Gregory Rousseau (born April 5, 2000) is an American professional football defensive end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Miami. As a redshirt freshman there in 2019, he recorded 15.5 sacks and won all-conference honors and was named ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. Rousseau was selected by the Bills in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.

Greg Rousseau
refer to caption
Rousseau with the Bills in 2021
No. 50 – Buffalo Bills
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (2000-04-05) April 5, 2000 (age 24)
Coconut Creek, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:266 lb (121 kg)
Career information
High school:Champagnat Catholic (Hialeah, Florida)
College:Miami (FL) (2018–2020)
NFL draft:2021 / round: 1 / pick: 30
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2024
Total tackles:166
Sacks:22.5
Forced fumbles:5
Fumble recoveries:1
Interceptions:1
Pass deflections:14
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life and college

edit

Born to Haitian parents from New York, Rousseau attended Champagnat Catholic School in Hialeah, Florida. He played defensive end, safety and wide receiver in high school.[1] He committed to the University of Miami to play college football.[2][3]

Rousseau played in the first two games of his true freshman year in 2018 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury and redshirted.[4] He entered his redshirt freshman year in 2019, as a backup but eventually took over as starter later in the season.[5][6] He was named ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year after recording 15.5 sacks that season, second in the nation behind only Chase Young's 16.5.[7][8] He opted out of the 2020 season due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]

Professional career

edit
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
6 ft 6+58 in
(2.00 m)
266 lb
(121 kg)
34+38 in
(0.87 m)
11+18 in
(0.28 m)
4.67 s 1.57 s 2.71 s 4.53 s 7.50 s 30.0 in
(0.76 m)
9 ft 7 in
(2.92 m)
21 reps
All values from Pro Day[10][11][12]

Rousseau was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round (30th overall) in the 2021 NFL draft.[13] He signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $11.37 million, on June 4, 2021.[14]

During Week 2 of the 2021 season, Rousseau was nominated for NFL Rookie of the Week honors with five tackles, two sacks, and two tackles made behind the line of scrimmage.[15] Rousseau recorded his first career interception on October 10, 2021, in a 38-20 Week 5 Sunday night win against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week.[16][17] In his rookie season, Rousseau finished with four sacks, 50 total tackles, one interception, four passes defended, and one forced fumble.[18]

In the 2022 season, he finished with eight sacks, 37 total tackles, four passes defended, and forced fumble in 13 games.[19] His best performance of the year came in week 14 against the New York Jets, in which he recorded 2 sacks, including a forced fumble, and a pass defensed, contributing to a 20–12 Buffalo win one week after the team's leading pass rusher Von Miller suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.[20]

 
Rousseau (#50) and teammate Matt Milano (#58) lining up against the New York Jets in 2023

On April 29, 2024, the Bills picked up the fifth-year option on Rousseau's contract. In Week 1, he recorded six tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble in a 34-28 win over the Cardinals, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week.[21]

NFL career statistics

edit
Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

edit
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast TFL QBH Sck Sfty PD Int Yds Y/I Lng TD FF FR Yds Y/R TD
2021 BUF 17 17 50 42 8 8 10 4.0 0 4 1 3 3.0 3 0 1 0 0 0
2022 BUF 13 13 37 27 10 10 14 8.0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2023 BUF 16 16 42 30 12 12 18 5.0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
2024 BUF 11 11 37 26 11 12 18 5.5 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Career 57 57 166 125 41 42 60 22.5 0 14 1 3 3.0 3 0 5 1 0 0 0

Postseason

edit
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast TFL QBH Sck Sfty PD Int Yds Y/I Lng TD FF FR Yds Y/R TD
2021 BUF 2 2 3 2 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 BUF 2 2 4 3 1 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023 BUF 2 2 5 2 3 1 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 6 6 12 7 5 1 3 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

References

edit
  1. ^ Chiang, Anthony (August 24, 2018). "Hurricanes freshman DE Gregory Rousseau is 'one of those freak of natures'". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  2. ^ "Roche, Rousseau Ready to Wreak Havoc". University of Miami Athletics. July 31, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  3. ^ Degnan, Susan Miller (April 7, 2018). "This 6-6 Baby Cane did some big-kid damage at UM scrimmage while QBs, O-line struggled". Miami Herald. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  4. ^ Chirinos, Christy Cabrera (September 10, 2018). "UM's Greg Rousseau to have surgery on fractured ankle; kickoff time vs. FIU set". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  5. ^ Navarro, Manny (October 31, 2019). "The reasons Gregory Rousseau's 'relentless nature' extends..." The Athletic. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  6. ^ Furones, David (October 30, 2019). "How Miami's Greg Rousseau has succeeded in his 'evolution of how to become a defensive end'". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Burke, Peter (December 4, 2019). "Gregory Rousseau named ACC defensive rookie of the year". WPLG. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  8. ^ Scott, Trey (April 29, 2021). "Miami insider on sackmaster Gregory Rousseau's rapid emergence". 247Sports. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  9. ^ Hale, David (August 6, 2020). "Miami Hurricanes DE Gregory Rousseau, a top draft prospect, opts out of 2020 season". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  10. ^ "Greg Rousseau Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  11. ^ "Greg Rousseau, Miami (FL), DE, 2021 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  12. ^ "Gregory Rousseau 2021 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  13. ^ Warren, Matt; Lavoie, Dan (April 29, 2021). "2021 NFL Draft: Buffalo Bills take Miami pass rusher Greg Rousseau". Buffalo Rumblings. SB Nation. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  14. ^ "1st Round Pick Greg Rousseau Signs His Rookie Contract". BuffaloBills.com. June 3, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  15. ^ Neracker, Courtney (September 21, 2021). "Bills player Greg Rousseau nominated for rookie of the week". WHEC News10NBC. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  16. ^ Easterling, Luke (October 11, 2021). "WATCH: Bills rookie Greg Rousseau picks off Patrick Mahomes". The Draft Wire. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  17. ^ Gordon, Grant (October 13, 2021). "Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, Buccaneers QB Tom Brady lead Players of the Week". NFL.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  18. ^ "Gregory Rousseau 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  19. ^ "Gregory Rousseau 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  20. ^ De Cristofaro, David (December 12, 2022). "Bills pass rushers feeling confident after sack attack vs. Jets". Bills Wire. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  21. ^ Gordon, Grant (September 11, 2024). "Eagles' Saquon Barkley, Texans' Joe Mixon highlight Players of the Week". NFL.com.
edit