Russell Gage Jr. (born January 22, 1996) 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 ...

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 ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

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

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

, and was selected by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in the sixth round of the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

Early life

Gage attended and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Redemptorist High School.

College career

Gage attended and played

at LSU from 2014 to 2017. He played

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for his first two seasons, but was brought onto the offense in Week 7 of his junior year for a key victory over #22

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, where he led the run-heavy Tigers with five catches for 62 yards and a

touchdown 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 ...

, his only receptions of the season. He was used as both a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and receiver in his senior year, generating four touchdowns on just 49 touches. He also recorded 11

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

as a

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

gunner.

College statistics

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

With modest college stats, Gage was not invited to the

combine Combine may refer to: Machinery * Combine harvester, or combine, a machine to harvest grain crops * Seed drill, or combine seeder, a machine to plant seeds Company structure * Corporate group, an industrial business group in Western democrac ...

of any of the major award games, but attracted attention after an exceptional Pro Day and strong endorsement of his work ethic by coaches. Gage was drafted by the

in the sixth round with the 194th overall pick in the

, four rounds behind fellow LSU wide receiver D. J. Chark. In Week 6, 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 ...

, Gage recorded his first professional reception, which went for six yards. As a rookie, he totaled six receptions for 63 yards in 15 games on a team with deep talent at receiver. In Week 13 of the 2019 season, Gage recorded his first professional receiving touchdown against 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 ...

. Overall, Gage finished the 2019 season with 49 receptions for 446 receiving yards (fourth on the team behind

Calvin Ridley Calvin Orin Ridley (born December 20, 1994) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he was a part of the n ...

, and pro-bowl-bound

Julio Jones Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones Jr. ( ; born February 8, 1989) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Atlanta Falcons. He played college foo ...

and

Austin Hooper Austin Manuel Hooper (born October 29, 1994) is an American professional American football, football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal football, Sta ...

) and one receiving touchdown. With Jones injured for seven games and the departure of Hooper, in 2020 Gage became the second leading receiver for the 4–12 Falcons. Gage's breakthrough game came in the home opener of September 13, a loss to 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 ...

where he had 114 receiving yards on nine receptions. In the following week's game against 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 ...

, Gage caught six passes for 46 yards and another touchdown during the 40–39 loss. In Week 14, against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, he threw a 39-yard touchdown reception to

in the 20–17 loss. Gage finished the 2020 season with 72 receptions for 786 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. The 2021 season was highlighted by 11 receptions for 130 yards in a 30–17 loss to the Buccaneers in Week 13, and catching 9 of 13 targets for 126 yards and a touchdown in a Week 18 loss to the Saints. The touchdown was both Gage's and quarterback Matt Ryan's last touchdowns as Atlanta Falcons. Gage missed two games due to injuries, but still was the Falcons' second leading receiver, behind rookie pro-bowler Kyle Pitts. Gage finished the 2021 season with 66 receptions for 770 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns in 14 games.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 18, 2022, Gage signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Buccaneers. Gage spent five weeks on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. He had a career-best 12 receptions (for 87 yards and a touchdown) in a Week 3 loss to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. He had his first career multi-touchdown game in a Week 14 loss to 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 ...

. Gage finished the 2022 season with 51 receptions for 426 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns in 13 games. On January 16, 2023, Gage suffered a neck injury during a

Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is an invitation to a tournament or a playoff berth awarded to a team or individual that does not qualify via an automatic bid. In some events, wildcards ...

playoff game against the Cowboys and was carted off the field. It was confirmed after the game by

Todd Bowles Todd Robert Bowles (born November 18, 1963) is an American professional American football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head coach ...

that Gage had suffered a concussion from the contact and was being evaluated in a local hospital. The following morning, it was confirmed by the team that Gage "had movement in all extremities" and would remain hospitalized with more testing planned. By Tuesday afternoon, it was reported by Bowles that Gage was planned to be released from the hospital by the end of the day. In 2023 during training camp, Gage suffered a torn patellar tendon and was placed on injured reserve on August 21, 2023. On March 11, 2024, the Buccaneers chose to not pick up the option for the last year of Gage's contract, making him a free agent in the 2024 offseason.

Baltimore Ravens

On August 6, 2024, Gage signed with the

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

. On August 26, he was released by the Ravens as part of final roster cuts for the start of the 2024 season.

San Francisco 49ers

On November 5, 2024, Gage was signed to the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 7, 2025.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bioLSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gage, Russell 1996 births Living people American football wide receivers Atlanta Falcons players Baltimore Ravens players LSU Tigers football players Players of American football from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Tampa Bay Buccaneers players San Francisco 49ers players