No. 78, 95 | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Lagos, Nigeria [1] | June 17, 1995||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Ardrey Kell (Charlotte, North Carolina) | ||||||||||
College: | Notre Dame | ||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2016 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Player stats at PFR |
Romeo Chidozie Okwara (born June 17, 1995) is a Nigerian-born former American football defensive end. He played college football at Notre Dame. Okwara signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2016, and played six seasons with the Detroit Lions.
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 4+5⁄8 in (1.95 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | 34+1⁄8 in (0.87 m) | 10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) | 4.90 s | 1.74 s | 2.89 s | 4.53 s | 7.38 s | 33.0 in (0.84 m) | 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) | 23 reps | |
All values from NFL Combine [2] [3] |
Okwara signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent on May 6, 2016. [4] Okwara made his first start replacing Jason Pierre-Paul in a 10–7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on December 11, 2016. [5]
On October 17, 2017, Okwara was placed on injured reserve with a knee sprain. [6] He was activated off injured reserve to the active roster on December 19, 2017. [7]
On September 4, 2018, Okwara was waived by the Giants. [8]
On September 5, 2018, Okwara was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions. [9] On October 7, 2018, against the Green Bay Packers, Okwara strip sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a fumble recovery. [10] He played in 15 games with 15 starts, finishing with 39 combined tackles, a team-leading 7.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.
On March 1, 2019, Okwara signed a two-year contract extension with the Lions. [11]
Okwara was placed on the active/non-football injury list at the start of training camp on August 2, 2020. [12] He was activated on August 14, 2020. [13]
In Week 7 of the 2020 season against the Atlanta Falcons, Okwara recorded two sacks on Matt Ryan, including a strip sack which was recovered by the Lions, during the 23–22 win. [14] In Week 15 against the Tennessee Titans, Okwara recorded a sack on Ryan Tannehill in the endzone for a safety during the 46–25 loss. [15] Okwara had ten sacks for the 2020 season, while the rest of the Lions team only totaled 14. [16] In Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings, Okwara recorded his tenth sack of the season on Kirk Cousins during the 37–35 loss. During the 2020 season, Okwara recorded the same amount of sacks as he did during the rest of his career. [17]
On March 17, 2021, Okwara signed a three-year, $39 million contract extension with the Lions. [18] [19]
On October 5, 2021, Okwara was placed on injured reserve after tearing his Achilles in Week 4. [20]
On August 23, 2022, Okwara was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list to start the season. [21] He was activated on December 3. [22]
After his contract was done with the Lions, Okwara announced he was retiring from the NFL at the age of 28 on March 19, 2024. He played the last four seasons of his career with his younger brother Julian Okwara. [23]
Okwara's younger brother Julian Okwara, who also played college football at Notre Dame, also played for the Detroit Lions. He was born in Nigeria and moved to the United States at the age of 10. [24]
Johnathan Jenkins is an American football nose tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, and was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft. He has also played for the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, New York Giants, and Miami Dolphins.
Kareem Martin is a former American football defensive end. He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played college football at North Carolina. He also played for the New York Giants and Detroit Lions.
Kenny Wiggins is a former American football guard. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Fresno State. Wiggins also played with the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers.
Anthony Joseph Zettel is a former American football defensive end. He played college football at Penn State. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL draft.
Zachary Todd Kerin is a former American football guard. He played college football at Toledo. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2014.
Jeremy Cash is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Duke, and was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
Jason W. Cabinda is an American football fullback who is a free agent. He played college football at Penn State and signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He attended Hunterdon Central Regional High School.
Antonio Hamilton Sr. is an American football cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Carolina State.
Kalif Raymond is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, U.S. to an African-American father and a Chinese mother. He played college football at Holy Cross and was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
Jeremiah Isaiah Valoaga is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at UNLV, and was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2017.
Charles Washington is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Fresno State and signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent after the 2016 NFL draft.
Nigel Harris is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at South Florida, and signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2017.
Daniel Ross is an American professional football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent after the 2017 NFL draft. He played college football at Northeast Mississippi.
Michael Ford is an American football cornerback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Southeast Missouri State.
Steven Parker is an American football strong safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma.
Kevin Strong Jr. is an American football nose tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at UTSA before graduating in 2018. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions in 2019.
Trent Harris is a former American football linebacker who is the assistant outside linebackers coach for the Illinois Fighting Illini. He played college football for Miami. He signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2018.
Jonathan Harris is an American football defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Lindenwood.
Julian Okwara is an English-born Nigerian gridiron football linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Eric Banks is an American football defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UTSA.