Chris Ivory

Christopher Lee Ivory[1] (born March 22, 1988) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2010 and also played for the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Washington State and Tiffin.

Chris Ivory
Ivory with the New York Jets in 2015
No. 29, 33
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1988-03-22) March 22, 1988
Longview, Texas
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:223 lb (101 kg)
Career information
High school:Longview (Longview, Texas)
College:Washington State
Tiffin
Undrafted:2010
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:5,237
Rushing average:4.3
Rushing touchdowns:29
Receptions:107
Receiving yards:948
Receiving touchdowns:3
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Ivory earned letters in both football and track and field in high school at Longview High School in Longview, Texas, playing on the Lobos team that included future NFL players Trent Williams, Malcolm Kelly, and Robert Henson.[2][3] He was listed as a two-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com.[4][5]

College career

Washington State

Ivory played three years for Washington State from 2006–2008.[6] Limited by injuries, in 22 games he had 91 rushes for 534 yards and four touchdowns, as well as 23 kickoff returns averaging 22.8 yards.[7] When the coaches who had recruited him were replaced by a new coaching staff, Ivory found himself far down on the Cougars' depth chart.[2] In August 2009, he was dismissed from the Washington State team for violating team rules.[8]

Statistics
Chris Ivory Rushing Receiving
Year School Conf Class Pos G Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD
2006 Washington State Pac-10 FR RB 9 3 85 28.3 1 0 0 0.0 0
2007 Washington State Pac-10 SO RB 8 60 313 5.2 2 13 50 3.8 0
2008 Washington State Pac-10 JR RB 5 28 136 4.9 1 2 1 0.5 0
Career Washington State 22 91 534 5.9 4 15 51 3.4 0

Tiffin University

Ivory then transferred to Tiffin University, a Division II school in Tiffin, Ohio, whose team was coached by Dave Walkosky, a former Washington State assistant coach. In Ivory's final year of college football, he had 39 rushes for 223 yards in five games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Walkosky attempted to obtain a medical redshirt exemption to allow Ivory to play another year, but this was unsuccessful. Despite his brief stint at Tiffin University, Ivory's performance and speed attracted attention from NFL scouts, and he was thought to have a chance of becoming the first Tiffin University player to be drafted by the NFL.[9] The Saints became interested in Ivory, despite his injuries, after one of their scouts was impressed by Walkosky's enthusiastic recommendations.[2]

Professional career

Ivory became eligible for the 2010 NFL Draft after his season, but did not receive an invitation to perform at the NFL Combine. On March 16, 2010, Ivory attended Toledo's Pro Day and completed all of the combine and positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Ivory was projected to go undrafted by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 32nd best running back prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeight40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jump
6 ft 0 in
(1.83 m)		 222 lb
(101 kg)		 4.49 s1.54 s2.60 s4.60 s7.20 s36 in
(0.91 m)		9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m)
All values from Toledo's Pro Day[10]

New Orleans Saints

On April 27, 2010, the New Orleans Saints signed Ivory as an undrafted free agent to a three-year, $1.22 million contract.[11][12] He had an impressive performance in training camp and preseason games, highlighted by a strong performance against the San Diego Chargers that included a 76-yard touchdown on a swing pass.[13][14][15]

Early season injuries to Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas left Ivory as the Saints' starting running back. He had a breakout game in Week 6 against Tampa Bay Buccaneers: his 158 yards on 15 carries were the most by any Saints running back since Deuce McAllister rushed for 165 yards in a 2003 game, and the most by a Saints rookie since a 179-yard effort by Ricky Williams in 1999.[16][17] The performance earned him awards as both Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week and FedEx Ground Player of the Week.[18] Another strong performance in Week 11, with 23 rushes for 99 yards in a 34–19 win over against the Seattle Seahawks, led Seahawks coach Pete Carroll to call Ivory "a freaking stud out there."[19] Ivory ended the regular season with 137 rushes for 716 yards, which led the team, and five touchdowns, but he also suffered repeated injuries during the year; after a foot injury in the Saints' last regular season game, he was placed on the injured reserve list and was unable to play in the postseason.[20][21][22]

