Robert Ayers

Robert Ayers

No. 91 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Position:	Defensive end
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1985-09-06) September 6, 1985
Place of birth:	Jersey City, New Jersey
Height:
Weight:
Career information
College:	Tennessee
NFL draft:	2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18
Career history
Denver Broncos (2009–2013) New York Giants (2014–2015) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2016–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
First team All-SEC (2008) AFC champion (2013)
Career NFL statistics as of 2015
Total tackles: 205 Sacks: 26.5 Pass deflections: 13 Forced fumbles: 6 Fumble recoveries: 3 Player stats at NFL.com

Robert Ayers (born September 6, 1985) is an American football defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Denver Broncos eighteenth overall in the 2009 NFL Draft and has also played for the New York Giants. He played college football at Tennessee.

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, where 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. 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

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 3⅛ in	272 lb	4.78 s	1.62 s	2.78 s	4.46 s	7.07 s	29½ in	8 ft 6 in	18 reps	29
20-ss and 3-cone from Tennessee Pro Day, all others from NFL Combine

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. On August 4, 2009, Ayers signed a five-year contract with $9.7 million guaranteed. 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' 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.

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.

New York Giants

Ayers signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the New York Giants on April 2, 2014. He was placed on season ending injured reserve on December 2, 2014, after suffering a torn pectoral muscle. In 2015, Robert 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.

Career Statistics

Year	Team	GP	COMB	TOTAL	AST	SACK	FF	FR	FR YDS	INT	IR YDS	AVG IR	LNG	TD	PD
2009	DEN	15	19	14	5	0.0	0	2	54	0	0	0	0	0	2
2010	DEN	11	39	32	7	1.5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
2011	DEN	16	39	25	14	3.0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
2012	DEN	15	16	8	8	2.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
2013	DEN	15	29	23	6	5.5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2014	NYG	12	22	18	4	5.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
2015	NYG	12	41	31	10	9.5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4
Career		96	205	151	54	26.5	6	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	13

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

External links

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
• New York Giants bio Archive copy at the Wayback Machine
• Denver Broncos bio Archive copy at the Wayback Machine
• Tennessee Volunteers bio Archive copy at the Wayback Machine