Naaman Roosevelt
Naaman Ishhod Roosevelt is an American former professional football wide receiver who is currently the receivers coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. During his playing career, he was a member of the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Montreal Alouettes, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He played college football for the Buffalo Bulls.
Early life
Roosevelt was raised in the East Side of Buffalo in an area which he described as violent. In that environment, he later said, it was difficult to think past the next day and his peers "didn't think about going to college and things like that." Roosevelt said that outlook changed when he was recruited to attend St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, a private school in suburban Tonawanda.At St. Joseph's, Roosevelt played basketball and football as a quarterback and kick returner. As a senior in 2005, he threw a Western New York record 35 touchdown passes and was named the Buffalo News' Player of the Year.
College career
The University at Buffalo was the only school to offer Roosevelt a scholarship to play offense; New Hampshire offered him a scholarship to play cornerback. Roosevelt was the first player successfully recruited by new head coach Turner Gill. Roosevelt accepted the offer on the condition that he be allowed to compete for the starting quarterback role.Roosevelt lost the quarterback job to returning sophomore starter Drew Willy. Roosevelt was converted to wide receiver as a freshman and started seven games, catching 31 passes and 2 touchdowns. In his second year, the wide receiver caught 63 passes and 4 touchdowns. In his junior season, Roosevelt dramatically increased his production, catching 104 passes, primarily from Willy.
On September 13, 2008, Roosevelt caught a Hail Mary pass from quarterback Drew Willy as time expired to beat the Temple Owls at UB Stadium. Also in his junior season, Buffalo won the 2008 MAC Championship Game against Nate Davis and the Ball State Cardinals. Roosevelt's 104 receptions was one short of the MAC Conference record at the time. His 13 touchdowns in 2008 set a school record.
In 2009, he caught 70 passes for 9 touchdowns. On September 19, 2009, he threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jesse Rack against Central Florida. Although a star quarterback in high school, it was the only touchdown pass of his college career.
, Roosevelt still held school records for career receiving yards, career receptions, single-season receiving yards and single-season receptions. In February 2023, he was inducted into UB's athletics hall of fame.
Professional career
Buffalo Bills (first stint)
Roosevelt went undrafted in the 2010 NFL draft. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Buffalo Bills on April 24. Roosevelt was cut by the Bills on final cuts on September 4, 2010, but signed to their practice squad on September 5, 2010. On November 27, 2010, Roosevelt was promoted to the active roster after coach Chan Gailey said he did an "excellent job" on the practice squad. He made his NFL debut the following day in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The following week, he recorded the only tackle of his NFL career, bringing down Greg Camarillo after a 17-yard punt return. On December 19, 2010, he was targeted with and caught the first passes of his NFL career, reeling in two of three throws from Ryan Fitzpatrick for 35 yards. He ended the season with a total of nine receptions for a total of 139 yards, one carry for three yards and two kick returns for 31 yards.Before the start of the 2011 season, Roosevelt was again cut from the active roster and re-signed to the practice squad. Bills General Manager Buddy Nix said of the move "This year, we cut guys that were good players. We cut Naaman Roosevelt. We like Naaman. It got down to a numbers situation. We had six receivers, we normally have five." He appeared in his first game in the third week of the 2011 season. He caught at least one pass in each game between the fourth and tenth weeks of the season. On October 16, 2011, Roosevelt caught his first pro touchdown pass, a 60-yard catch-and-run at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants. On August 31, 2012, he was cut by the Bills.