Armani Lee Rogers (born December 4, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Footb ...

and

Ohio Bobcats The Ohio Bobcats are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I Intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio, United States. Ohio University is a charter member (1946 ...

and holds the record for longest run by an NCAA quarterback at 99 yards. Rogers transitioned to tight end after his college career and signed with the

Washington Commanders 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2022.

Early years

The son of former NFL linebacker Sam Rogers, Armani was born on December 4, 1997, in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. He grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and attended Alexander Hamilton High School, Armani has four brothers and one sister where he passed for 1,433 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for 431 yards and six touchdowns as a senior. Rogers was rated a three-star recruit and initially committed to play college football at California over offers from UCLA, Washington, and Utah. He decommitted during his senior year following changes to California's coaching staff and later signed to play at UNLV after considering Fresno State.

College career

UNLV Rebels

Rogers began his college career at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

and redshirted as a freshman. He started nine games for the Rebels during his redshirt freshman season and was named the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

Freshman of the Year after completing 99 of 189 pass attempts for 1,471 yards and six touchdowns with five interceptions and setting a school record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 780 and also rushing for eight touchdowns. Rogers suffered a foot injury in the fourth game of his redshirt

sophomore year In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

and missed the next six games before returning and finishing the season with 601 passing yards and 10 touchdowns and 565 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He passed for 393 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions and rushed 204 yards and two touchdowns in four games as a redshirt junior before again suffering an injury.

Ohio Bobcats

Rogers transferred to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

as a graduate student. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, he was used mostly in offensive package plays and threw for 48 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Rogers used the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes in 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and returned to Ohio for a second season. He started two games at quarterback and was also used in offensive packages throughout the season, finishing the season with 334 passing yards and 552 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, including a 99-yard rushing touchdown against the

Buffalo Bulls The Buffalo Bulls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, New York. The Bulls compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of Mid-Ame ...

, which set an NCAA record for a quarterback.

College statistics

Professional career

Rogers transitioned to

prior to playing in the 2022 East–West Shrine Bowl.

Washington Commanders

Rogers signed with the

as an

on May 2, 2022. On November 19, the Commanders placed Rogers on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. On January 7, 2023, he was activated from injured reserve. On May 24, 2023, Rogers tore his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

during a non-contact practice session. He was placed on injured reserve on July 25, 2023. Rogers was released on August 6, 2024.

Philadelphia Eagles

On August 7, 2024, Rogers was claimed off waivers by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. He was waived on August 27.

Atlanta Falcons

On October 7, 2024, Rogers signed with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

practice squad.

Buffalo Bills

On January 17, 2025, Rogers signed a reserve/future contract with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. On March 3, it was announced that Rogers had suffered a torn Achilles tendon while training and would undergo surgery. He was waived with an injury designation on April 18.

References

External links

Ohio Bobcats bio

UNLV Rebels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Armani 1997 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football tight ends UNLV Rebels football players Players of American football from Los Angeles Ohio Bobcats football players Washington Commanders players Philadelphia Eagles players Atlanta Falcons players Buffalo Bills players