Quick Facts
Biography
Rashean Jamil Mathis (/rəˈʃiːn/; born August 27, 1980) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Bethune-Cookman University, and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He also played for the Detroit Lions.
Early years
Mathis attended Englewood High School in Jacksonville at the same time as Brett Myers of the Chicago White Sox, and was a student and a letterman in football. In football, he was a second team All-State, All-Conference, and an All-City honoree. Also, claims being recruited out of high school for baseball was highlight of his athletic career. Central Florida Community College and Indian River Community Colleges offered him scholarships to play center field.
College career
Mathis enrolled in Bethune-Cookman University, where he played for the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats football team. He did not receive any scholarship offers from larger schools because he broke his leg during high school.
He currently holds the record for the most interceptions in a single season and in a career in collegiate football history.(2011)
In 2002, he won the Buck Buchanan Award for Division 1-AA (now FCS) defensive player of the year.
Professional career
Jacksonville Jaguars
Mathis had 81 tackles as a rookie. He played both safety and cornerback his rookie year. He converted to cornerback full-time in 2004. Mathis had 2 interceptions in his rookie year and another 10 interceptions combined in the two years following. He had his best year in 2006, collecting 8 interceptions (tied for third in the league) and being voted to the Pro Bowl where he started alongside Champ Bailey. He and John Henderson were the only Jaguars on the team to attend the Pro Bowl that year.
Mathis had his most significant game as a professional on January 5, 2008 in an AFC Wild Card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had 2 interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.
On December 1, 2008, Mathis sustained a knee injury against the Houston Texans and was put on the injured reserve list, ending his season.
On November 16, 2009, Mathis injured his groin while breaking up a pass in a win over the New York Jets. He would only play in one other game during the 2009 season, missing the rest because of the lingering injury.
On November 13, 2011, Mathis tore his ACL against the Indianapolis Colts, ending his season.
On March 8, 2012, Mathis agreed on a 1-year, $5 million contract with the Jaguars.
On March 5, 2013, the Jaguars announced they would not offer Mathis a new contract.
Detroit Lions
On August 17, 2013, Mathis signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions. He re-signed with the Lions on April 14, 2014. On March 19, 2015, the Lions re-signed Mathis to a two-year, $3.5 million contract.
On February 16, 2016, Mathis announced his retirement.
On April 13, 2016, Mathis signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jaguars franchise records
- Most career interceptions: 30
- Most career interception return yards: 512
- Most career defensive touchdowns: 3
- Most career passes defended: 99
NFL stats
| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | JAX | 16 | 81 | 71 | 10 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2004 | JAX | 16 | 63 | 53 | 10 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 42 | 8 | 21 | 0 | 16 |
| 2005 | JAX | 16 | 69 | 60 | 9 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 79 | 16 | 41 | 1 | 11 |
| 2006 | JAX | 16 | 63 | 56 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 146 | 18 | 55 | 0 | 12 |
| 2007 | JAX | 14 | 58 | 53 | 5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 6 |
| 2008 | JAX | 12 | 40 | 39 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 151 | 38 | 72 | 2 | 9 |
| 2009 | JAX | 10 | 33 | 29 | 4 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 46 | 15 | 29 | 0 | 7 |
| 2010 | JAX | 16 | 57 | 46 | 11 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 6 |
| 2011 | JAX | 9 | 34 | 32 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 2012 | JAX | 12 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2013 | DET | 15 | 47 | 44 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 2014 | DET | 16 | 51 | 42 | 9 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 1 | 9 |
| 2015 | DET | 7 | 31 | 28 | 3 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Career | 175 | 647 | 573 | 74 | 1.0 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 553 | 17 | 72 | 4 | 111 |
Key
- GP: games played
- COMB: combined tackles
- TOTAL: total tackles
- AST: assisted tackles
- SACK: sacks
- FF: forced fumbles
- FR: fumble recoveries
- FR YDS: fumble return yards
- INT: interceptions
- IR YDS: interception return yards
- AVG IR: average interception return
- LNG: longest interception return
- TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
- PD: passes defensed
- Jags re-sign Rashean Mathis to one-year, $5 million deal
- Sessler, Marc (August 17, 2013). "Rashean Mathis, Detroit Lions sign one-year contract". NFL.com. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
- Gantt, Darin. "Lions bring back Rashean Mathis for another year". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- Twentyman, Tim (March 18, 2015). "Lions re-sign cornerback Rashean Mathis". NFL.com. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
- Twentyman, Tim (March 19, 2015). "CB Rashean Mathis grateful to be back for year 13". NFL.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
- Patra, Kevin (February 16, 2016). "Lions CB Rashean Mathis announces retirement". NFL.com. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
- Carlyon, Hays (April 13, 2016). "Rashean Mathis touched by Jaguars honorary retirement ceremony". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
- ^ "Jacksonville Jaguars Defense Career Register". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- "Rashean Mathis Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
In the media
In 2006, Mathis appeared as a celebrity contestant on Wheel of Fortune during NFL Players Week.