Ivory spent the first six games of the 2011 season on the PUP list; after he was activated, he played in six games, with 79 rushes for 374 yards, and 22 carries for 70 yards in the Saints' two playoff games against the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round and the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.[23][24][25] In May 2012, the Saints paid Ivory an additional signing bonus to make up for the income he lost on the PUP list. He became a restricted free agent after the 2012 season.[26] He appeared in six games in the 2012 season and recorded 40 carries for 217 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.[27]

New York Jets

Ivory was traded to the New York Jets on April 26, 2013 during the 2013 NFL Draft for the Jets' fourth round draft pick (106th overall).[28] He signed a three-year contract worth $10 million.[29] He made his Jets debut in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[30] On October 20, against the New England Patriots, he had 34 carries for 104 yards.[31] On October 3, he had 139 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown against the New Orleans Saints.[32] Overall, in the 2013 season, he had 833 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, and ten receiving yards.[33]

On September 7, 2014, he had a 71-yard touchdown run as part of a 102-yard performance against the Oakland Raiders in the season opener.[34] It was the second longest touchdown run in Jets history; Bruce Harper ran for 78 yards in 1983. On October 16, against the New England Patriots, he had 107 rushing yards and a touchdown.[35] Ten days later, he had his lone two-touchdown performance of the season against the Buffalo Bills.[36] Overall, he finished the 2014 season with 821 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, and 18 receptions for 123 yards and a receiving touchdown.[37]

In the 2015 season opener against the Cleveland Browns, Ivory had 91 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 31–10 victory.[38] On October 4, 2015, during an NFL International Series matchup against the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium, Ivory rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown, setting a career-high in rushing yards.[39] He followed that up with 146 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown against the Washington Redskins.[40] Ivory won the AFC rushing title in the 2015 season beating Latavius Murray by four yards, finishing the year with 1,070 rushing yards and his first Pro Bowl selection.[41] He was ranked 78th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.[42]

Jacksonville Jaguars

Ivory signed a three-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars on March 10, 2016.[43]

On October 16, 2016, Ivory had 11 carries for 32-yards and scored his first rushing touchdown with the team as the Jaguars defeated the Chicago Bears by a score of 17–16.[44] On November 6, he had 107 rushing yards against the Kansas City Chiefs.[45] Overall, he finished the 2016 season with 439 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 20 receptions, and 186 receiving yards.[46]

Ivory entered the 2017 season second on the depth chart behind rookie Leonard Fournette.[47] He played in 14 games with three starts, rushing for 382 yards and one touchdown.[48]

On February 23, 2018, Ivory was released by the Jaguars.[49]

Buffalo Bills

On March 6, 2018, Ivory signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Bills for $5.5 million, with $3.25 million guaranteed.[50] He rushed for 385 yards and one touchdown along with 13 receptions for 205 yards in 2018.[51]

On March 27, 2019, Ivory was released by the Bills.[52]

NFL career statistics
Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GPGSAttYdsAvgLngTDRecYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2010NO 1241377165.255T511717.017042
2011NO 62793744.735T1000.00000
2012NO 62402175.456T22157.513000
2013NYJ 1561828334.66932105.012020
2014NYJ 16101988214.171T6181236.823121
2015NYJ 15142471,0704.3587302177.236142
2016JAX 1111174393.8423201869.337053
2017JAX 1431123823.4341211758.329122
2018BUF 1311153853.32111320515.855010
Total108431,2275,2374.371291079488.95532010

