# Matt Roth (American football)

Matthew M. Roth (born October 14, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 2005 NFL draft. He also played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars.

## Early life

Roth attended Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Illinois. He was a consensus All-America pick as a senior when he played linebacker and fullback.
Roth lettered three times in wrestling (took his junior off to focus on football), where he won a state title as a senior with a record of 31–0.

## College career

Roth was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and an All-American selection as a senior at the University of Iowa.
Roth began his Iowa career as a middle linebacker. He shifted to the defensive line in 2002.

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| 6 ft 3+3⁄4 in (1.92 m) | 278 lb (126 kg) | 4.81 s | 1.68 s | 2.79 s | 4.36 s | 7.65 s | 32 in (0.81 m) | 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) | 26 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine. ||||||||||

### Miami Dolphins

Roth was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round (46th overall) of the 2005 NFL draft, using the pick acquired in the Patrick Surtain trade.
Roth played in a reserve role in all 32 games in his first two seasons.
With the departure of Kevin Carter to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and David Bowens to free agency, Roth was named starting defensive end in 2007.
In 2008, Roth moved to outside linebacker after the Dolphins shifted to the 3-4 defense. He started 14 of 16 games.
Roth was the subject of controversy at the beginning of training camp in 2009. According to head coach Tony Sparano, Roth failed the team's initial conditioning test due to an unknown illness. Roth's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, stated in a television appearance the failed test was due to a groin injury. On September 5, Roth was placed on the Reserve/Non-Football-Injury list. He was later waived on November 24 of that year.

### Cleveland Browns

Roth was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns on November 25, 2009.

### Jacksonville Jaguars

On August 11, 2011, Roth signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

### NFL statistics

| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD |
| 2005 | MIA | 16 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | MIA | 16 | 37 | 24 | 13 | 3.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | MIA | 13 | 44 | 35 | 9 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2008 | MIA | 16 | 53 | 46 | 7 | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2009 | MIA | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | CLE | 6 | 28 | 18 | 10 | 4.0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2010 | CLE | 16 | 86 | 59 | 27 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2011 | JAX | 9 | 24 | 18 | 6 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | | 96 | 296 | 217 | 79 | 23.5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Key
* GP: games played
* COMB: combined tackles
* TOTAL: total tackles
* AST: assisted tackles
* SACK: sacks
* FF: forced fumbles
* FR: fumble recoveries
* FR YDS: fumble return yards
* INT: interceptions
* IR YDS: interception return yards
* AVG IR: average interception return
* LNG: longest interception return
* TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
* PD: passes defensed