Gregory Rousseau (born April 5, 2000) 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for 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 ...

of 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

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

freshman there in 2019, he recorded 15.5 sacks and won all-conference honors and was named ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. Rousseau was selected by the Bills in the first round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

Early life and college

Born to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

an parents from New York, Rousseau attended

Champagnat Catholic School Champagnat Catholic School is a private Catholic school with a campus in Hialeah, Florida, United States. Established in 1968, the school used to serve students in sixth through twelfth grades. The school closed sometime around June 27, 2022, aan ...

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in Miami-Da ...

. He played

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

and

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 ...

in high school. He committed to the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

to play

. Rousseau played in the first two games of his true freshman year in 2018 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury and

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. He entered his redshirt freshman year in 2019, as a backup but eventually took over as starter later in the season. He was named ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year after recording 15.5 sacks that season, second in the nation behind only

Chase Young Chase Young (born April 14, 1999) is an American professional football defensive end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he was a unanimous All-America ...

's 16.5. He opted out of the 2020 season due to concerns regarding 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 ...

Professional career

Rousseau was selected by the

in the first round (30th overall) in the

. He signed his four-year

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

contract, worth $11.37 million, on June 4, 2021. During Week 2 of the 2021 season, Rousseau was nominated for NFL Rookie of the Week honors with five tackles, two sacks, and two tackles made behind the line of scrimmage. Rousseau recorded his first career

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

on October 10, 2021, in a 38-20 Week 5 Sunday night win against

Patrick Mahomes Patrick Lavon Mahomes II ( ; born September 17, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Mahomes has led the Chiefs to seven consecutive AFC Championship Game app ...

and 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 ...

, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week. In his rookie season, Rousseau finished with four sacks, 50 total tackles, one interception, four passes defended, and one forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

. In the 2022 season, he finished with eight sacks, 37 total tackles, four passes defended, and forced fumble in 13 games. His best performance of the year came in week 14 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 ...

, in which he recorded 2 sacks, including a forced fumble, and a pass defensed, contributing to a 20–12 Buffalo win one week after the team's leading pass rusher

Von Miller Vonnie B'VSean Miller (born March 26, 1989) is an American professional American football, football linebacker. Miller played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies football, Texas A&M Aggies, where he earned consensus College Football All-A ...

suffered a season-ending knee injury against 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 ...

on Thanksgiving. Milano and Rousseau vs Becton

On April 29, 2024, the Bills picked up the fifth-year option on Rousseau's contract. In Week 1, he recorded six tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble in a 34-28 win over the Cardinals, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week. On March 8, 2025, Rousseau signed a four-year $80 million contract extension with the Bills, with $54 million guaranteed.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

*
Buffalo Bills bioMiami Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rousseau, Gregory 2000 births Living people Sportspeople from Coconut Creek, Florida Players of American football from Broward County, Florida American football defensive ends Miami Hurricanes football players Buffalo Bills players American sportspeople of Haitian descent