Career awards and highlights

References
  1. "Chris Ivory Pro Football Reference Profile". pro-football-reference.com.
  2. Les Carpenter, "RB Ivory goes from nowhere to New Orleans", Yahoo! Sports, December 16, 2010.
  3. "Former TXHSFB Players in the 2016 Pro Bowl – Texas HS Football". Texas HS Football. January 29, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  4. "Chris Ivory Recruiting Profile". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  5. "Chris Ivory Recruiting Profile". Scout.com. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  6. "Chris Ivory College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  7. "Chris Ivory Career Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  8. "RB Chris Ivory dismissed by Washington State". Seattle Times. August 11, 2009. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
  9. Zach Baker, "TU’s Ivory becoming valuable NFL resource: Tiffin running back could be first player in program drafted" Archived September 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune, March 20, 2010.
  10. "Chris Ivory, DS #32 RB, Tiffin". draftscout.com. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  11. Zach Baker, "TU’s Ivory signed by Saints" Archived May 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune, April 25, 2010.
  12. "Spotrac.com: Chris Ivory contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  13. "Former Washington State player Chris Ivory has big night for New Orleans Saints in exhibition-game victory", Seattle Times, August 27, 2010.
  14. "Saints find another gem in Ivory, who leads triumph over Chargers", AP at NFL.com, August 27, 2010.
  15. Nakia Hogan, "New Orleans Saints RB Chris Ivory taking nothing for granted", Times-Picayune, August 28, 2010.
  16. Jeff Duncan, "Chris Ivory's breakout game leads New Orleans Saints to win", Times-Picayune, October 17, 2010.
  17. "New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – October 17th, 2010". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  18. Sheldon Mickles, "RB Ivory wins weekly FedEx, Pepsi honors", The Advocate, October 22, 2010.
  19. Danny O'Neil, "Penalty on Seahawks' Raheem Brock is boon for Saints; Notebook", Seattle Times, November 21, 2010.
  20. "Chris Ivory has been placed on injured reserve by the New Orleans Saints", Times-Picayune, January 4, 2011.
  21. "Chris Ivory 2010 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  22. "2010 New Orleans Saints Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  23. "Chris Ivory 2011 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  24. "Wild Card – Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints – January 7th, 2012". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  25. "Divisional Round – New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers – January 14th, 2012". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  26. Brian McIntyre, "Saints add signing bonus to Chris Ivory's contract", NFL.com, May 27, 2012.
  27. "Chris Ivory 2012 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  28. Cimini, Rich (April 26, 2013). "Jets acquire RB Chris Ivory". ESPN New York. Archived from the original on April 27, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  29. Copeland, Kareem (April 27, 2013). "Chris Ivory, New York Jets agree to $10M contract". National Football League. Archived from the original on April 28, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  30. "Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Jets – September 8th, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  31. "New England Patriots at New York Jets – October 20th, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  32. "New Orleans Saints at New York Jets – November 3rd, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  33. "Chris Ivory 2013 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  34. "Oakland Raiders at New York Jets – September 7th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  35. "New York Jets at New England Patriots – October 16th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  36. "Buffalo Bills at New York Jets – October 26th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  37. "Chris Ivory 2014 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  38. "Cleveland Browns at New York Jets – September 13th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  39. "New York Jets at Miami Dolphins – October 4th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  40. "Washington Redskins at New York Jets – October 18th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  41. "2015 NFL Rushing & Receiving". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  42. "'Top 100 Players of 2016': No. 78 Chris Ivory". NFL.com.
  43. Oehser, John (March 10, 2016). "Chris Ivory: "The place for me"". Jaguars.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  44. "NFL Player Profile:Chris Ivory". NFL.com. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  45. "Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs – November 6th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  46. "Chris Ivory 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  47. "Jacksonville Jaguars Depth Chart Archive (09/01/2017)". OurLads.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  48. "Chris Ivory 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  49. Sessler, Marc (February 23, 2018). "Jacksonville Jaguars release running back Chris Ivory". NFL.com.
  50. Patra, Kevin (March 6, 2018). "Buffalo Bills agree on two-year deal with Chris Ivory". NFL.com.
  51. "Chris Ivory 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  52. Brown, Chris (March 27, 2019). "Bills release RB Chris Ivory". BuffaloBills.com.
  53. "Jets' Chris Ivory named to All-AFC team by PFWA". foxsports.com. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  54. "AFC Player Rushing Statistics – 2015". ESPN.com.
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