Chris Rowland

Chris Rowland

Rowland in 2025
No. 12 – DC Defenders
Position:	Wide receiver
Personal information
Born:	(1997-12-19) December 19, 1997 (age 27) Nolensville, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight:	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school:	Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tennessee)
College:	Tennessee State (2016–2019)
NFL draft:	2020: undrafted
Career history
Atlanta Falcons (2020–2021) Tennessee Titans (2021)* Philadelphia Stars (2022–2023) DC Defenders (2024–present)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active Career highlights and awards UFL champion (2025) 2× All-UFL Team (2024, 2025) Deacon Jones Trophy (2019) OVC Offensive Player of the Year (2019) First-team All-OVC (2019) Career NFL statistics Return yards: 53 Stats at Pro Football Reference Chris Rowland (born December 19, 1997) is an American football wide receiver for the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL). Rowland played college football for the Tennessee State Tigers. After college, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Rowland also played for the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Stars. Early life Rowland attended Ravenwood High School for high school. Rowland mostly played in the running back position at Ravenwood. After graduating in 2016, Rowland opted to play for Tennessee State. [1] College career In the 2019 college football season, Rowland was the only player in Division I to record a touchdown via a kick return, punt return, reception, and rush. He also broke the HBCU record for most receptions in a single season, a record which was previously set by Jerry Rice. [2] For his efforts, he was named first-team all-conference as both a receiver and kick returner and received the Deacon Jones Trophy as the best player at an HBCU. [3] statistics Season Team Games Receiving Rushing Kick returns Punt returns GP GS Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD Ret Yds Avg TD Ret Yds Avg TD 2016 Tennessee State 11 3 16 236 14.7 0 14 57 4.1 0 42 992 23.6 0 13 111 8.5 0 2017 Tennessee State 10 3 17 178 10.5 1 19 113 5.9 0 16 312 19.5 0 5 84 16.8 0 2018 Tennessee State 8 8 57 727 12.8 5 3 17 5.7 0 1 37 37.0 0 14 182 13.0 1 2019 Tennessee State 12 12 104 1,437 13.8 8 19 132 6.9 1 15 375 25.0 1 14 166 11.9 1 Career 41 26 194 2,578 13.3 14 55 319 5.8 1 74 1,716 23.2 1 46 543 11.8 1 Professional career Atlanta Falcons Rowland signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent following the 2020 NFL draft on April 27, 2020. [4] He was waived during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, [5] and signed to the team's practice squad the next day. [6] He was elevated to the active roster on December 26 and January 2, 2021, for the team's weeks 16 and 17 games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. [7] [8] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. [9] On August 31, 2021, Rowland was waived by the Falcons. [10] Tennessee Titans On November 10, 2021, Rowland was signed to the Tennessee Titans practice squad. [11] He was released on November 23. [12] Philadelphia Stars On March 10, 2022, Rowland was drafted by the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League. [13] He was transferred to the team's inactive roster on April 22, 2022, [14] with a shoulder injury. [15] He was transferred to the active roster on April 30. [16] Rowland was placed on injured reserve by the team on May 8, 2023. [17] He re-signed with the team on October 1, 2023. [18] Following the merger of the USFL with the XFL, the Stars folded. [19] DC Defenders On January 15, 2024, Rowland was selected by the DC Defenders in the second round of the Super Draft portion of the 2024 UFL dispersal draft. [20] He was named to the 2024 All-UFL team on June 5, 2024. [21] He re-signed with the Defenders on October 7, 2024. [22] On June 2, 2025, Rowland was named to the All-UFL team as a receiver and return specialist. [23] Career statistics NFL Regular season Year League Team Games Receiving Rushing Return Yards Fumbles GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost 2020 NFL ATL 2 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 53 26.5 43 0 0 0 Career [24] [25] 2 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 