Rashean Mathis

Rashean Jamil Mathis (/rəˈʃiːn/; born August 27, 1980) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Bethune-Cookman University, and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He also played for the Detroit Lions and is regarded as one of the best defensive players in the history of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Rashean Mathis

Mathis with the Jaguars in 2009
No. 27, 31
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	August 27, 1980 Jacksonville, Florida
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:	Jacksonville (FL) Englewood
College:	Bethune-Cookman
NFL Draft:	2003 / Round: 2 / Pick: 39
Career history
Jacksonville Jaguars (2003–2012) Detroit Lions (2013–2015)
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowl (2006) First-team All-Pro (2006)
Career NFL statistics
Tackles: 647 Passes Defended: 111 Interceptions: 32 Forced fumbles: 8 Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Mathis attended Englewood High School in Jacksonville at the same time as Brett Myers of the Chicago White Sox, and was a student and a letterman in football. In football, he was a second team All-State, All-Conference, and an All-City honoree. Also, claims being recruited out of high school for baseball was highlight of his athletic career. Central Florida Community College and Indian River Community Colleges offered him scholarships to play center field.

College career

Mathis enrolled in Bethune-Cookman University, where he played for the Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team. He did not receive any scholarship offers from larger schools because he broke his leg during high school.

He currently holds the record for the most interceptions in a single season and in a career in Division 1 collegiate football history.(2011)[1][2] In 2002, he won the Buck Buchanan Award for Division I-AA (now FCS) defensive player of the year.[3]

Professional career

Mathis attended the NFL Scouting Combine and performed all of the combine and positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Mathis was projected to be a second or third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the top free safety prospect by DraftScout.com and was ranked as the second best safety by NFL analyst Mike Mayock.[4]

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	4.45 s	1.61 s	2.60 s	4.17 s	7.09 s	38 ^1⁄2 in (0.98 m)	10 ft 3 in (3.12 m)	22 reps
All values from NFL Combine[5]

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Mathis in the second round (39th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft. Mathis was the second safety selected in 2003, behind Marcus Trufant (11th overall).[6] He was also the eighth defensive back drafted in 2003 and was the first player selected from Bethune-Cookman since Antwuan Wyatt was drafted in 1997. Mathis also became the third highest draft pick from Bethune-Cookman, behind defensive tackle Booker Reese (32nd overall, 1982) and defensive back Terry Williams (37th overall, 1988).[7]

“When the phone rang and it was them it was a relief. I think it's a great opportunity for me. I kind of knew, if I was still around, that I would be a high priority for Jacksonville. You can't paint a more perfect picture than this, coming home and playing in your hometown.”[6]

–Rashean Mathis

On July 24, 2003, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Mathis to a four-year, $3.17 million contract.[8]

Mathis entered training camp slated as a starting safety. Head coach Jack Del Rio named Mathis the starting free safety to begin the regular season, alongside strong safety Donovan Darius.

He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Jacksonville Jaguars' season-opener at the Carolina Panthers and made two combined tackles, a pass deflection, and made his first career interception in their 24-23 loss. Mathis made his first career interception off a pass by quarterback Jake Delhomme. In Week 6, Mathis was converted to cornerback due to injuries to Jason Craft and Kiwaukee Thomas.[9] In Week 10, he collected a season-high nine solo tackles during a 28-23 victory against the Indianapolis Colts. He started in all 16 games in 2003 and made a career-high 81 combined tackles (71 solo), nine pass deflections, and two interceptions.[10]

Mathis entered training camp slated as the No. 1 starting cornerback after Fernando Bryant departed in free agency. Head coach Jack Del Rio named Mathis and Dewayne Washington the starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season.[11]

He had his best year in 2006, collecting eight interceptions (tied for third in the league) and being voted to the Pro Bowl where he started alongside Champ Bailey. He and John Henderson were the only Jaguars on the team to attend the Pro Bowl that year.

On August 24, 2005, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Mathis to a five-year, $25.50 million contract extension that includes $9.40 million guaranteed.[12][13]

Mathis had his most significant game as a professional on January 5, 2008 in an AFC Wild Card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.

On December 1, 2008, Mathis sustained a knee injury against the Houston Texans and was put on the injured reserve list, ending his season.

On November 16, 2009, Mathis injured his groin while breaking up a pass in a win over the New York Jets. He would only play in one other game during the 2009 season, missing the rest because of the lingering injury.

On November 13, 2011, Mathis tore his ACL against the Indianapolis Colts, ending his season.

