Bobby Gene Rainey, Jr. (born October 16, 1987) is an American former

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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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 ...

for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, earning second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 2011. Rainey signed with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

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 ...

after the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He also played for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

and 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

College career

In 2011, Rainey had 1,695 rushing yards and 17 total touchdowns while playing running back at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

. In 2010, Rainey was one of the top rushers in College Football. He led the nation in rushing attempts (340) and was third in the nation in rushing yards (1649). He was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2010 as well as earning All-American honors from SI.com. In July 2011, he was named to the Maxwell Award Watch List. In August, he was named to the Doak Walker Award Watch list. In 2009, he totaled over 2,100 yards and gained notoriety as one of the premier Kick Returners in College Football. His two official forty yard dash times were 4.42 and 4.45 respectively. He was also a member of the Western Kentucky Track & Field team.

Statistics

School records

Rainey holds school records for WKU in rushing yards in a season (1,695) and rushing yards in a career (4,523). He is just the eighth FBS player since 2000 to rack up back-to-back 1,500-yard seasons. That list includes

LaDainian Tomlinson LaDainian Tarshane Tomlinson (born June 23, 1979), nicknamed "LT", is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. After a successful college football career with the T ...

(TCU),

Ray Rice Raymell Mourice Rice (born January 22, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rutgers ...

(Rutgers),

Steven Jackson Steven Rashad Jackson (born July 22, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the St. Louis Rams. He played college football for the Or ...

(Oregon State), DeAngelo Williams (Memphis), and

Darren McFadden Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks football, Arkansas ...

(Arkansas).

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens (first stint)

Rainey signed with the

as an undrafted free agent. On September 10, 2012, he was released. On September 12, 2012, he was re-signed to the practice squad and became practice squad captain. On October 16, 2012, he was promoted to the active roster after the team placed Lardarius Webb on injured reserve. Rainey never made it on the active gameday roster during the 2012 season. On November 13, 2012, he was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury. Rainey earned a Super Bowl ring when the Ravens defeated the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

. On August 31, 2013, he was released by the Ravens.

Cleveland Browns

On September 1, 2013, he was picked up by the

after clearing waivers. He was released after week 7 of the 2013 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2013 season

In October 2013, he was acquired off waivers by the

. He scored his first career regular season touchdown on November 11, 2013. It was the eventual game-winning TD in the Buccaneers 22-19 win over the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, serving as Tampa Bay's first win of the 2013 season. On November 17, 2013, Rainey had 3 touchdowns (2 rushing and 1 receiving) and 163 rushing yards in the Buccaneers' win over 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 ...

. Due to injuries to Doug Martin and Mike James he would finish his debut Buccaneer season as the team's leading rusher with 137 attempts for 523 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also had 11 catches for 27 yards and 1 receiving touchdown.

2014 season

On March 5, 2014, Rainey signed a one-year deal to stay with the Buccaneers. Rainey compiled 94 attempts for 406 yards and one touchdown only second to Doug Martin. He also had 33 catches for 315 yards and one receiving touchdown.

2015 season

On March 10, 2015, the Buccaneers extended a restricted free agent tender offer of $1.542 million for one year to Rainey restricting him from free negotiating with any other and granting Tampa the right to match any offer he receives from other teams. He signed his one-year tender on April 24.

New York Giants

Rainey signed with the

on April 11, 2016.

Baltimore Ravens (second stint)

On July 26, 2017, Rainey signed with the Ravens. On September 1, 2017, he was released by the Ravens during final roster cuts. He was re-signed on October 10, 2017, after an injury to Terrance West. In Week 6, against the Chicago Bears, he recorded a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown in the third quarter. On November 13, 2017, Rainey was released by the Ravens.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rainey, Bobby 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Griffin, Georgia American football running backs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football players Baltimore Ravens players Cleveland Browns players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New York Giants players