Dennis Roland Jr. (born March 10, 1983) is an American former 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

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) for the

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

. 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 ...

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Early life

Roland attended Bolivar High School. As a senior, he received All-Central Ozark Conference honors at tackle on both offense and defense. He also practiced

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. He accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a sophomore, he started the last 2 games of the season. As a junior, teammate Max Jean-Gilles moved to

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

, allowing Roland to replace him as a starter at tackle. As a senior, he contributed to the team defeating

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

by a score of 34–14, to win the

2005 SEC Championship Game The 2005 Dr. Pepper SEC Championship Game was played on December 3, 2005 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The game determined the 2005 football champion of the Southeastern Conference. The Georgia Bulldogs, winners of the Eastern division of the ...

. He started 24 out of 25 games, during his final two seasons.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Roland was signed 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 ...

by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

after the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

on May 4. He was released before the start of the season on September 4.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On September 4, 2006, he signed as a

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 ...

with 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 spent the season on the

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. On September 1, 2007, he was released. He was signed to the

for 13 games. On October 2, he was promoted to the active roster and was declared inactive in 2 regular-season games (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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

). On October 19, he was cut and re-signed to the practice squad on October 23. He was released on August 30, 2008.

Cincinnati Bengals

On September 3, 2008, he was signed by the

to the

. He was released on September 11. He was re-signed to the

on September 16. He spent the first 10 games on the

. On November 19, he was promoted to the active roster and was active-DNP for games 11 to 14. On December 21, he made his NFL debut against 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 ...

, subbing in fourth quarter at

right tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

for an injured

Stacy Andrews Stacy Dewayne Andrews (born June 2, 1981) is an American former professional football offensive tackle. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft. He played college football at Ole Miss. Andrews also pla ...

. On December 20, he started in place of Andrews against 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 ...

. In 2009, he appeared in 16 games with 12 starts (9 at

and 3 at

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 started the Wild Card playoff game against the

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

. He contributed to the team winning the AFC North conference and finishing ninth in the league in rushing (128.5 yards per game), including a team-record of eight games of 100 or more yards by individual running backs. His pass blocking helped the team rank ninth in league in fewest sacks allowed (29). He helped

Cedric Benson Cedric Myron Benson (December 28, 1982 – August 17, 2019) was an American professional football player who spent eight years as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packe ...

rush for a career-high 189 yards against 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. In 2010, he appeared in 16 games with 12 starts. In 2011, he appeared in 16 games with 3 starts, when the team opened the game in extra

formation. He was a backup

, an extra

on selected plays and also played on special teams. In 2012, he appeared in 16 games with 2 starts. On August 31, 2013, he was released before the start of the season. On September 4, he was re-signed and appeared in 3 games. He was cut on September 25. He was re-signed on December 3 and appeared in 2 additional games. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

Chicago Bears

On July 31, 2014, he signed as a

with the

. He was released before the start of the season on August 29.

Personal life

Roland's father, Dennis Sr., served as the head football coach at

Olivet Nazarene University Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) is a private Nazarene university in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Named for its founding location, Olivet, Illinois, ONU was originally established as a grammar school in east-central Illinois in 1907. In the late 1930 ...

from 1986 to 1990.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roland, Dennis 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Missouri People from Polk County, Missouri Sportspeople from the Springfield metropolitan area, Missouri American football offensive tackles Georgia Bulldogs football players Dallas Cowboys players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Cincinnati Bengals players Chicago Bears players