On March 8, 2012, Mathis agreed on a one-year, $5 million contract with the Jaguars.[14]

On March 5, 2013, the Jaguars announced they would not offer Mathis a new contract.

Detroit Lions

Mathis with the Lions in 2014.

On August 17, 2013, Mathis signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions.[15] He re-signed with the Lions on April 14, 2014.[16] On March 19, 2015, the Lions re-signed Mathis to a two-year, $3.5 million contract.[17][18]

On February 16, 2016, Mathis announced his retirement.[19]

On April 13, 2016, Mathis signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars.[20]

External video
Classic Jags: Rashean Mathis

Jaguars franchise records

• Most career interceptions: 30 [21]
• Most career interception return yards: 512 [21]
• Most career defensive touchdowns: 3 [21]
• Most career passes defended: 99 [21]

NFL statistics

Year	Team	GP	COMB	TOTAL	AST	SACK	FF	FR	FR YDS	INT	IR YDS	AVG IR	LNG	TD	PD
2003	JAX	16	81	71	10	0.0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	7
2004	JAX	16	63	53	10	0.0	1	0	0	5	42	8	21	0	16
2005	JAX	16	69	60	9	0.0	0	1	0	5	79	16	41	1	11
2006	JAX	16	63	56	7	0.0	0	0	0	8	146	18	55	0	12
2007	JAX	14	58	53	5	0.0	1	0	0	1	23	23	23	0	6
2008	JAX	12	40	39	1	1.0	1	1	0	4	151	38	72	2	9
2009	JAX	10	33	29	4	0.0	2	1	0	3	46	15	29	0	7
2010	JAX	16	57	46	11	0.0	1	0	0	1	24	24	24	0	6
2011	JAX	9	34	32	2	0.0	0	1	0	1	1	1	1	0	4
2012	JAX	12	20	20	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
2013	DET	15	47	44	3	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15
2014	DET	16	51	42	9	0.0	1	0	0	1	41	41	41	1	9
2015	DET	7	31	28	3	0.0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	4
Career		175	647	573	74	1.0	8	5	0	32	553	17	72	4	111

[12]

Key

• GP: games played
• COMB: combined tackles
• TOTAL: total tackles
• AST: assisted tackles
• SACK: sacks
• FF: forced fumbles
• FR: fumble recoveries
• FR YDS: fumble return yards
• INT: interceptions
• IR YDS: interception return yards
• AVG IR: average interception return
• LNG: longest interception return
• TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
• PD: passes defensed

In the media

In 2006, Mathis appeared as a celebrity contestant on Wheel of Fortune during NFL Players Week.[22]

References

3. Rashean Mathis Defensive Statistics
4. "Mel Kiper Jr's top prospects for the 2003 NFL draft". blackandgold.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
5. "Rashean Mathis, DS #1 FS, Bethune-Cookman". draftscout.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
6. "Ex-Englewood star back home". questia.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
7. "Bethune-Cookman Drafted Players/Alumni". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
8. Pasquerelli, Len (August 24, 2005). "Mathis' new deal includes nearly $10M in bonuses". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
9. "Locker Room prop costs Jags their punter". Ocala.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
10. "NFL Player stats: Rashean Mathis (2003)". NFL.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
11. Stilino, Vito (September 3, 2004). "Jags look to build on last season's success". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
12. "Rashean Mathis Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
13. "Hope for a new contract keeps Rashean Mathis away from Jaguars OTAs". staugustine.com. May 18, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
14. Jags re-sign Rashean Mathis to one-year, $5 million deal
15. Sessler, Marc (August 17, 2013). "Rashean Mathis, Detroit Lions sign one-year contract". NFL.com. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
16. Gantt, Darin. "Lions bring back Rashean Mathis for another year". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
17. Twentyman, Tim (March 18, 2015). "Lions re-sign cornerback Rashean Mathis". NFL.com. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
18. Twentyman, Tim (March 19, 2015). "CB Rashean Mathis grateful to be back for year 13". NFL.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
19. Patra, Kevin (February 16, 2016). "Lions CB Rashean Mathis announces retirement". NFL.com. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
20. Carlyon, Hays (April 13, 2016). "Rashean Mathis touched by Jaguars honorary retirement ceremony". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
21. "Jacksonville Jaguars Defense Career Register". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
22. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wheel-of-fortune-and-players-inc-score-big-with-tenth-annual-nfl-players-week-53720942.html

External links

• Detroit Lions bio