Neil Rackers

Neil William Rackers[2] (born August 16, 1976) is a former American football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He played college football for the University of Illinois. Rackers was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, and also played for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, and Washington Redskins.

Neil Rackers
Rackers at Redskins training camp in 2012.
No. 5, 1, 4
Position:Placekicker
Personal information
Born: (1976-08-16) August 16, 1976
St. Louis, Missouri
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
College:Illinois
NFL Draft:2000 / Round: 6 / Pick: 169
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • Most field goals of 55 yards or more in one quarter (2)
  • Most field goals of 50 yards or more in one game (3)
  • 2× Leader in field goal attempts in the NFL (2005, 2006)
  • Pro Bowl (2005)
  • First-team All-Pro (2005)
  • PFW Golden Toe Award (2005)
Career NFL statistics
Field goals:264
Field goal attempts:330
Field goal %:80.0
Long field goal:57[1]
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Rackers attended Aquinas-Mercy High School in St. Louis, Missouri and was a student and a letterman in football, soccer and baseball. In football, he was a two-year letterman and an All-Conference selection. In soccer, Rackers led his team to consecutive state titles and was an All-State selection. In baseball, he was an All-Conference selection.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Rackers was drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft with the 169th overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals. He played three seasons for the team, making 44 out of 67 field goals.

Arizona Cardinals

Rackers reached and or surpassed 20 touchbacks in a season twice in his career, and once had a streak of 31 consecutive field goals made before missing a 43-yarder in 2005 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. On New Year's Day in 2006, Rackers kicked his 40th field goal of the season, an NFL record. He was rewarded with a spot in that year's Pro Bowl. He is also one of the few players in NFL history to attempt a fair catch kick.

Houston Texans
Rackers in a 2010 preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys

Rackers was signed by the Houston Texans on April 5, 2010, replaced Kris Brown later for the 2010 season, and made his first two field goals as a member of the Texans on September 12.

Washington Redskins

Rackers signed a one-year contract with the Washington Redskins on April 24, 2012 and competed with Graham Gano for a spot on the team.[3] On August 27, the Redskins released Rackers.[4]

Retirement

Billy Cundiff's charity confirmed that Rackers retired and would join his cause to cure ovarian cancer.[5]

Career regular season statistics

Career high/best bolded

Life away from football

Rackers is the special teams and linebackers coach at John Burroughs School in the St. Louis, Missouri area.[6] He also owns Kick it Promos and is a radio announcer on 101 ESPN in St. Louis.

References
  1. "Houston Texans at Denver Broncos - December 26, 2010". Pro-Football-Reference.com. December 26, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  2. "Rackers on Pro-Football-Reference". rbref.com. Retrieved December 23, 2007.
  3. Maske, Mark (April 24, 2012). "Kicker Neil Rackers says he's signed with the Redskins". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  4. Jones, Mike (August 27, 2012). "Redskins release Neil Rackers". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Boys Football — John Burroughs School". jburroughs.org. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
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