Orson Charles (born January 27, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end and fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, earning first-team All-American honors as a tight end in 2011.
 Charles with the Cincinnati Bengals | |||||||||
| No. 80, 82, 84 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end Fullback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | January 27, 1991 Tampa, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 257 lb (117 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Henry B. Plant (Tampa) | ||||||||
| College: | Georgia | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2012 / Round: 4 / Pick: 116 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||
High school career edit
Charles attended Riverview High School before transferring to Henry B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida for his senior year, where he was a teammate of Aaron Murray. During a recruiting visit to the University of Florida in 2008, Charles accidentally dropped the school's 2006 National Championship Trophy, breaking the Waterford Crystal football.[1] He played in the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
College career edit
Charles was named a finalist for the 2011 John Mackey Award on November 21, 2011.[2]
Professional career edit
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1.89 m) |
251 lb (114 kg) |
32+1⁄2 in (0.83 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) |
4.73 s | 1.66 s | 2.72 s | 4.37 s | 30.5 in (0.77 m) |
9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
35 reps | ||
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[3][4] | ||||||||||||
Cincinnati Bengals edit
Charles was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round, 116th overall, of the 2012 NFL Draft.[5] In his rookie season, he played all 16 games, starting 6 of them, accumulating 8 receptions for 101 yards. In 2013 Charles played primarily at fullback; He played 13 games but started none and recorded one catch for eight yards.[6]
New Orleans Saints edit
On September 23, 2014, Charles was signed to the New Orleans Saints practice squad.
Detroit Lions edit
On June 16, 2016, Charles was signed by the Detroit Lions.[7] He was released on October 4, 2016.[8]
Kansas City Chiefs edit
On May 31, 2017, Charles signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.[9] He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Chiefs' practice squad the next day.[10][11] He was released on October 7, 2017.[12] He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 25, 2017. He was promoted to the active roster on November 28, 2017.[13] He was waived by the Chiefs on May 3, 2018.[14]
Cleveland Browns edit
On July 30, 2018, Charles signed with the Cleveland Browns.[15] He made the Browns final roster as the team's fourth tight end. Despite being listed as a tight end, Charles had lined up primarily as a fullback throughout the 2018 season. He appeared on the 2018 Pro Bowl ballot as a fullback, and Browns coaches have signaled they view him as such.[16] The Browns placed Charles on injured reserve with an ankle injury on December 13, 2018.[17]
On April 3, 2019, Charles re-signed with the Browns.[18] The Browns waived Charles on August 11, 2019.
Denver Broncos edit
On August 21, 2019, Charles signed with the Denver Broncos.[19] He was released on August 31, 2019.[20] He was re-signed on November 19, 2019, but was released three days later.[21]
Charles was drafted in the 6th round of the 2020 XFL Draft by the DC Defenders,[22] but did not sign with the team.
Legal troubles edit
Shortly before the 2012 NFL Draft, Charles was arrested for a DUI.[23]
On March 31, 2014, Charles was arrested for wanton endangerment in Richmond, Kentucky. Charles was pulled over by a police officer after another driver called in a complaint that Charles had shown a gun multiple times.[23] In February 2015 Charles pleaded guilty to wanton endangerment and will enter a diversion program.[24]
On July 16, 2022, Charles was arrested for pulling a gun on off-duty police officers in Tampa, Florida.[25]
References edit
- ^ "Florida Gators Championship Trophy Shattered...Again!". Bleacher Report.
- ^ "Georgia's Orson Charles Named Mackey Award Finalist". Archived from the original on November 12, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
- ^ "Orson Charles Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ "2012 Draft Scout Orson Charles, Georgia NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ "2012 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ "Orson Charles Stats, News and Video - TE". NFL.com.
- ^ Birkett, Dave (June 16, 2016). "Detroit Lions signing TE Orson Charles". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ^ "Lions sign TE Clay Harbor, release TE Orson Charles". DetroitLions.com. October 4, 2016. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016.
- ^ Thorman, Joel (June 1, 2017). "Chiefs sign two players including TE Orson Charles". ArrowheadPride.com.
- ^ "Chiefs Roster Down to NFL Mandated 53". Chiefs.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018.
- ^ "Chiefs Sign Eight to Practice Squad". Chiefs.com. September 3, 2017. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018.
- ^ "Chiefs Sign TE Neal Sterling To Practice Squad, Release TE Orson Charles". October 7, 2017.
- ^ "Chiefs promote TE Orson Charles to roster, sign DL to practice squad". USAToday.com. November 28, 2017.
- ^ Alper, Josh (May 3, 2018). "Chiefs cut a pair of players". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
- ^ "Browns sign 3 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. July 30, 2018.
- ^ Edwards, Josh. "Browns' depth chart against the Panthers". 247Sports.com.
- ^ "Browns elevate LB Xavier Woodson-Luster to active roster". ClevelandBrowns.com. December 13, 2018.
- ^ "Browns sign TE/FB Orson Charles". ClevelandBrowns.com. April 3, 2019.
- ^ DiLalla, Aric (August 21, 2019). "Broncos sign TE/FB Orson Charles, claim OLB Dadi Nicolas, OL Tyler Jones". DenverBroncos.com.
- ^ DiLalla, Aric (August 31, 2019). "Broncos make series of roster moves to reach 53-man limit". DenverBroncos.com.
- ^ DiLalla, Aric (November 19, 2019). "Broncos sign TE Orson Charles, place FB Andy Janovich on IR". DenverBroncos.com.
- ^ Bender, Bill (October 21, 2019). "XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league". Sporting News. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ a b "Bengals' Orson Charles arrested". ESPN.com. April 2014.
- ^ Saints TE Orson Charles pleads guilty in road rage incident - http://kickoffcoverage.com - 2/27/2015
- ^ Benjamin, Cody (July 17, 2022). "Former Browns, Bengals tight end Orson Charles arrested after pulling gun on off-duty officers, per report". cbssports.com.