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Charles Clay (American football)

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Charles Clay
refer to caption
Clay with the Buffalo Bills in 2015
No. 31, 42, 85
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1989-02-13) February 13, 1989 (age 35)
Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:246 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school:Little Rock Central (Little Rock, Arkansas)
College:Tulsa (2007–2010)
NFL draft:2011 / round: 6 / pick: 174
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:357
Receiving yards:3,868
Receiving touchdowns:24
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Charles Clay (born February 13, 1989) is an American former professional football tight end. He played college football at Tulsa and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft. He also played for the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals.

Clay began his career as a fullback and often lined up in the backfield as an H-back.

Early life

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Clay attended Little Rock Central High School where he was ranked as the 13th top overall prospect in the state of Arkansas by Rivals.com his senior season. As a senior, he rushed for 891 yards and 11 touchdowns, he also had four receiving touchdowns. He was rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com.[1]

College career

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After high school, Clay attended the University of Tulsa, where he majored in business as well as played halfback and fullback from 2007 to 2010. As a true freshman in 2007, he appeared in all 14 games (10 starts). He recorded 69 receptions for 1,024 yards and seven touchdowns. His receiving yards ranked him second on the school's all-time freshman receiving list. He also recorded 304 rushing yards and one touchdown. He was named to the C-USA All-Freshman team as well as All-C-USA honorable mention. He was also named Second-team Freshman All-American by Rivals.com as an All-purpose player. As a sophomore in 2008, he appeared in all 14 games (nine starts). He recorded 38 receptions for 464 yards and nine touchdowns. He also carried the ball 25 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns. In 2009, as a junior, he appeared in all 12 games (11 starts). He recorded 39 receptions for 530 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed the ball 63 times for 236 yards and seven touchdowns.[1] As a senior in 2010, he appeared in 13 games. He recorded 43 receptions for 526 yards and seven touchdowns. He also, rushed the ball 34 times for 226 yards.[2]

During his career Clay accumulated 685 rushing yards on 145 carries with 10 rushing touchdowns and also added over 2,000 yards receiving with 21 receiving touchdowns.[1]

College statistics

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Season Team Games Receiving Rushing
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD
2007 Tulsa 14 10 69 1,024 14.8 53 7 57 304 5.3 30 1
2008 Tulsa 14 9 38 464 12.2 73 9 25 145 5.8 40 2
2009 Tulsa 12 11 39 530 13.6 63 5 63 236 3.7 20 7
2010 Tulsa 13 — 43 526 12.2 — 7 34 226 6.6 — 0
Career 52 — 189 2,544 13.5 73 28 179 911 5.1 40 10

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2+7⁄8 in
(1.90 m) 		245 lb
(111 kg) 		33 in
(0.84 m) 		9+5⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.73 s 1.67 s 2.74 s 4.15 s 7.07 s 33+1⁄2 in
(0.85 m)		 9 ft 10 in
(3.00 m)		 18 reps
All values from NFL Scouting Combine.[3][4]

After playing in the 2011 Senior Bowl and participating in the NFL Scouting Combine, NFL.com's scouts noted that "Clay is an athletic fullback that is a weapon in the receiving game. Possesses good lateral agility and makes people miss in the open field. Delivers powerful shots blocking and shows good leg drive. Strong enough to push the pile in short yardage situations and can break tackles in the secondary."[5]

Miami Dolphins

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Clay was selected in the sixth round (174th overall) of the 2011 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins.[6][7] He signed his 4-year rookie deal on July 29.[8]

Clay recorded his first career reception on October 2, 2011, against the San Diego Chargers. On November 20, he recorded his first touchdown against the Buffalo Bills. He finished the 2011 seasons with 16 receptions for 233 yards (14.6 avg.) and three touchdowns and the 2012 season with 18 receptions for 212 yards (11.8 avg.) and two touchdowns as one of the team's fullbacks.[9]

In 2013, after starting tight end Dustin Keller suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason, Clay assumed the starting tight end role after being an H-back on the team.[10] In his second start, he recorded his first career rushing touchdown and 109 yards receiving in a Week 2 matchup with the Colts.[9] During Week 14, against the Pittsburgh Steelers he broke multiple tackles, including one of veteran safety Troy Polamalu, on his way to a touchdown in a Miami win. He finished the season with 69 catches (7th among tight ends), 759 yards (tied for 9th), 11.0 avg. and six touchdowns; in addition to 15 yards rushing on seven carries and a rushing touchdown.[9] His performance earned him the 89th ranking position on the 2014 edition of the NFL Top 100.[11]