53 26.5 43 0 0 0 USFL/UFL career statistics Legend League champion Led the league Bold Career high Regular season Year Team League Games Receiving Rushing Kick returns Punt returns GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD 2022 PHI USFL 9 2 21 215 10.2 22 1 3 25 8.3 17 0 4 114 28.5 43 0 — — — — — 2023 PHI 3 1 9 83 9.2 24 1 4 20 5.0 17 0 13 322 24.8 46 0 — — — — — 2024 DC UFL 10 3 20 262 13.1 46 3 4 29 7.3 13 0 45 1,223 27.2 84 1 12 142 11.8 45 0 2025 DC 10 8 42 522 12.4 65T 3 5 40 8.0 18 0 18 393 21.8 38 0 11 114 10.4 17 0 Career 32 14 92 1,082 11.8 65 8 16 114 7.1 18 0 80 2,052 25.7 84 1 23 256 11.1 45 0 USFL/UFL Postseason Year Team League Games Receiving Rushing Kick returns Punt returns GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD 2022 PHI USFL 2 0 5 98 19.6 43 1 5 35 7.0 19 0 2 59 29.5 32 0 — — — — — 2025 DC UFL 2 2 10 87 8.7 32 0 6 53 8.8 19 1 — — — — — — — — — — Career [26] [27] 4 2 15 185 12.3 43 1 11 88 8.0 19 1 2 59 29.5 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 References "Chris Rowland's High School Football Stats". Gaither, Steven J. (April 25, 2020). "Tennessee State WR who broke Jerry Rice's record signs with Falcons". HBCU Gameday. Retrieved December 19, 2020. Organ, Mike (February 25, 2020). "Tennessee State's Chris Rowland is Black College Football Player of the Year". The Tennessean . Retrieved December 19, 2020. McFadden, Will (April 27, 2020). "Falcons agree to terms with 20 undrafted college free agents". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021. McFadden, Will (September 5, 2020). "Falcons 2020 roster announced". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021. McFadden, Will (September 6, 2020). "Falcons sign 14 players to practice squad". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021. @AtlantaFalcons (December 26, 2020). "We have flexed OL Sean Harlow and WR Chris Rowland to the active roster" (Tweet). Retrieved February 8, 2021– via Twitter. McFadden, Will (January 2, 2021). "Falcons flex three offensive weapons for final game". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021. McFadden, Will (January 4, 2021). "Falcons sign 11 players to reserve/future contracts". AtlantaFalcons.com. "Falcons announce 53-man roster". AtlantaFalcons.com. August 31, 2021. Wyatt, Jim (November 10, 2021). "Titans Move CB Kristian Fulton to the Team's "Designated for Return From Injured Reserve" List". TennesseeTitans.com. Wyatt, Jim (November 23, 2021). "Titans Make 13 Roster Moves – On the Active Roster, Practice Squad and Injured Reserve – On a Busy Tuesday". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021. "USFL DRAFT 2022: SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT PICK-BY-PICK RESULTS". www.foxsports.com. Fox Media LLC. March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022. @USFLStars (April 22, 2022). "Transferred to inactive roster" (Tweet). Retrieved April 23, 2022– via Twitter. @USFLStars (April 22, 2022). "Game Status Report" (Tweet). Retrieved April 23, 2022– via Twitter. @USFLStars (April 30, 2022). "Roster Updates" (Tweet). Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Twitter. @USFLStars (May 8, 2023). "Transferred Player to Injured Reserve List" (Tweet). Retrieved May 9, 2023– via Twitter. @USFLStars (October 1, 2023). "Free Agent Signings" (Tweet). Retrieved October 1, 2023– via Twitter. Roush, Ty. "USFL-XFL Merger: What To Know About The New United Football League". Forbes. Retrieved January 30, 2024. Rachuk, Stephan (January 15, 2024). "2024 United Football League (UFL) Super Draft Tracker". Pro Football Newsroom. Retrieved January 15, 2024. "UFL Announces Inaugural All-UFL Team". www.theufl.com. June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024. @UFL_PR (October 7, 2024). "The #UFL has announced the following transactions" (Tweet). Retrieved October 8, 2024– via Twitter. "UFL Announces 2025 All-UFL Team". The UFL. Retrieved June 3, 2025. "Chris Rowland Stats". www.footballdb.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022. "Philadelphia Stars Team Stats". foxsports.com. Retrieved May 12, 2022. "Chris Rowland Stats". www.footballdb.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022. "Philadelphia Stars Team Stats". foxsports.com. 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