Chris Rowland
American football player (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chris Rowland (born December 19, 1997) is an American football wide receiver for the Orlando Storm of the United Football League (UFL). Rowland played college football for the Tennessee State Tigers. After college, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Rowland also played for the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Stars.
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Nolensville, Tennessee, U.S.
Rowland with the DC Defenders in 2025 | |||||
| No. 12 – Orlando Storm | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born | December 19, 1997 Nolensville, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school | Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tennessee) | ||||
| College | Tennessee State (2016–2019) | ||||
| NFL draft | 2020: undrafted | ||||
| Career history | |||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Early life
Rowland attended Ravenwood High School for high school. Rowland mostly played in the running back position at Ravenwood. After graduating in 2016, Rowland opted to play for Tennessee State.[1]
College career
In the 2019 college football season, Rowland was the only player in Division I to record a touchdown via a kick return, punt return, reception, and rush. He also broke the HBCU record for most receptions in a single season, a record which was previously set by Jerry Rice.[2] For his efforts, he was named first-team all-conference as both a receiver and kick returner and received the Deacon Jones Trophy as the best player at an HBCU.[3]
Statistics
| Season | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Kick returns | Punt returns | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2016 | Tennessee State | 11 | 3 | 16 | 236 | 14.7 | 0 | 14 | 57 | 4.1 | 0 | 42 | 992 | 23.6 | 0 | 13 | 111 | 8.5 | 0 |
| 2017 | Tennessee State | 10 | 3 | 17 | 178 | 10.5 | 1 | 19 | 113 | 5.9 | 0 | 16 | 312 | 19.5 | 0 | 5 | 84 | 16.8 | 0 |
| 2018 | Tennessee State | 8 | 8 | 57 | 727 | 12.8 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 37.0 | 0 | 14 | 182 | 13.0 | 1 |
| 2019 | Tennessee State | 12 | 12 | 104 | 1,437 | 13.8 | 8 | 19 | 132 | 6.9 | 1 | 15 | 375 | 25.0 | 1 | 14 | 166 | 11.9 | 1 |
| Career | 41 | 26 | 194 | 2,578 | 13.3 | 14 | 55 | 319 | 5.8 | 1 | 74 | 1,716 | 23.2 | 1 | 46 | 543 | 11.8 | 1 | |
Professional career
Atlanta Falcons
Rowland signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent following the 2020 NFL draft on April 27, 2020.[4] He was waived during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020,[5] and signed to the team's practice squad the next day.[6] He was elevated to the active roster on December 26 and January 2, 2021, for the team's weeks 16 and 17 games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[7][8] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021.[9]
On August 31, 2021, Rowland was waived by the Falcons.[10]
Tennessee Titans
On November 10, 2021, Rowland was signed to the Tennessee Titans practice squad.[11] He was released on November 23.[12]
Philadelphia Stars
On March 10, 2022, Rowland was drafted by the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League.[13] He was transferred to the team's inactive roster on April 22, 2022,[14] with a shoulder injury.[15] He was transferred to the active roster on April 30.[16]
Rowland was placed on injured reserve by the team on May 8, 2023.[17] He re-signed with the team on October 1, 2023.[18] Following the merger of the USFL with the XFL, the Stars folded.[19]
DC Defenders
On January 15, 2024, Rowland was selected by the DC Defenders in the second round of the Super Draft portion of the 2024 UFL dispersal draft.[20] He was named to the 2024 All-UFL team on June 5, 2024.[21] He re-signed with the Defenders on October 7, 2024.[22] On June 2, 2025, Rowland was named to the All-UFL team as a receiver and return specialist.[23]
Orlando Storm
On January 13, 2026, Rowland was selected by the Orlando Storm in the 2026 UFL Draft.[24]
Career statistics
NFL regular season
USFL/UFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| League champion | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | League | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Kick returns | Punt returns | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |||
| 2022 | PHI | USFL | 9 | 2 | 21 | 215 | 10.2 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 114 | 28.5 | 43 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023 | PHI | 3 | 1 | 9 | 83 | 9.2 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 322 | 24.8 | 46 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2024 | DC | UFL | 10 | 3 | 20 | 262 | 13.1 | 46 | 3 | 4 | 29 | 7.3 | 13 | 0 | 45 | 1,223 | 27.2 | 84 | 1 | 12 | 142 | 11.8 | 45 | 0 |
| 2025 | DC | 10 | 8 | 42 | 522 | 12.4 | 65T | 3 | 5 | 40 | 8.0 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 393 | 21.8 | 38 | 0 | 11 | 114 | 10.4 | 17 | 0 | |
| Career | 32 | 14 | 92 | 1,082 | 11.8 | 65 | 8 | 16 | 114 | 7.1 | 18 | 0 | 80 | 2,052 | 25.7 | 84 | 1 | 23 | 256 | 11.1 | 45 | 0 | ||