Rishard Andre Matthews (born October 12, 1989) 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 ...

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 ...

for the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

, and was selected by 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 ...

in the seventh round of 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

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 ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Matthews was born on October 12, 1989, in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

. He attended

Saddleback High School Saddleback High School is a six-year IB secondary school located in Santa Ana, California, United States, and is part of the Santa Ana Unified School District. The school was established in 1967. Its mascot is the roadrunner, and its colors are ...

and lettered for the basketball team, averaging 9.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.3 blocks and 2.3 steals. In addition, he played for the

team.

College career

Matthews initially signed a letter of intent committing to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. Matthews attended

Bakersfield College Bakersfield College (BC) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in Bakersfield, California. BC serves about 31,000 students each semester or 46,500 annually, and offers associate degrees, certifica ...

before transferring to the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

. In his two years at Nevada, the first catching passes from

Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and former professional football quarterback. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he gained na ...

, he had 147 receptions for 2,243 yards and 13

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. While at Nevada, Matthews was named second-team all-WAC as a wide receiver.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Matthews was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round with the 227th overall selection of the

. He recorded his first reception in a 19–14 losing effort against 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 ...

on November 15. He finished the ''

Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to ...

'' game with one catch for 19 yards. Overall, he finished his rookie season with 11 receptions for 151 receiving yards. Matthews was one of only four receivers to make the final 53-man roster in 2013. This was crucial after seeing Dustin Keller go down in a preseason game against the Houston Texans. Matthews was a second-year player adding to the likes of

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...

Brian Hartline Brian Jack Hartline (born November 22, 1986) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Ohio State. He played college football at Ohio State, and was selected by the Miami D ...

, and Brandon Gibson. Matthews had his first two-touchdown game in another losing effort against 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 ...

on November 11, 2013. He finished the ''Monday Night Football'' game with 120 yards on 11 receptions. After Miami's Brandon Gibson went down in Week 11, Matthews received a large increase in targets and a number of starts. Matthews proved to be a reliable target, specifically in the Miami win against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

on December 15, 2013. Matthews caught a 24-yard reception to keep the drive alive in the 24–20 upset. The 2013 season came to an end with Matthews contributing 41 receptions for 448 yards and two touchdowns. The 2014 campaign was a lackluster performance for Matthews, who had emerged in 2013 as a reliable target, with the season ending prematurely for Matthews when off-field conduct resulted in his suspension for the final game against the

. While Matthews had shown promise, he finished the 2014 season with 12 catches on 21 targets for 135 yards and two touchdowns. In Week 7 of the 2015 season against 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 ...

, Matthews reeled in a then career-long 53-yard receiving touchdown in the first quarter of the 44–26 victory. On November 30, 2015, Matthews suffered multiple fractured ribs in the

' Week 12 loss to the

. On January 2, 2016, Matthews was placed on injured reserve. Overall, in the 2015 season, he finished with 43 receptions for 662 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns.

Tennessee Titans

On March 9, 2016, Matthews signed a three-year deal with the

. In his first season with the Titans, he set a career-high in receiving yards with 945 and with 9 receiving touchdowns. He led the Titans in both receiving yards and touchdowns. On September 24, 2017, Matthews scored a 55-yard touchdown during the Titans' 33–27 victory against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. On November 16, 2017, he scored a 75-yard touchdown as the Titans lost to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

by a score of 40–17. Overall, he finished the 2017 season with 53 receptions for 795 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. On August 21, 2018, Matthews signed a one-year contract extension with the Titans through the 2019 season. On September 26, Matthews requested his release from the Titans, citing a lack of playing time and targets. The team granted his request the next day and released him. Matthews finished with his time with the Titans with a total of 121 receptions, 1,751 receiving yards, and 13 receiving touchdowns.

New York Jets

On October 23, 2018, Matthews signed with the

. He played in five games recording just two catches for 13 yards before being placed on injured reserve on December 18, 2018.

New Orleans Saints

On June 13, 2019, Matthews signed with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. He was released on August 10, 2019, after leaving camp.

Retirement

On August 12, 2019, Matthews announced his retirement from the NFL.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Matthews's father, Andre Matthews, and half-brother, Christopher Ruiz, served in the Marines. Ruiz was killed in a plane crash in 2015 while working as a private defense contractor in Afghanistan.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Rishard 1989 births Living people Players of American football from San Diego American football wide receivers Bakersfield Renegades football players Nevada Wolf Pack football players Miami Dolphins players Tennessee Titans players New York Jets players New Orleans Saints players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen