Shaquelle Evans (born March 7, 1991) is an American professional football wide receiver who is a free agent. He was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played college football at UCLA. Evans has also been a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Ottawa Redblacks.

Shaq Evans
refer to caption
Evans with the Ottawa Redblacks in 2023
Personal information
Born: (1991-03-07) March 7, 1991 (age 33)
Inglewood, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:Inglewood
College:
Position:Wide receiver
NFL draft:2014 / round: 4 / pick: 115
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career CFL statistics
Receptions:179
Receiving yards:2,830
Receiving touchdowns:7
Stats at CFL.ca
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Evans was selected and participated in the Hawaii Prep Football Classic.[1] He played in the U.S. Army All-American game.[1] He was selected to SuperPrep All-America team in high school.[1] He was named to the Western 100 by the Tacoma News-Tribune in high school.[1] He was selected to the all-state third team by CalHiSports.com following his senior year in high school.[1]

College career

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Evans with UCLA in 2012

Evans originally attended Notre Dame, but decided to transfer to UCLA due to the proximity to home. Evans was on the watchlist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award prior to his senior year.[1] He was an all-conference honorable mention that season, helping the Bruins to a 10 win season.

Professional career

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New York Jets

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On May 10, 2014, he was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth round, 115th overall of the 2014 NFL draft.[2] He signed a 4-year, $2.67 million contract on May 15, 2014.[3] Before he could appear in an NFL game, Evans was placed on injured reserve on August 19, 2014, with a shoulder injury.[4] On September 5, 2015, the Jets waived him.[5]

Jacksonville Jaguars

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Evans was signed to the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 29, 2015. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Jaguars.[6] He was signed to the Jaguars' practice squad the next day.[7] He was released on September 13.

New England Patriots

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Evans was signed to the New England Patriots' practice squad on October 12, 2016.[8] On October 20, 2016, the Patriots released Evans from their practice squad.[9]

Dallas Cowboys

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On January 4, 2017, Evans was signed to the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad.[10] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on January 16, 2017.[11]

On April 21, 2017, Evans was suspended the first four games of the 2017 season for violating the league's drug policy.[12] On April 27, 2017, Evans was waived by the Cowboys.[13]

Saskatchewan Roughriders

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Evans with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2018

On February 22, 2018, Evans signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played in 17 regular season games in 2018, where he had 50 receptions for 785 yards. In 2019, Evans had 72 receptions and 1,334 receiving yards and scored five touchdowns en route to being named a CFL All-Star. He signed a one-year contract extension with the team on December 24, 2020.[14] In his third season with the club, Evans played in seven games, catching 25 passes for 244 yards. On January 18, 2022, Evans and the Riders agreed to a contract extension.[15] Evans was forced out of the Roughriders third game of the 2022 season with an ankle injury. It was later reported he would miss 6–8 weeks with a fractured ankle.[16] At the time he had caught 10 passes for 185 yards. In total, Evans missed eight games in 2022, playing in 10 regular season games and catching 32 passes for 487 yards with two touchdowns. In late January 2023, as a pending free agent, Evans told a local radio station that he did not expect to re-sign with the Roughriders.[17]

Ottawa Redblacks

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On February 14, 2023, the first day of free agency, Evans signed a one-year contract with the Ottawa Redblacks.[18] Evans broke his finger in the team's first pre-season game and was expected to miss the start of the season. He was targeted nine times in his preseason debut but hauled in just two catches for 39 yards.[19]

He was released on February 13, 2024.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "UCLA Profile". uclabruins.com.
  2. ^ "2014 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Cimini, Rich (May 15, 2014). "Jets sign another two picks, including Boyd". ESPN.
  4. ^ "Jets place rookie receiver Shaq Evans on injured reserve". NBC Sports. August 19, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  5. ^ Walder, Seth (September 5, 2015). "Jets cut-down day: A running list of Gang Green's final roster cuts". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  6. ^ Oehser, John (September 3, 2016). "Down to 53: LB Davis, OG Bernadeau released". Jaguars.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017.
  7. ^ Oehser, John (September 4, 2016). "Jaguars claim LB Brown, S Huff". Jaguars.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017.
  8. ^ "Patriots make practice squad moves". Patriots.com. October 12, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  9. ^ "Patriots sign LB Trevor Reilly to the practice squad; release WR Shaquelle Evans from the practice squad". Patriots.com. October 20, 2016.
  10. ^ "Report: Cowboys cut OG Ryan Seymour, sign WR Shaquelle Evans". CBSSports.com. January 4, 2017.
  11. ^ Eatman, Nick (January 16, 2017). "Showers, Rod Smith Among 12 Players Signed To Cowboys Offseason Roster". DallasCowboys.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017.
  12. ^ Gantt, Darin (April 21, 2017). "Cowboys wideout Shaquelle Evans suspended four games for drugs". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
  13. ^ Alper, Josh (April 27, 2017). "Cowboys waive suspended wideout Shaquelle Evans". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  14. ^ "Remaining in Riderville: All-star Shaq Evans inks extension". CFL.ca. December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  15. ^ TSN ca Staff (January 18, 2022). "Roughriders sign WR Evans to extension – TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  16. ^ TSN ca Staff (June 24, 2022). "Roughriders' Evans out minimum 6–8 weeks with fractured ankle – TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  17. ^ 3Down Staff (January 25, 2023). "Pending free agent Shaq Evans doesn't expect to be back with Saskatchewan Roughriders". 3DownNation. Retrieved January 26, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ TSN ca Staff (February 14, 2023). "CFL Free Agency Blog: Shaq Evans signs Ottawa Redblacks". TSN. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  19. ^ 3Down Staff (May 28, 2023). "Redblacks lose defensive back Money Hunter, receiver Shaq Evans to injury". 3DownNation. Retrieved May 29, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Transactions - Football Player Trades and Signings".
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