Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers has a similar story to that of Tyrann Mathieu, just with less fan fare. Rogers entered the University of Tennessee in 2010 as one of the most highly regarded wide receivers coming out of the prep ranks.
Rogers led the Vols in receiving during the 2011 season, and looked to be headed towards stardom. In August of 2012 Rogers was dismissed from Tennessee for repeated failing drug test. Yes Rogers enjoyed marijuana as well.
Fast forward to now, and the supremely talented Rogers just went undrafted last month. Rogers signed with the Buffalo Bills as a free agent, with the understanding that this is his last chance.
“I cherish it like gold. This is it. This is my last opportunity,” Rogers said, via the Associated Press. “I’ve got to make the best of it.”
Rogers insist that he has grown up, and according to reports, he past 10 drug test at Tennessee Tech last season. Still Rogers knows that regardless of his talents, this is probably his final chance.
“I feel like I was one of the top receivers in the draft, but with the off-the-field issues that I had, the things that I was doing, it hit me and it hurt me,” he said. “It just makes the chip on my shoulder that much bigger. There’s a lot of doubters and a lot of haters out there. I’m here not to prove them wrong, but to show who I am and what I’m really about.”
The Bills insist that they’ve made it clear to Rogers, he gets one chance.
“It’s a one-shot deal,” head coach Doug Marrone said during a conference call with Bills season-ticket holders. “Either you’ve learned your lesson and you’ve grown up and you’re going to go forward and mature, or you haven’t learned your lesson and you’re going to be out on the street. It’s that simple.”