Robert Ayers
refer to caption
Ayers with the Denver Broncos in 2009
No. 56, 91
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1985-09-06) September 6, 1985
Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:275 lb (125 kg)
Career information
High school:Bennettsville (SC) Marlboro
College:Tennessee (2004–2008)
NFL Draft:2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:257
Sacks:35.0
Pass deflections:14
Forced fumbles:8
Fumble recoveries:3
Defensive touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

Robert Ayers (born September 6, 1985) is a former American football defensive end that played 10 years in the NFL. He played college football at Tennessee and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He has also played for the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Early years

Ayers was born in Jersey City, New Jersey where he attended the Sacred Heart School until the eighth grade. He spent part of his freshman year at Hoboken High School in 1999–2000 before moving to Clio, South Carolina,[1] where he attended Marlboro County High School in Bennettsville. He was an All-State linebacker and was selected to play in the 2003 Shrine Bowl as a senior. That season, he recorded 112 tackles and intercepted five passes. As a junior, he had 94 tackles, eight sacks, and three interceptions. In addition to football, he also lettered twice in track as a sprinter, running the 100-meter dash and 4 x 100 metres relay.

College career

Ayers began at the University of Tennessee as a redshirt outside linebacker in 2004.[2] As a sophomore, he moved to defensive end and was a backup, recording five tackles and one sack. In 2006, he once again was a backup, totaling 25 tackles and one sack. In 2007, Ayers was once again a backup, but led the team with four sacks and 12 tackles for losses. He also had 34 tackles, two pass breakups and four quarterback pressures. As a senior in 2008 Ayers became a starter at right defensive end, recording 49 tackles, three sacks, and a team and league leading 15.5 tackles for losses. He also had six pressures and an interception.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeight40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench pressWonderlic
6 ft 3+1⁄8 in
(1.91 m)		 272 lb
(123 kg)		 4.78 s1.62 s2.78 s4.46 s7.07 s29+1⁄2 in
(0.75 m)		8 ft 6 in
(2.59 m)		18 reps29
20-ss and 3-cone from Tennessee Pro Day, all others from NFL Combine[3][4][5]

Denver Broncos

Ayers was drafted by the Denver Broncos as the second one of their two first round picks at 18th overall of the 2009 NFL Draft.[6] The Broncos drafted Ayers with the first round pick that was traded from the Chicago Bears in exchange for Jay Cutler. On August 4, 2009, Ayers signed a five-year contract with $9.7 million guaranteed.[7] In his rookie season, he recorded 19 tackles and no sacks. He recorded his first professional sack in week 1 of the 2010 season against David Garrard of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ayers's second season was a bit of a disappointment to fans who were hoping for high production from the former first-round draft selection. In 2010, Ayers started in ten games as an outside linebacker and recorded 39 tackles and 1.5 sacks.[8]

During the 2011 offseason, Ayers and rookie linebacker Nate Irving swapped jersey numbers (giving Ayers No. 91 and Irving No. 56—Ayers' former number). After a brief legal dispute with Reebok, Ayers eventually got to wear No. 91, which was his college number. "Fifty-six was a nice number," said Ayers, "but I kind of see this as a new beginning for me. We've got a new coaching staff, and I want to get back to my roots."

With a new number and new position (moved from outside linebacker to defensive end, his more-natural position), Ayers was looking to improve in his third season. Starting in 13 games, Ayers recorded 39 tackles and 3.0 sacks (all career highs) while showing improvement against the run. Ayers spent time at defensive end in Denver's base 4-3 defense and rotated to defensive tackle in certain nickel defensive sets during the 2011 season.

Ayers began the 2012 season as a backup under new defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.

In the 2013 season, the Broncos reached Super Bowl XLVIII, but fell to the Seattle Seahawks, 43–8. Ayers recorded one tackle in the game.[9]

New York Giants

Ayers signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the New York Giants on April 2, 2014.[10] He was placed on season ending injured reserve on December 2, 2014, after suffering a torn pectoral muscle. In 2015, Ayers set a career record for sacks and led all Giants players in that category with 9.5 sacks despite missing 4 games.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 12, 2016, Ayers agreed to a three-year, $21 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[11] On September 11, Ayers recorded a sack in his Buccaneers debut, bringing down Matt Ryan in a 31–24 win over the Atlanta Falcons.[12] Ayers was sidelined for five weeks due to an ankle injury.[13][14] On November 13, he recorded a season-high 1.5 sacks and five tackles, as well as forcing fumble in the end zone, resulting as a safety in a 36-10 blowout win over the Chicago Bears.[15] Ayers wrapped up his first year as a Buccaneer with 6.5 sacks, 29 tackles, and a forced fumble.

