Kerry Rhodes

Kerry Rhodes
No. 25
Position: Free safety
Personal information
Date of birth: (1982-08-02) August 2, 1982
Place of birth: Birmingham, Alabama
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 212 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High school: Bessemer (AL) Lanier
College: Louisville
NFL draft: 2005 / Round: 4 / Pick: 123
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Tackles: 608
Sacks: 13.0
Interceptions: 23
Forced fumbles: 8
Player stats at NFL.com

Kerry Rhodes (born August 2, 1982) is a former American football safety in the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft, and most recently played for the Arizona Cardinals in 2012. Rhodes was named to All-Pro teams by three publications after the 2006 NFL season. He played college football at Louisville.

Early years

Rhodes was born in Birmingham, Alabama to Jubrella and Jerome Rhodes and began playing football at nine years old. He was a starting quarterback and honor student at Jess Lanier High School in Bessemer, Alabama. As a junior, he threw more than 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 500 yards and three scores in 1998; guiding Lanier to a 10-2 record. During his senior season, Rhodes threw for more than 1,600 yards and ran for another 850. He was also selected Metro Player of the year and first-team All-state in basketball of which he led his team to the 6A title game.

College career

In 2000, Rhodes joined Louisville as a quarterback, but was moved to safety[1] Rhodes finished his first season at Louisville with 9 tackles, three pass breakups and an interception. As a reserve in 2002, he had 18 tackles (12 solos), a forced fumble, two pass deflections, a blocked kick and an interception. Rhodes took over as a free safety in 2003 and registered career highs with a sack, 82 tackles (61 solos) and three stops for losses.[2] In 2004, he closed out his college career with 167 tackles (101 solos), a 12-yard sack, 18 pass deflections and 11 interceptions for 106 yards in returns.[3][4] Rhodes was accorded first-team All-Conference USA honors that same year.[5]

Professional career

New York Jets

Rhodes was drafted in the 4th round (123rd overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. That same year, he beat out Oliver Celestin for the starting job at strong safety and started in 16 consecutive games in 2005. In his first professional season, Rhodes recorded 108 total tackles (85 solo), a sack, an interception, 9 pass deflections and a forced fumble.[6]

On September 24, 2006, he made a pivotal play against J.P. Losman of the Buffalo Bills, stripping the ball from the quarterback's hands and allowing Shaun Ellis to return the fumble for a touchdown. This helped the Jets to a 28-20 victory. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for week 3. In Week 7, Rhodes intercepted a pass by Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna. In Week 12, during the game against the Houston Texans, Rhodes intercepted a pass by quarterback David Carr in the second half. Following the 2006 season, Rhodes was named to All-Pro teams by ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated and the Associated Press.

On April 9, 2008, Rhodes signed an extension with the Jets for five years, for a total of $33.5 million, with $20 million guaranteed.[7]

Arizona Cardinals

On March 6, 2010, Rhodes was traded from the New York Jets to the Arizona Cardinals for a 2010 4th round draft pick and a 2011 7th round pick.[8] Later, his Jets coach Rex Ryan criticized Rhodes in his memoir, saying, "He wouldn't work, and he was a Hollywood type, flashy and needing attention".[9]

Rhodes started and played in all 16 regular season games of the 2010-2011 season for the Cardinals, recording a total of 90 tackles, 78 solo, 12 assists, 1 sack, 12 passes deflected, 4 interceptions returned for a total of 174 yards, longest returned for 66 yards and 4 fumble recoveries. On December 31, 2010, Rhodes was awarded The Lloyd Herberg MVP award for the 2010-2011 season by the Arizona chapter of the Pro Football Writers Association.[10]

In 2011, Rhodes was inducted into the Kentucky Chapter of National Football League Players Association Hall of Fame along with Lou Michaels, Dale Lindsey, Rod Hill and Phil Simms.[11]

He finished his 2012 season with 58 tackles, nine assists, four interceptions and two forced fumbles, and was named the fourth best safety in the league by Pro Football Focus.[12]

Rhodes was released by the Cardinals on March 13, 2013.[13] Rhodes was due to receive $5.5 million for the 2013 season and rejected an offer to restructure the contract at one year and $3 million.[14]

2013 season

After he was released by the Cardinals, photographs of Rhodes embracing and lying shirtless with his former assistant, Russell Simpson were published online in April 2013. Simpson claimed he and Rhodes were a couple.[15] Rhodes told TMZ, "I am not gay… The shots were taken during a past vacation in a casual environment with my entire business team."[16]

Rhodes spent the 2013 season as a free agent and did not receive any interest after rejecting offers in March, raising suspicion that he was being blacklisted because of rumors about his sexuality.[12]

In a February 2014 interview with ESPN, Rhodes denied he was gay or that he was blacklisted by NFL teams. He said his absence from the league was "a product of me wanting to do other things and not finding the right opportunity," referring to his interests in acting and producing, and the amount of money offered.[17]

References

  1. ↑ Forde, Pat (December 15, 2006). "Melodrama stirred by the straw of teenage celebrity". Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  2. ↑ "Kerry Rhodes Profile". Louisville Cardinals Official Athletic Site. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "Individual Game-by-Game Summaries 2004-2005". Louisville Cardinals Official Athletic Site. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "Kerry Rhodes Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  5. ↑ "The 2004 All-Conference Football team". College Football - ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  6. ↑ "Kerry Rhodes Stats - ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  7. ↑ Berg, Ted (April 9, 2008). "Jets, Rhodes agree on extension". SNY. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  8. ↑ "New York Jets trade safety Kerry Rhodes to Arizona Cardinals for two picks - ESPN". Associated Press. March 6, 2010. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  9. ↑ "Rex: Jets Are Giants' 'Big Brother'; Gholston 'A Phony'". WFAN/Associated Press. April 27, 2011.
  10. ↑ Urban, Darren (December 31, 2010). "One final practice and some awards". blog.azcardinals.com. Arizona Cardinals. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  11. ↑ Cosby, Chip (February 13, 2011). "Kentucky football notebook: Cobb's NFL Draft stock on the rise". KentuckySports.com. Kentucky.com. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  12. 1 2 Busbee, Jay (September 15, 2013). "Why doesn't Kerry Rhodes have a job in the NFL?". Shutdown Corner (Yahoo! Sports).
  13. ↑ Hanzus, Dan (2013-03-13). "Cardinals reportedly cut ties with Kerry Rhodes". National Football League. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  14. ↑ Florio, Mike (September 14, 2013). "Rhodes may have rejected offers in March, but he's still getting no interest now". Pro Football Talk (NBC Sports).
  15. ↑ "22 Biggest Sports Controversies of 2013: 12 Kerry Rhodes' Leaked Photos". Rolling Stone. December 27, 2013.
  16. ↑ Bishop, Greg; Pete Thamel (February 7, 2014). "Players weigh in on Michael Sam's future in the NFL". SI.com.
  17. ↑ MacManus, Jane (February 18, 2014). "Kerry Rhodes: I wasn't 'blacklisted'". ESPNNewYork.com.

External links

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