Alright, so today I got curious about whatever happened to Bruce Ellington. Remember that dude? Used to watch him return kicks back in the day. Grabbed my laptop and just started digging around, piece by piece.
Where I Started
First thing – went straight to the main NFL stats place we all use. Typed his name in, but guess what? The damn search kept giving me Bruce Matthews results instead. Like c’mon, not even close! Had to scroll through three pages before his name finally popped up.
The Stats Hunt
Noticed right away he bounced around like a ping pong ball between teams. Made a quick list:
- Texans first obviously – where he got drafted
- Jets for that one random season
- Patriots (almost forgot about that!)
- Lions right before he vanished
Checked his receiving yards year by year. Man, that 2017 season with Houston jumped out – 253 yards total? That’s less than some dudes get in a single game now! Scrolled down to special teams and yeah, those kick returns were his money job. Still, highest was like 24 yards per try. Not exactly jaw-dropping stuff.
The Head-Scratching Part
Got to wondering why he didn’t stick anywhere. Checked game logs and boom – dude suited up for only 33 games total over five years! How’s that even possible? Then remembered all those “questionable” tags next to his name every damn week. Injury report showed hamstring issues constantly. Like every October he’d vanish for weeks.
What Actually Matters
After wasting two hours clicking around, here’s what actually stuck with me:
- Never started a single game – always backup duty
- Exactly two career touchdowns total
- More kick returns than actual catches
- Last NFL stat ever recorded was a fair catch in Detroit
Funniest thing? That whole “return specialist” rep. Crunched the numbers – he had fewer return yards than Julian Edelman got in his best season. Wild how memory plays tricks.
Honestly expected way more from his college hype. Makes you realize how many guys just quietly disappear after bouncing between practice squads. Whole research took less time than cooking dinner. Not sure why I even bothered, but hey – now you know.
