Chris Rowland

Last updated

Chris Rowland
HoustonRoughnecksvsDCDefendersUFL52525-144 (54546668377).jpg
Rowland with the DC Defenders in 2025
No. 12 – DC Defenders
Position Wide receiver
Roster statusActive
Personal information
Born (1997-12-19) December 19, 1997 (age 27)
Nolensville, Tennessee, U.S.
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school Ravenwood
(Brentwood, Tennessee)
College Tennessee State (2016–2019)
NFL draft 2020: undrafted
Career history
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Awards and highlights
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.

Contents

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

SeasonTeamGamesReceivingRushingKick returnsPunt returns
GPGSRecYdsAvgTDAttYdsAvgTDRetYdsAvgTDRetYdsAvgTD
2016 Tennessee State 1131623614.7014574.104299223.60131118.50
2017 Tennessee State 1031717810.51191135.901631219.5058416.80
2018 Tennessee State 885772712.853175.7013737.001418213.01
2019 Tennessee State 12121041,43713.88191326.911537525.011416611.91
Career 41261942,57813.314553195.81741,71623.214654311.81

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

YearLeagueTeamGamesReceivingRushingReturn YardsFumbles
GPGSRecYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2020 NFL ATL 20000.000000.00025326.543000
Career [24] [25] 20000.000000.00025326.543000

USFL/UFL career statistics

Legend
League champion
Led the league
BoldCareer high

Regular season

YearTeamLeagueGamesReceivingRushingKick returnsPunt returns
GPGSRecYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTD
2022 PHI USFL 922121510.22213258.3170411428.5430—————
2023 PHI 319839.22414205.01701332224.8460—————
2024 DC UFL 1032026213.14634297.3130451,22327.28411214211.8450
2025 DC 1084252212.465T35408.01801839321.83801111410.4170
Career 3214921,08211.8658161147.1180802,05225.78412325611.1450

USFL/UFL postseason

YearTeamLeagueGamesReceivingRushingKick returnsPunt returns
GPGSRecYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTD
2022 PHI USFL 2059819.64315357.019025929.5320—————
2025 DC UFL 2210878.73206538.8191——————————
Career [26] [27] 421518512.343111888.019125929.532000000

References

  1. ↑ "Chris Rowland's High School Football Stats".
  2. ↑ Gaither, Steven J. (April 25, 2020). "Tennessee State WR who broke Jerry Rice's record signs with Falcons". HBCU Gameday. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  3. ↑ Organ, Mike (February 25, 2020). "Tennessee State's Chris Rowland is Black College Football Player of the Year". The Tennessean . Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  4. ↑ McFadden, Will (April 27, 2020). "Falcons agree to terms with 20 undrafted college free agents". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  5. ↑ McFadden, Will (September 5, 2020). "Falcons 2020 roster announced". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  6. ↑ McFadden, Will (September 6, 2020). "Falcons sign 14 players to practice squad". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  7. ↑ @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.
  8. ↑ McFadden, Will (January 2, 2021). "Falcons flex three offensive weapons for final game". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  9. ↑ McFadden, Will (January 4, 2021). "Falcons sign 11 players to reserve/future contracts". AtlantaFalcons.com.
  10. ↑ "Falcons announce 53-man roster". AtlantaFalcons.com. August 31, 2021.
  11. ↑ Wyatt, Jim (November 10, 2021). "Titans Move CB Kristian Fulton to the Team's "Designated for Return From Injured Reserve" List". TennesseeTitans.com.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ "USFL DRAFT 2022: SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT PICK-BY-PICK RESULTS". www.foxsports.com. Fox Media LLC. March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  14. ↑ @USFLStars (April 22, 2022). "Transferred to inactive roster" (Tweet). Retrieved April 23, 2022– via Twitter.
  15. ↑ @USFLStars (April 22, 2022). "Game Status Report" (Tweet). Retrieved April 23, 2022– via Twitter.
  16. ↑ @USFLStars (April 30, 2022). "Roster Updates" (Tweet). Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Twitter.
  17. ↑ @USFLStars (May 8, 2023). "Transferred Player to Injured Reserve List" (Tweet). Retrieved May 9, 2023– via Twitter.
  18. ↑ @USFLStars (October 1, 2023). "Free Agent Signings" (Tweet). Retrieved October 1, 2023– via Twitter.
  19. ↑ Roush, Ty. "USFL-XFL Merger: What To Know About The New United Football League". Forbes. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  20. ↑ Rachuk, Stephan (January 15, 2024). "2024 United Football League (UFL) Super Draft Tracker". Pro Football Newsroom. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  21. ↑ "UFL Announces Inaugural All-UFL Team". www.theufl.com. June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  22. ↑ @UFL_PR (October 7, 2024). "The #UFL has announced the following transactions" (Tweet). Retrieved October 8, 2024– via Twitter.
  23. ↑ "UFL Announces 2025 All-UFL Team". The UFL. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Chris Rowland Stats". www.footballdb.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Philadelphia Stars Team Stats". foxsports.com. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Chris Rowland Stats". www.footballdb.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Philadelphia Stars Team Stats". foxsports.com. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.