Olubunmi Babatunde Rotimi Jr. (born July 16, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Old Dominion and signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Rotimi has also played for the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) and the New York Guardians of the XFL.
 Rotimi with the Washington Football Team in 2021 | |||||||
| No. 44 – Arlington Renegades | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | July 16, 1995 Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 273 lb (124 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | West Potomac (Alexandria) | ||||||
| College: | Old Dominion | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 2018 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| |||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
Early life and education
editBunmi Rotimi was born on July 16, 1995, in Alexandria, Virginia, to African immigrants.[1] He attended West Potomac High School, earning all-district honors as a junior, even though his freshman year was the first year he tried playing the sport.[2] Following high school he went to Old Dominion University, where he spent his true freshman year of 2013 as a redshirt. A walk-on, Rotimi played in twelve games as a freshman, starting two at defensive tackle. He recorded 30 tackles in the season.[3]
As a sophomore, Rotimi played in twelve games, starting eleven and recording 36 tackles. He also was second on the team with 4.5 sacks. He transitioned to defensive end as a junior, starting thirteen games, and making 44 tackles and seven sacks. He started seven games as a senior, making 29 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Against Marshall, Rotimi made a blocked field goal. He was named all-Conference USA honorable mention following his senior season.[3]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
273 lb (124 kg) |
4.70 s | 7.46 s | 32 in (0.81 m) |
9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
21 reps | ||||||
| All values come from the NFL Scouting Combine.[4] | ||||||||||||
Chicago Bears
editAfter only competing at five NFL Combine drills, Rotimi went unselected in the 2018 NFL draft. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Chicago Bears on May 11.[5][6] He was released in July before the preseason started.
Arizona Hotshots
editHis next team after Chicago was the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). He appeared in five games, making six tackles and a sack before the league folded.[7]
New York Guardians
editAfter the Hotshots folded, Rotimi was signed by the New York Guardians of the XFL.[2] He played in five games again, making 25 tackles before the league suspended.[7]
Washington Football Team
editRotimi signed with the Washington Football Team on July 28, 2021.[8] He was released during the team's final roster cuts but signed with their practice squad the following day.[9] He was signed to the active roster on November 13, 2021.[10] He made his first career sack in Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles.[11]
On March 16, 2022, the team placed an exclusive-rights free agent tender on Rotimi.[12] He was placed on injured reserve on August 22, 2022, and was released with an injury settlement a week later.[13][14]
Arlington Renegades
editRotimi played for the Arlington Renegades of the XFL in 2023.[15] He re-signed with the team on January 29, 2024.[16]
References
edit- ^ Minium, Harry (December 21, 2016). ""Everything changed" about ODU defense when Bunmi Rotimi moved to end". pilotonline.com.
- ^ a b Diamond, Zachary (February 29, 2020). "Guardian's Defensive Lineman Bunmi Rotimi Is A Self Proclaimed "Video Game Nerd"".
- ^ a b "Bunmi Rotimi - 2017 - Football". Old Dominion University.
- ^ "Olubunmi Rotimi | Combine Results | DE - Old Dominion (VA)".
- ^ Infante, Jacob (July 11, 2018). "Bears UDFA breakdown: Defensive end Bunmi Rotimi". Windy City Gridiron.
- ^ "Bunmi Rotimi". The Sports Forecaster.
- ^ a b "Bunmi Rotimi Stats". Pro Football Archives.
- ^ Crabtree, Curtis (July 28, 2021). "Washington signing former Bears, XFL defensive end Bunmi Rotimi".
- ^ "Tracking Washington's 16-man practice squad additions". September 1, 2021.
- ^ Selby, Zach (November 13, 2021). "Washington places Montez Sweat on Injured Reserve, signs Bunmi from practice squad". WashingtonFootball.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Washington Football Team Public Relations (December 22, 2021). "Washington-Eagles Wednesday Stats Pack". WashingtonFootball.com. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ Selby, Zach. "Commanders tender 4 players, release S Landon Collins". Commanders.com. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ "Commanders activate TE Logan Thomas off PUP list amid multiple roster moves". Commanders.com. August 22, 2022.
- ^ RotoWire Staff (August 28, 2022). "Bunmi Rotimi: Waived with injury settlement". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ "Bunmi Rotimi". FootballDB.com. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
- ^ @UFL_PR (January 29, 2024). "The United Football League has announced the following transactions" (Tweet). Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Twitter.
External links
editMedia related to Bunmi Rotimi at Wikimedia Commons