On October 22, 2017, Ayers brought down his first sack of the season, dropping Tyrod Taylor in a 27–30 loss to the Buffalo Bills.[16] On November 5, Ayers recorded a strip-sack against the New Orleans Saints.[17] He missed Week 12 & 13 due to a concussion.[18][19] Ayers played two more games, but missed the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.[20] He finished the season with two sacks, 31 tackles, and two forced fumbles.

On March 17, 2018, Ayers was released by the Buccaneers.[21]

Detroit Lions

On August 27, 2018, Ayers signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions,[22] but was released the next day.[23]

Retirement

After sitting out the entire 2018 season, Ayers announced his retirement on July 16, 2019.[24]

Coaching

• 2021 season Defensive Coordinator at Knoxville Catholic High School (Knoxville, Tennessee).
• 2022 season Defensive Coordinator at Oak Ridge High School (Oak Ridge, Tennessee).

Career statistics

YearTeamGPCOMBTOTALASTSACKFFFRFR YDSINTIR YDSAVG IRLNGTDPD
2009DEN 15191440.00254000002
2010DEN 11393271.5100000001
2011DEN 163925163.0110000002
2012DEN 1516882.0000000002
2013DEN 15292675.5100000000
2014NYG 12221845.0100000001
2015NYG 124131109.0200000004
2016TB 12292186.5100000001
2017TB 123120112.0200000000
Career1202651957534.593540000013

[25]

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

References

  1. ↑ Villanova, Patrick (January 28, 2014). "Super Bowl 2014: Jersey City's Robert Ayers relishes chance to return to former grammar school". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Robert Ayers College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Robert Ayers". NFL Draft Scout.com. March 25, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
  4. ↑ NFL.com
  5. ↑ Nawrocki, Nolan (April 21, 2009). "The Way We Hear It — draft edition". Pro Football Weeklywebsite. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
  6. ↑ "2009 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Ayers signs 5-year deal". ESPN.com. August 3, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Robert Ayers 2010 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Super Bowl XLVIII - Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos - February 2nd, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  10. ↑ Giants sign Defensive End Robert Ayers
  11. ↑ Knoblauch, Austin (March 11, 2016). "Robert Ayers agrees to 3-year, $21M deal with Bucs". NFL.com. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  12. ↑ Kania, Joe (September 11, 2016). "Bucs Defeat Falcons, 31-24, in Week 1". Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  13. ↑ Laine, Jenna (September 18, 2016). "Bucs' Martin leaves game with hamstring injury". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  14. ↑ Auman, Greg (November 4, 2016). "Bucs lose RB Antone Smith, DE Howard Jones for season with injuries". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  15. ↑ Kania, Joe (November 13, 2016). "5 Standouts from Bucs vs. Bears". Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  16. ↑ Philipse, Sander (October 23, 2017). "Four winners, four losers for the Buccaneers against the Bills". Bucs Nation. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  17. ↑ "5 Key Takeaways from Bucs vs. Saints". Tampa Bay Buccaneers. November 6, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  18. ↑ Phillipse, Sander (November 22, 2017). "Robert Ayers, Evan Smith miss Buccaneers practice with concussions". Bucs Nation. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  19. ↑ Phillipse, Sander (December 8, 2017). "Robert Ayers and Doug Martin cleared from concussion protocol". Bucs Nation. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  20. ↑ Vitali, Carmen (January 30, 2018). "2017 Player Recap: Robert Ayers Jr". Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  21. ↑ Vitali, Carmen (March 17, 2018). "Bucs Release Robert Ayers Jr". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Lions sign free agent DE Robert Ayers and waive CB Josh Okonye". DetroitLions.com. August 27, 2018.
  23. ↑ Alper, Josh (August 28, 2018). "Lions release Robert Ayers a day after signing him". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  24. ↑ Alper, Josh (July 16, 2019). "Robert Ayers calls it a career". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Robert Ayers Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
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