Samaje Perine facts for kids
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Perine with the Washington Redskins in 2017
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| No. 34 – Cincinnati Bengals | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | September 16, 1995 Jackson, Alabama, U.S. |
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| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 236 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Hendrickson (Pflugerville, Texas) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Oklahoma (2014–2016) | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2017 / Round: 4 / Pick: 114 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
Samaje Perine (pronounced sə-MAH-jay PEE-ryne; born September 16, 1995) is an American professional football player. He is a running back for the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League (NFL). Before joining the NFL, he played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Washington Redskins picked him in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft. Samaje has also played for the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, and Kansas City Chiefs.
Perine holds a special record in college football. He has the most rushing yards in a single game in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). He set this record in 2014 by running for an amazing 427 yards against the Kansas Jayhawks.
Contents
- Early Life and High School Sports
- College Football Career at Oklahoma
- Professional Football Career
- Time with the Washington Redskins (2017-2018)
- First Time with the Cincinnati Bengals (2019)
- Short Stint with the Miami Dolphins (2019)
- Second Time with the Cincinnati Bengals (2020-2022)
- Time with the Denver Broncos (2023)
- Time with the Kansas City Chiefs (2024)
- Third Time with the Cincinnati Bengals (2025-Present)
- NFL Career Statistics
- Personal Life and Family
Early Life and High School Sports
Samaje Perine was born and grew up in Jackson, Alabama. Later, his family moved to Pflugerville, Texas. There, he went to Hendrickson High School. He was a star athlete in both football and track and field.
Football Success in High School
Perine was a starting running back for the Hendrickson Hawks football team for three years. In his junior year, he ran for 1,993 yards and scored 16 touchdowns. In his final year, he gained 1,492 yards and scored 12 touchdowns.
Track and Field Achievements
In track and field, Perine was great at sprints and jumps. In 2011, he won first place in both the triple jump (46 feet, 0.5 inches) and long jump (20 feet, 8 inches). He also helped his relay teams win races. He ran his fastest 100-meter dash in 11.37 seconds in 2011.
Choosing a College Team
Experts at Rivals.com rated Perine as a top football recruit. In March 2013, he decided to play college football for the University of Oklahoma. He also had offers from other big schools like Alabama and Nebraska.
College Football Career at Oklahoma
Samaje Perine played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners from 2014 to 2016.
Freshman Year: 2014 Season Highlights
Perine started playing right away as a freshman in 2014. In his first game, he ran for 77 yards and scored a touchdown. In his fourth game, he rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns. He had another big game against Texas Tech, gaining 213 yards and scoring three touchdowns.
His most famous game was against Kansas. He rushed for an incredible 427 yards and five touchdowns! This broke the record for most rushing yards in a single game in college football's top division. He finished his freshman year with 1,713 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns.
Sophomore Year: 2015 Season Highlights
In 2015, Perine continued to play well. He had 152 rushing yards and a touchdown against Tulsa. Later, he rushed for a season-high 201 yards and four touchdowns against Texas Tech. He also had strong games against Baylor and TCU.
Oklahoma made it to the College Football Playoff that year. They played against Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Perine scored a rushing touchdown in that game. He ended the 2015 season with 1,349 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns.
Junior Year: 2016 Season Highlights
In 2016, Perine had another great season. He rushed for 214 yards and two touchdowns against TCU. He also had 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Baylor. In a game against Oklahoma State, he gained 239 rushing yards and a touchdown.
On January 2, 2017, Perine broke the school record for career rushing yards. He passed Billy Sims, finishing with a total of 4,122 yards. After this season, Perine decided to enter the 2017 NFL draft instead of playing his senior year.
Professional Football Career
The Washington Redskins picked Samaje Perine in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the ninth running back chosen that year. In May 2017, he signed a four-year contract with the team.