In the 2014 season, he started all 14 games he appeared in, missing games 11 and 12 due to injury. In week 16, he had a career best 114 yards on six catches in a win over Minnesota.[12] On the season, he recorded 58 receptions for 605 yards (10.4 avg.) and three touchdowns.[9]

Buffalo Bills

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Clay with the Bills in 2015

On March 19, 2015, Clay signed a five-year, $38 million contract with the Buffalo Bills, after the Dolphins elected not to match the offer.[13]

In 2015, his first season in Buffalo, he started 13 games. He had a career best nine catches in game 4 against the Giants, and matched it two weeks later against the Bengals, both losses. He recorded 51 receptions for 528 yards (10.4 avg.) and three touchdowns.[9]

He played all 16 games in 2016, but reached 50 yards receiving in only five of them. All four of his touchdowns came in games 13 to 15.

On September 10, 2017, Clay caught four passes for 53 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against the New York Jets.[14] He played a pivotal role in a 23–17 week 4 victory over undefeated Atlanta with 112 yards.

In 2018, Clay had 21 receptions for a career-low 184 yards and no touchdowns.

On February 15, 2019, Clay was released by the Bills.[15]

Buffalo Bills franchise records

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  • First Bills tight end with back-to-back seasons with 50+ receptions, 500+ receiving yards [16]
  • Most consecutive games with 1+ receiving TD by a Bills tight end: 3, tied with Scott Chandler[17]

Arizona Cardinals

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On February 19, 2019, Clay signed with the Arizona Cardinals on a one-year contract worth up to $3.25 million with a $350K signing bonus.[18][19]

On June 11, 2021, the Baltimore Ravens hosted Clay for a workout.[20]

NFL career statistics

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Year Team Games Receiving Rushing Fumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2011 MIA 14 9 16 233 14.6 46 3 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2012 MIA 14 9 18 212 11.8 31 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2013 MIA 16 15 69 759 11.0 67 6 7 15 2.1 13 1 0 0
2014 MIA 14 14 58 605 10.4 41 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2015 BUF 13 13 51 528 10.4 40 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0
2016 BUF 15 15 57 552 9.7 40 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2017 BUF 13 13 49 558 11.4 44 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0
2018 BUF 13 12 21 184 8.8 44 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 1
2019 ARI 15 10 18 237 13.2 47 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 1
Career 127 110 357 3,868 10.8 67 24 7 15 2.1 13 1 4 2

Personal life

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Clay is the son of Charles and Jerrilyn Clay. He was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The elder Clay played college football at Arkansas.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Charles Clay Bio - Tulsa Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  2. ^ "Charles Clay College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  3. ^ "Charles Clay, DS #1 FB, Tulsa". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  4. ^ "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Charles Clay". NFL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  5. ^ "Charles Clay: Combine Stats". NFL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  6. ^ "2011 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Miami Dolphins trade up five spots and draft Tulsa H-Back Charles Clay". Palm Beach Post. April 30, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  8. ^ "Charles Clay Signs Rookie Deal With Miami". News On 6. July 29, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Charles Clay Game logs". NFL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  10. ^ Strahm, Cody (August 20, 2013). "Miami Dolphins: Charles Clay Moves to Starting Tight End". DolphinsGab.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  11. ^ "ATL writers weigh in on 'The Top 100 Players of 2014'". National Football League. May 14, 2014. Archived from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  12. ^ Box score
  13. ^ Brown, Chris (March 19, 2015). "Bills land TE Charles Clay". BuffaloBills.com. Buffalo Bills. Archived from the original on March 21, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  14. ^ Brown, Chris (September 10, 2017). "Ground game and run 'D' carry Bills to Week 1 win". Buffalo Bills. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  15. ^ Brown, Chris (February 15, 2019). "Bills release tight end Charles Clay". BuffaloBills.com.
  16. ^ "Player Streak Finder".
  17. ^ "Player Streak Finder".
  18. ^ Urban, Darren (February 19, 2019). "Cardinals Add Tight End By Signing Charles Clay". AZCardinals.com.
  19. ^ Teope, Herbie (February 19, 2019). "Roundup: Cardinals sign former Bills TE Charles Clay". NFL.com.
  20. ^ "Charles Clay worked out for Ravens". June 11, 2021.
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