Robert Mathis facts for kids
Robert Nathan Mathis, born on February 26, 1981, is a former American football player. He played his entire 14-year career with the Indianapolis Colts in the National Football League (NFL). Mathis was a talented defensive end and linebacker. He was known for being one of the best at getting to the quarterback and forcing fumbles. After retiring as a player, he joined the Colts' coaching staff.
Mathis with the Indianapolis Colts in 2016
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| Indianapolis Colts | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Pass rush consultant Player development |
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | February 26, 1981 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 245 lb (111 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | McNair (Atlanta, Georgia) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Alabama A&M (1999–2002) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2003 / Round: 5 / Pick: 138 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| As coach: | |||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||||
Contents
Early Life and High School Years
Robert Mathis was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He went to McNair High School in Atlanta. During his time there, he was classmates with the famous musician Gucci Mane.
College Football Career
Mathis attended Alabama A&M University. He was a starter for the Bulldogs football team for all four years. In his final year, he set a record for his division with 20 sacks. A sack is when a defensive player tackles the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. This made him one of the best defensive players in his college division's history.
Professional Football Journey
Starting Strong with the Colts (2003–2005)
The Indianapolis Colts picked Robert Mathis in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL draft. He quickly became a key player, especially good at rushing the passer.
- In his first year (2003), he played in all 16 games. He had 3.5 sacks and forced 3 fumbles.
- In his second year (2004), he improved a lot, getting 10.5 sacks and forcing 6 fumbles.
- By his third year (2005), Mathis set a Colts team record. He had at least one sack in 8 games in a row! He finished that season with 11.5 sacks and 8 forced fumbles.
Becoming a Super Bowl Champion (2006–2011)
After the 2005 season, Mathis signed a big contract with the Colts. In 2006, he started every game for the first time in his career. He had 9.5 sacks and forced 6 fumbles. That same year, Mathis helped the Colts win Super Bowl XLI against the Chicago Bears, becoming NFL champions!
In 2008, Mathis had one of his best seasons yet. He recorded 11.5 sacks and forced 5 fumbles. Because of his great play, he was chosen for the Pro Bowl for the first time. The Pro Bowl is an all-star game for the best players in the NFL.
He continued to play at a high level, earning the AFC Defensive Player of the Month award twice (in November 2009 and September 2010). He consistently had many sacks each season. In 2011, he was again selected for the Pro Bowl.
Record-Breaking Seasons (2012–2016)
In 2012, Mathis signed a new contract with the Colts. He also started playing a new position called strong-side outside linebacker. He even got his first career Interception that year! An interception is when a defensive player catches a pass meant for an offensive player.
- In 2013, Mathis reached a huge milestone. He recorded his 100th career sack, becoming only the 30th player in NFL history to do so.
- He also broke the NFL record for most career strip sacks. A strip sack is when a player sacks the quarterback and also forces them to fumble the ball.
- Later in 2013, he broke the Colts' team record for most sacks in a single season (19.5) and most career sacks (108.0).
- Mathis led the entire NFL in sacks in 2013 with 19.5. He won the first-ever Deacon Jones Award for this achievement. He was also a runner-up for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
In 2014, Mathis faced a temporary suspension from playing due to a rule violation, which he explained was related to medication he was taking for personal health reasons. Later that year, he suffered a serious injury to his Achilles tendon, which kept him from playing the entire 2014 season.
He returned for the 2015 season and continued to make big plays. In 2016, Robert Mathis announced he would retire after the Colts' final game of the season. In that last game, he recorded three tackles and another strip sack. This final sack brought his career total to 123, making him 17th all-time in NFL history for sacks. He also extended his own NFL record for most career strip sacks to 47.
NFL Career Statistics
Robert Mathis had an amazing career. Here are some of his key statistics from his time in the NFL:
| Legend | ||
|---|---|---|
| Won the Super Bowl | ||
| NFL record | ||
| Led the league | ||
| Bold | Career high | |
Regular Season Games
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2003 | IND | 16 | 0 | 25 | 21 | 4 | 3.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | IND | 16 | 1 | 36 | 32 | 4 | 10.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 0 |
| 2005 | IND | 13 | 0 | 56 | 45 | 11 | 11.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | IND | 16 | 16 | 65 | 50 | 15 | 9.5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | IND | 13 | 12 | 37 | 31 | 6 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | IND | 15 | 2 | 47 | 36 | 11 | 11.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 1 |
| 2009 | IND | 14 | 9 | 37 | 24 | 13 | 9.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | IND | 16 | 16 | 60 | 44 | 16 | 11.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011 | IND | 16 | 15 | 43 | 29 | 14 | 9.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | IND | 12 | 12 | 33 | 22 | 11 | 8.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | IND | 16 | 16 | 59 | 44 | 15 | 19.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | IND | 0 | 0 | did not play due to injury | |||||||||||||
| 2015 | IND | 15 | 10 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016 | IND | 14 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 1 |
| Career | 192 | 121 | 538 | 408 | 130 | 123.0 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 17 | 78 | 3 | |
Playoff Games
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2003 | IND | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2004 | IND | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2005 | IND | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2006 | IND | 4 | 4 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | IND | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2008 | IND | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2.0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2009 | IND | 3 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2010 | IND | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2012 | IND | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2013 | IND | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2.0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | IND | 0 | 0 | did not play due to injury | |||||||||||||
| Career | 18 | 11 | 55 | 39 | 16 | 6.5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Life After Playing Football
After retiring from playing, Robert Mathis stayed involved with the Indianapolis Colts.
- In 2017, he joined the Colts' coaching staff as a Pass Rush Consultant. This means he helps teach other players how to get to the quarterback effectively.
- In 2020, Mathis started a football team in Indianapolis called the Gridiron Gang. This team travels around the country to play.
- Mathis also appeared as himself in an episode of the comedy TV show Parks and Recreation. He was in the episode "Fluoride" with other Colts teammates and the team owner.
