Chris Matthews (American football)

Chris Matthews

refer to caption

Matthews with the Seattle Seahawks
No. 13 Baltimore Ravens
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: (1989-10-06) October 6, 1989
Place of birth: Long Beach, California
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight: 218 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school: Dorsey (LA)
College: University of Kentucky
Undrafted: 2011
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions: 13
Receiving Yards: 151
Receiving TDs: 1
Player stats at NFL.com
Career Arena statistics
Receptions: 36
Receiving yards: 472
Receiving TDs: 9
Tackles: 4
Player stats at ArenaFan.com

Christopher Douglas Matthews (born October 6, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Los Angeles Harbor College and the University of Kentucky.

Matthews was undrafted out of college in 2011, and signed with the Cleveland Browns. The Browns cut Matthews, and he played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, winning the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award in his first season, but limited by injuries in his second year. Released, Matthews received an offer to tryout with the Seattle Seahawks. During the 2014–15 NFL playoffs, Matthews recovered an onside kick during the National Football Conference Championship Game, and made his first career receptions in Super Bowl XLIX. He also played for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League (AFL).

Amateur career

Matthews attended Susan Miller Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, California, and played American football for the school's team as a tight end and as a defensive end. He intended to enroll at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to play college football for the UCLA Bruins football team, but was academically ineligible to play for a school in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He enrolled at Los Angeles Harbor College (LAHC), a junior college, to play football.[1][2] At LAHC, Matthews became a wide receiver.[2] During his sophomore season, Matthews caught 80 passes for 1,235 yards and 11 touchdowns in nine games.[3]

In 2009, Matthews transferred to the University of Kentucky to play for the Kentucky Wildcats football team for his junior year, in 2009.[4] That year, he caught 32 passes for 354 yards with three touchdowns.[5] For the 2010 Wildcats team, Matthews caught 61 passes for 925 yards with nine touchdowns.[4][6]

Professional career

Cleveland Browns and Iowa Barnstormers

Matthews went undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns signed Matthews as an undrafted free agent. During the final cuts at the end of training camp, he was released.[4][6]

Matthews played for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League (AFL) in 2012.[1] He caught 36 passes for a total of 472 yards and nine touchdowns for the Barnstormers.[7]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Matthews signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the 2012 season. In his rookie year, he played in all 18 games of the regular season, and compiled 1,192 yards on 81 receptions with seven touchdowns en route to winning the 2012 CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award.[4][6][8]

During the 2013 season, Matthews' performance was hampered by a serious turf toe injury which caused him to miss all but four games of the regular season. He finished the season with only 14 catches for 138 yards and one touchdown.[9] Matthews was released by the Blue Bombers to pursue NFL opportunities. He worked in a Foot Locker store and as a security guard.[4]

Seattle Seahawks

While Matthews was working at Foot Locker, he received a phone call from a member of the Seattle Seahawks inviting him to try out for them that night.[10] On February 18, 2014, Matthews signed with the Seahawks on a 2014 reserve/future contract.[11] After four preseason games in which he caught four passes for 53 yards, Seattle released him on August 30, 2014. On August 31, 2014, it was announced that he had been signed to their practice squad.[12] He was signed to the Seahawks' 53-man roster on December 6, 2014.[13] He played in three regular season games for the Seahawks in the 2014 season, and did not catch a pass.[4] He recorded a tackle on a special teams play.[14]

In the 2015 NFC Championship Game versus the Green Bay Packers, Matthews recovered a critical onside kick, which gave the Seahawks an opportunity to score and eventually win the game in overtime.[4] In Super Bowl XLIX against the New England Patriots, Matthews had his first NFL catch, a 44-yard pass from Russell Wilson which led to a Seahawks touchdown. He then caught an 11-yard pass for a touchdown at the end of the first half, tying the game 14–14.[15] Matthews finished the game with four catches for 109 yards, but the Patriots defeated the Seahawks 28-24.[16] During the game the value of Chris Matthews' rookie card reportedly soared by 3,500%.[17] On November 17, 2015, the Seahawks released Matthews.[18]

Baltimore Ravens

After being released by the Seahawks, Matthews was signed to the Baltimore Ravens practice squad on November 23, 2015. He was promoted to the active roster on December 12, 2015.[18] He scored his first career NFL regular season touchdown on December 27, 2015 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.[19] On April 7, 2016 Matthews signed his exclusive rights free agent tender to remain with the Ravens.[18]

Personal life

Matthews' father, Darell, is from Holly Springs, Mississippi. He played college football at Lane College, and is a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. Like his son, Darell also wore uniform number 13.[1] He has a younger sister, Jada, who attends the University of Utah and plays college basketball for the Utah Utes women's basketball team.[20]

Matthews is a cousin of Reggie White.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Seattle Seahawks’ Chris Matthews was late again, but in the right place at right time". dailynews.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "After Complicated Journey, Receiver Chris Matthews Makes Good At Kentucky". Neon Tommy. December 14, 2010. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Barnstormers Add Three More to Roster". arenafootball.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Ex-Kentucky football player Chris Matthews a surprising Seattle Seahawks star". The Courier-Journal. January 20, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ Verney, Dennis (February 1, 2015). "Ex-Cat Chris Matthews made run at Super Bowl MVP". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Condotta, Bob (February 18, 2014). "Seahawks sign receiver Chris Matthews, former CFL rookie of year". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Former Iowa Barnstormer Chris Matthews makes Super Bowl impact". Des Moines Register. February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Bombers' Chris Matthews CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie". Winnipeg Sun. November 22, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  9. ↑ Penton, Kirk (September 4, 2014). "We won't see Chris Matthews back with Bombers or in CFL any time soon". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ Emily Kaplan. "Seahawks' Chris Matthews, Garry Gilliam proved crucial to Seattle's comeback in NFC championship - NFL - SI.com". SI.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Seahawks Sign WR Chris Matthews". seahawks.com. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Seahawks Announce Practice Squad Signings". seahawks.com. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Seahawks sign Chris Matthews off their practice squad". seahawks.com. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  14. 1 2 "Seahawks' Chris Matthews goes from unknown to Super Bowl star". Sporting News. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Rookie receiver plays unexpected hero for Seahawks in Super Bowl first half". Yahoo Sports. February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  16. ↑ Los Angeles Times (February 1, 2015). "New England Patriots beat Seattle Seahawks, 28-24, in Super Bowl XLIX". latimes.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Chris Matthews Rookie Card Jumps 3,500% in Value During Super Bowl XLIX". The Knight's Lance. 2 February 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 "CHRIS MATTHEWS". foxsports.com. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Chris Matthews". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  20. ↑ Kewish, Ashley (February 2, 2015). "Seahawks star Chris Matthews' connection to Utah". KSL.com. Retrieved February 3, 2015.

External links

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