Cody Derek Latimer (born October 10, 1992) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

Orlando Guardians The Orlando Guardians are a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL. The Guardians played their home games at MetLife ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

. He was drafted by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

in the second round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He was a member of the Broncos in their Super Bowl 50 win against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

and has been a member of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

and Washington Football Team.

Early years

Latimer attended

Jefferson Township High School This is a list of memorials to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States and the author of the United States Declaration of Independence. Buildings Elementary schools *Jefferson Elementary School, in Cammack Village, Arkansas *Thoma ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. He was a first-team all-conference selection after hauling in 42 catches for 722 yards and six touchdowns in addition to 372 rushing yards, six touchdowns, and 27 carries in just eight games as a senior. On defense, he made 89 tackles, four interceptions (one score) and forced two fumbles. In addition to football, he played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, and ran

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. Considered a three-star recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

'', Latimer was rated as the 49th best wide receiver prospect of his class.

College career

Latimer attended Indiana University from 2011 to 2013. During his career, he started 24 of 32 games with 135 receptions for 2,042 yards and 17

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

. He entered the

after his junior season.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

2014

The

selected Latimer in the second round (56th overall) of the

. He was the tenth wide receiver to be selected and was one of two Indiana Hoosiers in 2014. On June 2, 2014, the Denver Broncos signed Latimer to a four-year, $3.70 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

that includes $2.02 million guaranteed and a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $1.01 million. Throughout training camp, he competed for a job as the backup wide receiver against veterans

Andre Caldwell Andre Jerome "Bubba" Caldwell (born April 15, 1985), is a former professional American football player who was a wide receiver and kickoff returner in the National Football League (NFL). Caldwell played college football for the Florida Gator ...

and

Jordan Norwood Jordan Shea Rashad Norwood (born September 29, 1986) is a Filipino-American former professional American football, football wide receiver and punt returner who played eight seasons in the NFL. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted ...

. Head coach John Fox named Latimer the fourth wide receiver on the depth chart to start the regular season after

Wes Welker Wesley Carter Welker (born May 1, 1981) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is the wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the San ...

was suspended for the first four games after he failed a drug test for

amphetamines Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with sub ...

and violated the NFL's performance enhancing substances policy and Jordan Norwood tore his ACL during training camp practice. He started the season behind

Demaryius Thomas Demaryius Antwon Thomas (December 25, 1987 – December 9, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. He played college ...

Emmanuel Sanders Emmanuel Niamiah Sanders (born March 17, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at SMU, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third ...

, and Andre Caldwell. He made his professional regular season debut in the Denver Broncos' season-opening 31–24 victory against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. Head coach John Fox elected to play

Isaiah Burse Isaiah Burse (born December 8, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Fresno State. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2014. High school career From 2007 to 2009, Burse p ...

for his added punt return capabilities and listed Latimer as a healthy scratch for five consecutive games (Weeks 2-7). In Week 10, Latimer caught his first career reception off of a nine-yard pass by quarterback

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...

, as the Broncos routed the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

41–17. He was listed as inactive the following week as the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

defeated the Broncos 22–17. On December 28, 2014, he caught a season-long 14-yard pass during a 47–14 win against the Oakland Raiders. He finished his rookie season with two receptions for 23 receiving yards and two kick returns for 22-yards in eight games and zero starts. Latimer stated he had issues digesting the playbook and took too long during his rookie season to adjust to the pro game.

2015

On January 12, 2015, the Denver Broncos and head coach John Fox agreed to mutually part ways after their 24–13 loss to the

in the AFC Divisional round. On January 19, 2015, the Denver Broncos appointed former Baltimore Ravens' offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak as their new head coach. Latimer competed against Andre Caldwell and Jordan Norwood for role as the Broncos' third wide receiver after the Broncos opted to not re-sign Wes Welker. Head coach Gary Kubiak named Latimer the fifth wide receiver on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Andre Caldwell, and Jordan Norwood. In Week 10, Latimer caught a season-high three passes for 30 yards during Denver's 29–13 loss to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. On November 22, 2015, he earned his first start and had two receptions for 22-yard and caught his first career touchdown on a ten-yard pass from Brock Osweiler as the Broncos defeated the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

17–15. He finished the season with six receptions for 59-yards and one touchdown in 14 games and one start. The Denver Broncos finished the season atop the

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...

with a 12-4 record and received a playoff berth. On January 17, 2016, Latimer appeared in his first career playoff game and caught two passes for 18-yards as the Broncos defeated the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

23-16. After defeating the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, the Denver Broncos went on to face the Panthers in the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

. On February 7, 2016, Latimer appeared in Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos as they defeated the

by a score of 24–10.

2016

He entered training camp in 2016 and competed for the job as the third wide receiver against Jordan Norwood and

Bennie Fowler Bennie Fowler III (born June 10, 1991) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football for Michigan State and was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2014. High school career Fowler a ...

. In the 2016 season, with new quarterbacks

Trevor Siemian Trevor John Siemian (born December 26, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Northwestern and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round ...

and Paxton Lynch, Latimer played in 12 games with one start recording eight receptions for 76 yards. Latimer also had a career-high seven solo tackles on special teams and returned eight kicks for 200-yards.

2017

Latimer finished his fourth season in 2017 with a career-high 19 receptions for 287 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 11 games. He also had eight kick returns for 190-yards.

New York Giants

On March 19, 2018, Latimer signed with the

, reuniting with his former wide receivers coach,

Tyke Tolbert Tyke Tolbert (born September 15, 1967) is an American football coach and former player who is the wide receivers coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Tolbert previously served as wide receivers coach for the Arizo ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on October 16, 2018 after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 6. He was activated off injured reserve on December 19, 2018. In six games in the 2018 season, Latimer recorded 11 receptions for 190 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. Latimer re-signed with the team on March 22, 2019. In the 2019 season, Latimer appeared in 15 games and recorded 24 receptions for 300 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Washington Football Team

Latimer signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

on April 7, 2020. He was placed on the commissioner's exempt list on July 27, 2020, following his May 2020 arrest. He was released on August 23 by the Washington Football Team.

Orlando Guardians

Latimer was selected in the 11th round of the 2023 XFL Skill Players Draft, by the

. Latimer is listed as a tight end on the Guardians 51-man roster that was posted on the Guardians Instagram account.

Career statistics

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Personal life

His father, Colby, played college football at Bowling Green State University in the 1980s, and died from cancer in 2005. Latimer also lost his grandmother from cancer and raises donations for the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

. On May 31, 2016, Latimer was arrested for an outstanding traffic ticket while police were investigating his complaint that he was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of his girlfriend. On May 16, 2020, Latimer was arrested in Colorado for assault in the second degree, illegal discharge of a firearm and reckless endangerment.

References

External links

Indiana Hoosiers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latimer, Cody 1992 births Living people Players of American football from Dayton, Ohio African-American players of American football American football return specialists American football wide receivers Indiana Hoosiers football players Denver Broncos players New York Giants players Washington Football Team players Orlando Guardians players 21st-century African-American sportspeople