Wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers had a spectacular sophomore season at the University of Tennessee, but got suspended for failed drug tests and wound up transferring to Tennessee Tech.
Rogers played well at that school and did well at the combine, but wound up going undrafted last year and the red flags from Knoxville looked like the biggest reason for that fate. Rogers signed with the Bills, got cut at the end of camp and then joined the Colts practice squad. Injuries and Darrius Heyward-Bey’s ineffectiveness gave him a chance and Rogers had 14 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns over the final five games of the season.
He didn’t fare as well in the postseason, including a pair of drops against New England, but Rogers still thinks he showed the Colts that they can trust him with a role on the team.
“I believe I showed the Colts that they can trust me, that I can come to work and be professional every day,” Rogers said, via Mike Wells of ESPN.com. “That stuff is in the past. It’s all about football for me. I’m still pretty disgusted with the loss and dropping those passes. I’m going to take a little bit of time off and then I’ll be back here in Indy working out all the time.”
Reggie Wayne should be back next season to go with T.Y. Hilton in the starting lineup, which leaves Rogers looking like a strong option to be the third receiver in Indianapolis next season. Given what he flashed in 2013 and what Wayne can do when healthy, that would make the Colts offense difficult to stop and should have the Colts hoping Rogers proves to be a man of his word.