Receiving touchdowns:20
Stats at CFL.ca

Early life

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Roosevelt was raised in the East Side of Buffalo in an area which he described as violent. In that environment, he later said, it was difficult to think past the next day and his peers "didn't think about going to college and things like that." Roosevelt said that outlook changed when he was recruited to attend St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, a private school in suburban Tonawanda.[2]

At St. Joseph's, Roosevelt played basketball[3] and football as a quarterback and kick returner. As a senior in 2005, he threw a Western New York record 35 touchdown passes and was named the Buffalo News' Player of the Year.[4]

College career

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The University at Buffalo was the only school to offer Roosevelt a scholarship to play offense; New Hampshire offered him a scholarship to play cornerback.[5] Roosevelt was the first player successfully recruited by new head coach Turner Gill.[6] Roosevelt accepted the offer on the condition that he be allowed to compete for the starting quarterback role.[7]

Roosevelt lost the quarterback job to returning sophomore starter Drew Willy.[7] Roosevelt was converted to wide receiver as a freshman and started seven games, catching 31 passes and 2 touchdowns. In his second year, the wide receiver caught 63 passes and 4 touchdowns. In his junior season, Roosevelt dramatically increased his production, catching 104 passes,[8] primarily from Willy.[9]

On September 13, 2008, Roosevelt caught a Hail Mary pass from quarterback Drew Willy as time expired to beat the Temple Owls at UB Stadium. Also in his junior season, Buffalo won the 2008 MAC Championship Game against Nate Davis and the Ball State Cardinals. Roosevelt's 104 receptions was one short of the MAC Conference record at the time.[10] His 13 touchdowns in 2008 set a school record.[7]

In 2009, he caught 70 passes for 9 touchdowns.[8] On September 19, 2009, he threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jesse Rack against Central Florida.[11] Although a star quarterback in high school, it was the only touchdown pass of his college career.[8]

As of August 2022, Roosevelt still held school records for career receiving yards, career receptions, single-season receiving yards and single-season receptions.[6] In February 2023, he was inducted into UB's athletics hall of fame.[12]

College statistics

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Buffalo Bulls
Season GP Receiving Kick Return
Rec Yds Avg TD Ret Yds Avg TD
2006 12 31 429 13.8 2 28 724 25.9 1
2007 12 63 766 12.2 4 21 471 22.4 0
2008 14 104 1,402 13.5 13 7 108 15.4 0
2009 11 70 954 13.6 9 6 135 22.5 0
College totals[8] 49 268 3,551 13.3 28 62 1,438 23.2 1

Professional career

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Hendrix with the Buffalo Bills in 2011

Buffalo Bills (first stint)

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Roosevelt went undrafted in the 2010 NFL draft. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Buffalo Bills on April 24.[13] Roosevelt was cut by the Bills on final cuts on September 4, 2010,[14] but signed to their practice squad on September 5, 2010.[15] On November 27, 2010, Roosevelt was promoted to the active roster after coach Chan Gailey said he did an "excellent job" on the practice squad.[16] He made his NFL debut the following day in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The following week, he recorded the only tackle of his NFL career, bringing down Greg Camarillo after a 17-yard punt return.[17][18] On December 19, 2010, he was targeted with and caught the first passes of his NFL career,[17] reeling in two of three throws from Ryan Fitzpatrick for 35 yards.[19] He ended the season with a total of nine receptions for a total of 139 yards, one carry for three yards and two kick returns for 31 yards.[17]

Before the start of the 2011 season, Roosevelt was again cut from the active roster and re-signed to the practice squad. Bills General Manager Buddy Nix said of the move "This year, we cut guys that were good players. We cut Naaman Roosevelt. We like Naaman. It got down to a numbers situation. We had six receivers, we normally have five."[20] He appeared in his first game in the third week of the 2011 season. He caught at least one pass in each game between the fourth and tenth weeks of the season.[21] On October 16, 2011, Roosevelt caught his first pro touchdown pass, a 60-yard catch-and-run at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants.[22] On August 31, 2012, he was cut by the Bills.

