Ex-Michigan State Football Star, Former No. 2 NFL Pick, Dead at 38

Charles Rogers was drafted by the Lions and played for Detroit for parts of three seasons

Ex-Michigan State Football Star, Former No. 2 NFL Pick, Dead at 38
Ex-NFL wide receiver Charles Rogers of the Detroit Lions. (Danny Moloshok/Getty)
Getty Images

A former NCAA football star who was drafted into the NFL with the second overall pick in 2003 has died at age 38.

Charles Rogers, who still holds the school record at Michigan State for receiving touchdowns (27), was drafted by the Lions and played for Detroit for parts of three seasons.

A top prospect who signed a $39.5 million contract with the Lions that included a guaranteed signing bonus of $14.4 million after he was drafted, Rogers had just 36 catches for 440 yards with four touchdowns in 15 games before he left the league due to a combination of injuries and substance abuse in 2006.

A native of Saginaw, Rogers played football at Saginaw High under former coach Don Durrett.

“I’ll tell you, he was — and I’m including Flint, too, since I coached at Flint Northern all those years — he’s the best athlete I ever seen. I mean, honestly,” Durett told the Free Press. “We’re talking about basketball, football and track together. He could have had a scholarship in all three sports. That’s how good. … I haven’t seen nobody that fast that could do it all. He was just a blessed athlete that could do it all.”

The five-star high school recruit’s cause of death is unclear at this time.

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