Nicholas Alexander Roach (born June 16, 1985) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

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 was signed by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

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 2007. 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 Northwestern. Roach was also a member of 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 ...

and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Early life

Roach attended high school at

Milwaukee Lutheran High School Milwaukee Lutheran Middle & High School is a school located in Milwaukee, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The school was originally known as Lutheran High School (Milwaukee), Lutheran High School, established in 1903, making Milwaukee Lutheran o ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

where he lettered in football, basketball, and track.

College career

Roach attended Northwestern (2003–06) where he started 32 career games. He finished his career with 241 tackles, 9.0 sacks, 16 TFLs and 2 interceptions. He was named Academic All-Big Ten and team co-MVP as a senior despite having his season cut short due to a broken leg. He led the Wildcats with 62 tackles despite playing in just eight games in 2006. He was Northwestern’s second-leading tackler as a junior with 77 stops, Roach earned NGN Defensive Newcomer of the Year Award as a sophomore after finishing second on the team with 7.5 TFLs. He played in all 13 games as a freshman.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Roach went undrafted in 2007 and was signed by the Chicago Bears after being cut from the Chargers. That season, he played in only 3 games, starting none. In 2008, he saw increased playing time, starting nine games and tallying 28 solo tackles in addition to nine assists. 2009 saw Roach make his biggest impact yet on defense, starting 15 games for the Bears. He had 54 solo tackles, 28 assists, two sacks and three fumble recoveries. On March 6, 2011, Roach was a guest on Chalk Them Up Radio to review the Chicago Bears run to the NFC Championship Game. In 2012, Roach and

Stephen Paea Stephen Paea ( ; born May 11, 1988) is a New Zealand former American football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers football, Oregon State Beavers, earnin ...

were awarded the

Brian Piccolo Award The Brian Piccolo Award is an honor that is given to players of the Chicago Bears. The award is given to one rookie and one veteran per season who best exemplifies the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor of the late Brian P ...

Oakland Raiders

Roach signed with the

on March 15, 2013. Roach played in all 16 games and lead the team in tackles during the 2013 season. Due to lingering concussion symptoms that involve issues with his balance and vision, the Raiders released him on March 6, 2015.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Roach married on February 18, 2012.

References

External links

Nick Roach Website

Oakland Raiders bio

Chicago Bears bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roach, Nick 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Milwaukee American football linebackers Northwestern Wildcats football players San Diego Chargers players Chicago Bears players Oakland Raiders players Brian Piccolo Award winners