Time with the Washington Redskins (2017-2018)
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As a rookie, Perine got a lot of chances to play. In Week 10, he had his first 100-yard rushing game against the New Orleans Saints, gaining 117 yards and scoring his first rushing touchdown. The next week, he rushed for 100 yards again against the New York Giants. This made him the first Redskins player since 2013 to have two 100-yard rushing games in a row. He finished his rookie season with 603 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
In 2018, Perine played in five games. He was released by the Redskins before the 2019 season.
First Time with the Cincinnati Bengals (2019)
The Cincinnati Bengals picked up Perine in September 2019. He was later waived but re-signed to their practice squad.
Short Stint with the Miami Dolphins (2019)
In December 2019, the Miami Dolphins signed Perine from the Bengals' practice squad. He was released by the Dolphins in April 2020.
Second Time with the Cincinnati Bengals (2020-2022)
Perine returned to the Bengals in April 2020. In Week 8 of the 2020 season, he scored his first touchdown since 2017. In Week 16, he had 95 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against the Houston Texans. He finished the 2020 season with 301 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
In 2021, Perine was a backup to his former Oklahoma teammate, Joe Mixon. He had 246 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. In the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow. This play helped the Bengals make a big comeback and win the game.
In 2022, Perine continued as a backup. He stepped in as a starter for two weeks when Joe Mixon was injured. He finished the season with 394 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He also had a career-high 287 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns.
Time with the Denver Broncos (2023)
On March 16, 2023, the Denver Broncos signed Perine to a two-year contract. In the 2023 season, he played in all 17 games. He had 238 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. He also caught 50 passes for 455 receiving yards. The Broncos released Perine in August 2024.
Time with the Kansas City Chiefs (2024)
On August 28, 2024, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Perine. In the 2024 season, he had 92 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. He also caught 28 passes for 322 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. He played in Super Bowl LIX.
Third Time with the Cincinnati Bengals (2025-Present)
On March 13, 2025, Perine officially signed back with the Cincinnati Bengals. He joined them on a two-year contract.
NFL Career Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2017 | WAS | 16 | 8 | 175 | 603 | 3.4 | 30 | 1 | 24 | 22 | 182 | 8.3 | 25T | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2018 | WAS | 5 | 0 | 8 | 32 | 4.0 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | CIN | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MIA | 1 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 3.2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | CIN | 16 | 1 | 63 | 301 | 4.8 | 46 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 66 | 6.0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | CIN | 16 | 0 | 55 | 246 | 4.5 | 46 | 1 | 31 | 27 | 196 | 7.3 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | CIN | 16 | 2 | 95 | 394 | 4.1 | 29 | 2 | 51 | 38 | 287 | 7.6 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | DEN | 17 | 1 | 50 | 231 | 4.5 | 24 | 1 | 56 | 50 | 455 | 9.2 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 2024 | KC | 17 | 0 | 20 | 92 | 4.6 | 13 | 1 | 35 | 28 | 322 | 11.5 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 110 | 12 | 474 | 1,922 | 4.1 | 46T | 9 | 213 | 179 | 1,513 | 8.5 | 36 | 7 | 5 | 4 | |
Postseason Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
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| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2021 | CIN | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 47 | 11.8 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | CIN | 3 | 0 | 14 | 58 | 4.1 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 35 | 4.4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 7 | 0 | 17 | 60 | 3.5 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 82 | 6.8 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Personal Life and Family
Samaje Perine is known for his incredible strength. While in high school and college, he once helped lift a car to help a fellow student change a flat tire! His college strength coach, Jerry Schmidt, said that Perine could often bench press more than most of the team's linemen. His maximum bench press was 440 pounds.
Schmidt also noted that no one else on the team could beat Perine's top numbers for other exercises:
- Squat: 540 pounds
- Power clean: 380 pounds
- Incline bench: 315 pounds
Samaje Perine has family members who also play in the NFL. His cousin, La'Mical Perine, played running back for the Florida Gators and was drafted by the New York Jets in 2020. Another cousin is NFL linebacker Myles Jack.
