Former First Round NFL Draft Pick, Reggie Rogers, Dead At 49
SEATTLE (WWJ) - Reggie Rogers, a former NFL first-round draft pick and standout defensive lineman at the University of Washington in the late 1980s, died Thursday morning in Seattle. He was 49.
According to the Seattle Times, law enforcement was called to a 12:47 p.m. for an unresponsive man lying on a residential porch area, later confirmed to be Rogers. He was dead by the time police arrived at the scene.
Sports Broadcaster from our sister station, 97.1 The Ticket, Dennis Fithian says Rogers was a stand-out sports wise, but his first year in the NFL was a rough one.
"He missed a lot of games, there was counseling ... he just had a bad rookie season," said Fithian.
"He was a two sport standout, he was a great basketball player and a great football player. He ended up getting picked seventh overall in 1987 by the (Detroit) Lions."
Fithian says Rogers rookie year was bad but that the second year was worse when he was involved in a DUI that left three Pontiac teenagers dead and his neck broken.
Two years ago, the former Detroit Lion player was convicted on a DUI charge.
