Rishard Matthews

Childhood and High School

Rishard Matthews was born on October 12, 1989. He was born in Santa Ana, California. He grew up in a military family and his father was in the Marines. He lived with this sister Avien and then was stationed at Cannon Air Force Base. He attended Saddleback High School in Santa Ana during his senior year. He had also attended Clovis High School in New Mexico, and during his first game of the season in Santa Ana, it was against his former school. He played wide receiver and free safety in high school and was able to get into the Southeastern Division along with state. He had a scholarship after committing to Texas El-Paso after his junior year. He simply had to focus on his academics.

College

Rishard Matthews originally committed to the University of Oregon, but ended up attending Bakersfield College and then transferring to the University of Nevada in Reno. He played with Colin Kaepernick, catching passes from him during his two years at Nevada. He also had 147 receptions, 2243 yards, along with 13 touchdowns. He was named second-team WAC in 2011. He was an honors candidate in 2012 and was on the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award. Watch some of his college highlights.

NFL Draft

Matthews was a part of the 2012 NFL draft. He was a reliable player for Nevada, although he was identified as being “non-explosive.” For the NFL Combine, he had a 4.62 second 40 time and a 36 inch vertical. His strengths included being reliable and having great balance. His weaknesses included being a slow mover and finding it difficult to overcome being off-routed.

He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round. On May 21, he signed a four year contract worth $2,151,392. He also received a signing bonus of $56,612. His base salary increased each year, beginning with $390,000 when he was a rookie in 2012.

2015 NFL Season

During the 2015 season, he was #18 for the Miami Dolphins. He played for four years with the team and this was his last. He played a total of 11 games for a total of 43 receptions and 662 receiving yards. He suffered fractured ribs in a game against the New York Jets on Week 12. In January of 2016, he was placed on the injured reserve.

2016 NFL Season

On March 9, 2016, Matthews transferred and signed with the Tennessee Titans, signing a three year deal. The three-year contract was for $15 million, and this included a $2.5 million signing bonus along with a guarantee of $5 million. The average annual salary would be $5 million.

He played in 16 games for the NFL season, with a total of 65 receptions and 945 receiving yards. His longest reception for the season was 60 yards. You can watch some of his career highlights now.

Personal Life

Rishard Matthews has two siblings. His brother, Christopher Ruiz, died in a plane crash in Afghanistan while working as a civilian contractor. His sister, Avien DeSantos, works as a financial advisor in Texas.

Matthews weighs in at 217 pounds and is 6’0.

Matthews wears the #18 jersey for the Tennessee Titans as a wide receiver. You can buy a jersey through NFL Shop.

Rishard Matthews can be found on Twitter @_RMatthews