Cleveland Browns

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On July 23, 2013, he was signed by the Cleveland Browns.[23]

Detroit Lions

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After the 2013 season, he was not re-signed and was signed after a tryout for the Detroit Lions on April 23, 2014.[24]

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

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After being let go by the Lions, Roosevelt resigned with the Bills on July 21, 2014.[25] The Bills released Roosevelt on August 29, 2014.[26] On October 3, 2014, the Bills re-signed Roosevelt to the practice squad. He was released from the practice squad on October 4, 2014.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

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Roosevelt signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League on March 14, 2015.[27] Roosevelt had a breakout year for the Roughriders in his second season in the CFL. He played in the first 11 games of the season before being placed on the six-game injured list.[28] Following the season he was named the Riders Most Outstanding Player despite missing 7 games. Additionally, he accepted a two-year contract extension from the Riders.[29] Roosevelt finished the 2016 season with 1,095 receiving yards, the ninth-highest total in the league.[30] In Week 14 of the 2017 season Roosevelt took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Calgary's Tunde Adeleke and was placed on the team's six-game injured list. At the time of the injury Roosevelt was the Riders leading receiver, and had the fifth most receiving yards in the league with 923.[31] Roosevelt was named a divisional All-Star for 2017 after another 1,000 yard season and 8 touchdown catches, but had a down year in 2018 with injuries to both himself, as well as several injuries to new starting quarterback Zach Collaros.[32] The Roughriders offense had already taken hits prior to and during the regular season with the release of experienced pass catchers such as Rob Bagg, Chad Owens, Bakari Grant,[33] and Duron Carter.[34] Several days into free agency for 2019, Roosevelt turned down an offer from rival Winnipeg to sign a one-year extension with the Roughriders for roughly Can$160,000, as well as performance incentives to increase earnings.[35] Roosevelt rewarded the Riders with a bounce-back year; he played his first season of all 18 games, and despite only one touchdown catch, he caught 77 passes for 946 yards, with which Roosevelt surpassed the 4,000 yard mark for his career, as well as making his 300th catch. Following the season he was not re-signed by the Riders and became a free agent on February 11, 2020.

Montreal Alouettes

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On February 22, 2020, Roosevelt signed with the Montreal Alouettes.[36] He signed a contract extension with the team on December 18, 2020.[37] He was released on July 26, 2021.[38]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

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On August 30, 2021, Roosevelt signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[39] He was released by the Bombers' practice roster on November 19, 2021, without having appeared in a game for the team.[40]

CFL statistics

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Receiving   Regular season   Playoffs
Year Team Games Rec. Yards Avg Long TD Games Rec. Yards Avg Long TD
2015 SSK 10 25 488 19.5 71 5 Did not qualify
2016 SSK 11 76 1,095 14.4 89 2 Did not qualify
2017 SSK 14 75 1,035 13.8 75 8 2 9 126 14.0 26 0
2018 SSK 14 48 570 11.9 40 4 1 7 79 11.3 17 0
2019 SSK 18 77 946 12.3 33 1 1 7 87 12.4 22 0
CFL totals 67 301 4,134 13.7 89 20 4 23 292 12.7 26 0

Coaching career

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Saskatchewan Roughriders

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Roosevelt served as a "guest coach" at Roughriders training camp in 2022 and was hired as an offensive assistant coach prior to the 2023 season.[41]

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

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On February 2, 2024, it was announced that Roosevelt had joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL to serve as the team's receivers coach.[42]

