Rodrick Rochelle Monroe (July 31, 1976 – May 7, 2017) was an American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

and Cleveland Browns. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round of the

1998 NFL Draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the University of Cincinnati.

Early years

Monroe attended Hearne High School in Hearne, Texas, where he was an All-district tight end. As a senior, he was a McDonald's All-American selection in basketball. He first enrolled at McLennan Community College, where he was one of the top rebounders in junior college. He transferred to the University of Cincinnati after his sophomore season, where he played for the basketball team under coach Bob Huggins, along with future

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

players

Danny Fortson Daniel Anthony Fortson (born March 27, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center position in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1997 to 2007. Early life Although born in P ...

and Ruben Patterson. Monroe averaged 3.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in the 1995-96 season, backing up Fortson at small forward and helping the team win the Conference USA title and reach the NCAA Elite Eight. His best game was against the University of Arizona, collecting 11 points and 7 rebounds. He averaged 4.6 points and 2.5 rebounds in the 1996-97 season, contributing to the team winning the Conference USA title and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament second round. He also was considered the strongest player on the team, bench-pressing 415 pounds and leg-pressing 1,130 pounds, both basketball school records at the time. In 1997, he walked-on to the football team as a fifth year senior in August, after being out of football for 4 years. He became a regular starter at tight end when Josh Anderson suffered a torn ACL against the University of Houston on October 18. He was used mostly as a blocker, finishing with 4 starts, 2 receptions for 33 yards, one touchdown and 30 knockdown blocks.

Professional career

Monroe was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round (237th overall) of the

. He was waived on August 24. On September 1,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, he was signed by the

. Monroe was deactivated for Super Bowl XXXIII. He was released on August 19,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. On August 22,

, he was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Monroe was cut from the practice squad on September 6. The Miami Dolphins signed him to their practice squad on September 26,

. He was released on October 10. On December 7,

, he was signed by the Cleveland Browns to their

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. In the 2001 offseason Monroe was allocated to the

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

, where he caught 23 passes for 362 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was placed on the injured reserve list in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Personal life

Monroe was the youngest of 7 brothers and 3 sisters. He died on May 7, 2017, after suffering a heart attack while exercising. He was 40 years old at the time of his death.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monroe, Rodrick 1976 births 2017 deaths People from Hearne, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football tight ends African-American players of American football McLennan Community College alumni Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players Cincinnati Bearcats football players Atlanta Falcons players Jacksonville Jaguars players Miami Dolphins players Frankfurt Galaxy players Cleveland Browns players American men's basketball players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople