Ahmad Merritt
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Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
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| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | February 5, 1977 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 197 lb (89 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | St. Rita (Chicago) | ||||||||
| College | Wisconsin | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2000: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Ahmad Rashad Merritt (born February 5, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2000.
Merritt was a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Rush and Arizona Cardinals.
Merritt was born in Chicago and named after former NFL running back and wide receiver Ahmad Rashad, who was his father's favorite player at the time. Merritt attended St. Rita High School on Chicago's south side, where, as a senior, he earned All-America honors from Prep Football Report and SuperPrep. He had 63 receptions for 1,240 yards and 23 touchdowns throughout his high school career. Merritt was a grade school, high school, and college teammate of former NFL player Tony Simmons. Merritt and Simmons both played and caught touchdown passes in World Bowl IX. In 2012, Merritt was inducted into the St. Rita High School Hall of Fame.
College career
Merritt started 21 games at wide receiver but primarily served as a return specialist through his four years at Wisconsin. He finished his collegiate career with 36 receptions for 528 yards and two touchdowns, 28 kick returns for 521 yards and 25 punt returns for 165 yards.