Personal life

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Roosevelt returned to UB and finished his bachelor's degree in sociology in 2022. He said he completed his degree as part of a larger goal of becoming a college football coach.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Sports Hall of Fame". www.sjci.com. St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  2. ^ Hamilton, Ian (July 3, 2018). "Naaman Roosevelt is helping to lead the way". Saskatchewan Roughriders. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  3. ^ Mills, Peter (July 21, 2017). "Roughriders receiver Naaman Roosevelt quiet off the field, explosive on it". CBC. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  4. ^ McShea, Keith (December 3, 2005). "The Naaman Game: St. Joe's quarterback Naaman Roosevelt earns Player of the Year". Buffalo News. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Bronstein, Jonah (November 24, 2006). "UB Football: Rookie Roosevelt is a home-town home run". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Lenzi, Rachel (August 23, 2022). "'I had to finish what I started': How former UB football star Naaman Roosevelt completed his degree at 34". Buffalo News. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Watson, Graham (August 19, 2009). "Watson: Buffalo's Roosevelt quietly racks up records". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d "Naaman Roosevelt College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  9. ^ "2008 Buffalo Bulls Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  10. ^ Naaman Roosevelt Archived August 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Buffalo Athletics biography
  11. ^ "Buffalo at UCF Box Score, September 19, 2009". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  12. ^ "Former Riders receiver, current assistant coach Naaman Roosevelt inducted into University at Buffalo's hall of fame". 3DownNation. February 25, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  13. ^ Roosevelt To Bills WGRZ.com, April 24, 2010
  14. ^ Galliford, Brian (September 4, 2010). "NFL Roster Cuts: Bills Trim Roster To 53 Players". Buffalo Rumblings. SB Nation. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  15. ^ Florio, Mike (September 5, 2010). "Bills add David Martin, Kraig Urbik". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  16. ^ Bronstein, Jonah (November 27, 2010). "Bills elevate Roosevelt to active roster". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  17. ^ a b c "Naaman Roosevelt 2010 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  18. ^ "Buffalo Bills at Minnesota Vikings - December 5th, 2010". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  19. ^ "Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins - December 19th, 2010". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  20. ^ Van Wie, Dan (September 7, 2011). "Buffalo Bills Tinker with Offensive Line; Buddy Nix Explains Moves". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  21. ^ "Naaman Roosevelt 2011 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  22. ^ "Shawne Merriman won't play for Buffalo - AFC East- ESPN". November 27, 2010.
  23. ^ "The Cleveland Browns sign free agent Naaman Roosevelt". Cleveland 19. July 23, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  24. ^ Wilkening, Mike (April 25, 2014). "Lions sign WR Naaman Roosevelt, C Sherman Carter". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  25. ^ Buffalo Bills [@BuffaloBills] (July 21, 2014). "#Bills bring back WR Naaman Roosevelt, sign DT Landon Cohen http://t.co/oxfZqaAXlC http://t.co/HjQ0mKyY00" (Tweet). Retrieved January 5, 2021 – via Twitter.
  26. ^ "Bills reduce roster to 62 ahead of 53-man deadline". Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  27. ^ "Receivers added to roster". leaderpost.com. March 14, 2015. Archived from the original on March 14, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  28. ^ "Report: Roosevelt among Riders added to 6-game". CFL.ca. September 17, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  29. ^ "Riders sign WR Roosevelt to extension". TSN. November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  30. ^ "Stats - CFL.ca". CFL.ca. Canadian Football League. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  31. ^ "Riders place Roosevelt on six-game IL - Article - TSN". TSN. September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  32. ^ "Riders QB Zach Collaros suffers another head injury, in concussion protocol". September 8, 2018.
  33. ^ "Veteran receivers Bagg, Grant and Owens among Roughriders' final cuts". Sportsnet.ca. June 9, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  34. ^ "Questions linger after Riders cut Duron Carter | The Star". Toronto Star. August 13, 2018.
  35. ^ "Naaman Roosevelt agrees to terms with Riders". February 14, 2019.
  36. ^ "Report: Als agree to one-year deal with Naaman Roosevelt". CFL.ca. February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  37. ^ "Roosevelt, Matte, Reid headline long list of Als extensions". CFL.ca. December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  38. ^ "07/26: Alouettes Transactions". MontrealAlouettes.com. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  39. ^ "Bombers sign veteran WR Naaman Roosevelt". cfl.ca. August 30, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  40. ^ "Bombers release veteran WR Roosevelt from practice roster - TSN.ca". TSN. The Canadian Press. November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  41. ^ McCormick, Murray (February 8, 2023). "Naaman Roosevelt returns to Riders as offensive assistant". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  42. ^ "Tiger-Cats announce 2024 coaching staff". Hamilton Tiger-Cats. February 2, 2024. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
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