Reginald O'Keith Rogers (January 21, 1964 – October 24, 2013) was a professional American football defensive tackle who played four seasons in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions (1987–1988), the Buffalo Bills (1991), and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1992). He was also the younger brother of former Cleveland Browns safety Don Rogers, who died of cocaine poisoning in June 1986. Rogers also had six children; twins Reggie & Regina, Amanda, Brittany, Isiah, and Jackie.
Rogers was chosen seventh overall by the Lions in the 1987 NFL Draft. However, he only played six games of his rookie season due to a slew of emotional problems, even spending time in a counseling center.[1] His sophomore season ended after only five games when his car struck another vehicle and killed three teenagers. He was later found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.15, the legal limit in Michigan being .10 at the time.[2] The Lions waived him in July 1989, not because of the felony charges, but because he broke his neck in the collision.[3] In 1990, he was convicted of vehicular homicide and spent 13 months in prison.[2] After brief stints with the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of prison, Rogers was out the NFL entirely by the end of the 1992 season. Rogers did make his way to the Canadian Football League after being waived out of the NFL. He played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1993-94) and one of the U.S. expansion teams, the Shreveport Pirates (1995). He played 33 games in the CFL and accumulated 18 sacks and 91 tackles in three down football.
Rogers is often considered one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history. In 2008, ESPN named him the 13th-biggest bust since the AFL-NFL merger.[4] A year earlier, Yahoo! Sports named him the worst #7 pick since the merger.[5]
On November 26, 2008, Rogers was involved in a hit-and-run collision in Tukwila, Washington that resulted in his arrest and a charge of DUI. It was his fifth arrest for DUI in the state of Washington, dating back to his college days at the University of Washington.[6]
Rogers also played three seasons for the men's basketball team while at the University of Washington.[7]
Rogers was found dead at his home in Seattle, Washington on October 24, 2013.[8] An autopsy revealed that he died of combined cocaine and alcohol intoxication.[9]
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