Chase Cota (born November 9, 1999) 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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. 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 ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

College career

Cota began his

. During his freshman year in 2018, he appeared in all 12 games, being one of only to freshmen on the offense to do so, and had 13 receptions for 168 yards. During his sophomore year in 2019, he played in all 12 games, making 10 starts, and had 25 receptions for 350 yards and three touchdowns. He had the second-highest yards-per-reception average on the team with 14.0. During his junior year in 2020 he played in all seven games, making five starts, and had 11 receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns in a season that was cancelled 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 ...

. During his senior year in 2021 he played in all 12 games, making 10 starts, and had 18 receptions for 286 yards and one touchdown. He placed second in yards per catch on the team, gaining an average of 15.9 yards per reception. On February 18, 2022, Cota announced he was transferring to

, the same college his father

Chad Cota Chad Cota (born August 8, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He attended Ashland High School and played college football for the Oregon Ducks. He was selected by t ...

attended. He finished his career at UCLA with 67 receptions for 883 yards and six touchdowns. During his fifth-year senior year in 2022 he played in 10 of Oregon's 13 games, making nine starts, and had 36 receptions for 497 yards, and a career-high three touchdowns. He played the first eight games of the season, before getting injured on October 29, 2022, in a game against

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. As a result, he missed the next three games due to injury. At the time of his injury he was the team's second-leading receiver in yards with 313, trailing only Troy Franklin. Following the season he was named an All-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention. He finished his college career with 103 receptions for 1,380 yards and nine touchdowns in 53 games.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

On May 12, 2023, the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

signed Cota to a three-year, $2.71 million contract as an undrafted free agent. During his preseason debut on August 11, 2023, in a game against 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 ...

, he led the team with four receptions on seven targets for 60 yards. He was waived on August 29, 2023.

Kansas City Chiefs

On September 26, 2023, Cota was signed 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

' practice squad. He was released on December 5.

Houston Texans

On December 12, 2023, the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

signed Cota to their practice squad, joining him with his cousin, Brady Breeze. He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent when his practice squad contract expired.

New York Giants

On January 23, 2024, Cota signed a reserve/future contract with the

. On June 18, 2024, Cota was placed on injured reserve after suffering a fractured collarbone during minicamp. He was released on September 13.

Personal life

Cota is the son of former professional football player

, and the cousin of current

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 ...

safety Brady Breeze.

References

External links

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Oregon Ducks bio

UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cota, Chase 1999 births Living people Sportspeople from Medford, Oregon Players of American football from Oregon American football wide receivers Detroit Lions players Kansas City Chiefs players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Oregon Ducks football players UCLA Bruins football players New York Giants players