Romeo Okwara

Romeo Blue Okwara (born June 17, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Romeo Okwara
Okwara in 2016
No. 95 – Detroit Lions
Position:Defensive End
Personal information
Born: (1995-06-17) June 17, 1995
Lagos, Nigeria[1]
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:263 lb (119 kg)
Career information
High school:Ardrey Kell
(Charlotte, North Carolina)
College:Notre Dame
Undrafted:2016
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Total tackles:126
Sacks:20.0
Forced fumbles:4
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:4
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Professional career

New York Giants

Okwara signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent on May 6, 2016.[2] Okwara made his first start replacing Jason Pierre-Paul in a 10-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on December 11, 2016.[3]

On October 17, 2017, Okwara was placed on injured reserve with a knee sprain.[4] He was activated off injured reserve to the active roster on December 19, 2017.[5]

On September 4, 2018, Okwara was waived by the Giants.[6]

Detroit Lions

On September 5, 2018, Okwara was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions.[7] On October 7, 2018, against the Green Bay Packers, Okwara strip sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a fumble recovery.[8] He played in 15 games with 15 starts, finishing with 39 combined tackles, a team-leading 7.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.

On March 1, 2019, Okwara signed a two-year contract extension with the Lions.[9]

Okwara was placed on the active/non-football injury list at the start of training camp on August 2, 2020.[10] He was activated on August 14, 2020.[11]

In Week 7 of the 2020 season against the Atlanta Falcons, Okwara recorded two sacks on Matt Ryan, including a strip sack which was recovered by the Lions, during the 23–22 win.[12] In Week 15 against the Tennessee Titans, Okwara recorded a sack on Ryan Tannehill in the endzone for a safety during the 46–25 loss.[13] Okwara had ten sacks for the 2020 season, while the rest of the Lions team only totaled 14.[14] In Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings, Okwara recorded his tenth sack of the season on Kirk Cousins during the 37–35 loss. During the 2020 season, Okwara recorded the same amount of sacks as he did during the rest of his career.[15]

Personal life

Okwara's younger brother Julian Okwara, who also played college football at Notre Dame, also plays for the Detroit Lions.

References
  1. Williams, Lauren. "Lions' Romeo Okwara on the rice that fed his childhood". mlive.com. mLive. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  2. Eisen, Michael (May 6, 2016). "Giants sign four draft picks & 14 undrafted free agents". Giants.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  3. "Undrafted free agent Romeo Okwara making Giant impression in preseason". NJ.com. August 30, 2016.
  4. Eisen, Michael (October 17, 2017). "Giants place DE Romeo Okwara on IR, claim LB Nigel Harris off waivers". Giants.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018.
  5. Eisen, Michael (December 19, 2017). "Giants activate DE Romeo Okwara". Giants.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018.
  6. Eisen, Michael (September 4, 2018). "Giants sign DT John Jenkins, waive DE Romeo Okwara". Giants.com.
  7. "Lions awarded DE Romeo Okwara via waivers from New York Giants". DetroitLions.com. September 5, 2018.
  8. "Romeo Okwara strips Aaron Rodgers for fumble". 247Sports.com. October 7, 2018.
  9. Gordon, Grant (March 1, 2019). "Lions, DE Romeo Okwara agree on 2-year contract". NFL.com.
  10. "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. August 2, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  11. "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  12. "Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons - October 25th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  13. "Detroit Lions at Tennessee Titans - December 20th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  14. Whitaker, Michael (January 3, 2021). "With double digit sacks, Romeo Okwara has set himself up for big pay day". detroitsportsnation.com. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  15. "Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions - January 3rd, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
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