Ryquell Keeman Armstead (born October 30, 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 ...

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 ...

for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). 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 ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

and was drafted by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

in the fifth round of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

Early life

Armstead was born in

Bridgeton, New Jersey Bridgeton is a City (New Jersey), city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, Cumberland County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the county seat of Cumberland County Millville, New Jersey Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 27,491, a decrease of 909 (−3.2%) from the 2010 census count of 28,400, which in turn reflected an in ...

. He rushed for 1,488 yards and 18

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 ...

as a senior at Millville Senior High School, including a school-record 337 yards against

Absegami High School Absegami High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Galloway Township, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey The student body comes from Galloway Township.

College career

Armstead played four seasons for the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the college athletics, athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson (athletic director), Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and masco ...

. Armstead spent his first two seasons as a backup to starter

Jahad Thomas Jahad Thomas (born November 6, 1995) is an American former professional running back. He played college football at Temple University, where he earned second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors in 2016. He was signed by the Dallas Cowbo ...

and rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman. He received significantly more playing time as a sophomore and rushed for 919 yards on 156 carries and a team-leading 14 touchdowns as the Owls went on to win the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(AAC) championship. Armstead struggled with injuries in his first year as a starter, rushing for 604 yards and five touchdowns. As a senior, Armstead rushed for 1,098 yards on 210 carries (5.2 average) and scored 13 touchdowns. He was named first team All-AAC despite nagging injuries. Armstead finished his collegiate career as the Owls' fourth-leading rusher with 2,812 yards and fourth in school history with 34 rushing touchdowns.

College statistics

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars (first stint)

Armstead was drafted by the

in the fifth round with the 140th overall pick in the

. Armstead signed a rookie contract with the Jaguars on May 9, 2019. Armstead made his NFL debut in the Jaguars season opener on September 8, 2019, gaining seven yards on a single carry in a 40–26 loss to 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 ...

. Armstead scored his first career touchdown, a seven-yard

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another p ...

(also the first of his career) from Gardner Minshew, on September 29, 2019, against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. Armstead finished his rookie season with 35 carries for 108 rushing yards and 14 receptions for 144 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Armstead was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the team on August 2, 2020. He was activated on August 20. He was placed back on the COVID-19 list on September 4, 2020. On October 25, 2020, it was reported that he would miss the rest of the season due to COVID-19 and that he had been hospitalized twice having significant respiratory issues. He was waived after the season on May 17, 2021.

New York Giants

On May 18, 2021, Armstead was claimed off waivers by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He was waived on June 24.

New Orleans Saints

On October 6, 2021, Armstead was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, 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. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of 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 ...

. On October 28, 2021, Armstead was waived by the Saints.

Green Bay Packers

On November 3, 2021, Armstead was signed 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 ...

practice squad.

Jacksonville Jaguars (second stint)

On December 22, 2021, Armstead was signed to the active roster of the Jaguars. He was waived on August 29, 2022.

DC Defenders

On November 17, 2022, Armstead was drafted by the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

of the XFL. He played in 8 games, rushing for 218 yards before being released on April 20, 2023.

Ottawa Redblacks

On June 30, 2023, Armstead signed with the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

of the

. In

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, he played in 11 regular season games, where he recorded 625 rushing yards and 284 receiving yards and scored three touchdowns prior to his in-season release on September 3, 2024.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On September 16, 2024, Armstead signed with the

along with linebacker Braxton Hill. Armstead rushed for 207 yards on 25 carries in his Riders debut on September 20th.

References

External links

Saskatchewan Roughriders bio

Temple Owls bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstead, Ryquell 1996 births Living people American football running backs Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Giants players New Orleans Saints players Green Bay Packers players DC Defenders players Ottawa Redblacks players Millville High School (New Jersey) alumni Sportspeople from Bridgeton, New Jersey Sportspeople from Millville, New Jersey Players of American football from Cumberland County, New Jersey Temple Owls football players Canadian football running backs Players of Canadian football from New Jersey Saskatchewan Roughriders players