Richie Incognito

Richie Incognito

Incognito with the Dolphins.
No. 68 – Miami Dolphins
Position:	Guard
Personal information
Born:	(1983-07-05) July 5, 1983 Englewood, New Jersey
Career information
College:	Nebraska
NFL draft:	2005 / Round: 3 / Pick: 81
Career history
St. Louis Rams (2005–2009) Buffalo Bills (2009) Miami Dolphins (2010–present)
Roster status:	Suspended
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowl (2012) Sporting News Freshman All-American (2002) Honorable mention All-Big 12 (2002) First-team All-Big 12 (2003)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2013
Games played: 102 Games started: 102 Fumbles recovered: 2

Richie Incognito (born July 5, 1983) is an American football guard for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He is currently "indefinitely suspended" by the team for alleged misconduct. He played college football for the University of Nebraska. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Incognito has also played for the Buffalo Bills.

Early years

Incognito played offense and defense at Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Arizona, and served as a deep snapper, helping the team to an 8–4 record and the first round of the state playoffs in 2000. An All-America offensive lineman, Incognito was named to PrepStar's 120-man Dream Team. He was a second-team honoree on the Long Beach Press-Telegram's Best in the West list. Incognito was a finalist for the Arizona Player-of-the-Year Award, was named the Brian Murray Award winner, and earned the Frank Kush Award, given to the best offensive lineman in Arizona. He also earned First-team All-State honors on offense from the Arizona Republic.

College career

In 2001, he redshirted at Nebraska. In 2002, he was a redshirt freshman and played in all 14 games and was a First-team Freshman All-American by FWAA, The Sporting News, and Rivals.com as well as First-Team Freshman All-Big 12 (The Sporting News). In 2003, he was First-team All-Big 12 selection by the Associated Press and started 13 games at left tackle. Incognito was shifted to center during preseason camp in 2004; however, a series of off-field incidents culminated in his suspension before the 2004 season by the coaching staff. Soon after, he left the school and enrolled at the University of Oregon in late September. He never practiced with the team as he was cut for not meeting unspecified conditions after just a week on campus in Eugene. Incognito is the first Husker freshman offensive lineman to start in the season opener and just the third rookie lineman to earn any start in his first year of competition. He played in all 14 games, starting 13 at left tackle and posted the second-highest season pancake total in Husker history with 171.

Nebraska performance and awards

• 2002 First-Team Freshman All-American (FWAA, The Sporting News, Rivals.com) • 2002 First-Team All-Big 12 (The Sporting News) • 2002 First-Team Freshman All-Big 12 (The Sporting News) • 2002 Second-Team All-Big 12 (Dallas Morning News) • 2002 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (AP, Coaches) • 2003 First-Team All-Big 12 (AP, Dallas Morning News) • 2003 Second-Team All-Big 12 (Coaches, FWST) • Nebraska Finisher Award (Spring, 2004)• 2004 Rimington Award Watch List • 2004 Preseason No. 1 Center in Nation (NationalChamps.net) • 2004 Preseason No. 4 Center in Nation (Lindy's) • 2004 Preseason No. 6 Center in Nation (Sporting News) • 2004 Preseason Honorable-Mention All-American (Street & Smith's) • 2004 Preseason First-Team All-Big 12 (Athlon Sports, Lindy's, Street & Smith's)

Professional career

Pre-draft

At the 2005 NFL Combine, Incognito impressed scouts by being "the strongest and most explosive player in attendance". However, during a drill Incognito stumbled and was carted off the field with a knee injury.

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	Bench press	Wonderlic
6 ft 3+1⁄4 in (1.91 m)	305 lb (138 kg)	4.84 s	1.72 s	2.85 s	29 reps	32
All values from NFL Combine

St. Louis Rams

2005 season

Drafted by the St Louis Rams in the 3rd round of the 2005 draft (81st overall). As a rookie in 2005, he was on the reserved/unsigned list until Week 3, then placed on the non-football injury list for the remainder of the season.

2006 season

Incognito started all 16 games at three different positions, due to injuries and illness to the Rams' offensive line. That year he blocked for an offense which produced a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,500-yard rusher, and two 1,000-yard receivers, one of only four offenses in NFL history to accomplish the feat.

2007 season

Incognito played and started at right guard for four games after being inactive for the first four weeks of the season. In early November, Incognito suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss the remainder of season. However, while rehabilitating, it was later revealed that he had been partying nightly.

2008 season

Incognito started 15 games at right guard for the Rams, also seeing some playing time at center. Part of an offensive line that allowed 45 sacks, the fewest allowed by the team since 2003. Blocked for Steven Jackson's 160 rushing yard and three touchdown game vs. Dallas Cowboys (10/19), which earned Jackson NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Following the 2008 season, Incognito became a restricted free agent, although he continued to work out with the Rams during the offseason.

2009 season

On April 17, 2009, the Rams offered Incognito a one-year tender worth $1.01 million, which he signed on May 3. Incognito started all nine games in which he played for the Rams in 2009. He was waived on December 15, two days after committing two 15-yard personal foul penalties and engaging in a verbal confrontation with Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo during a 47–7 loss to the Tennessee Titans. The two personal fouls led to a fine from the NFL and a letter from the NFL league office. He was fined $50,000 and told "Future infractions of the types you have committed may lead to increased disciplinary action up to and including suspension." In four years with the Rams from 2006 to 2009, Incognito drew 38 penalties, including seven unnecessary roughness calls, more than any other player during that span.

Buffalo Bills

2009 season

Incognito was awarded to the Buffalo Bills off waivers on December 16, with the Miami Dolphins also submitting a claim. Incognito started the final three games of the season at right guard and helped block for Buffalo running back Fred Jackson's 212-yard rushing performance vs. Indianapolis (1/3/10). Incognito was a restricted free agent and the Bills declined to resign him.

Miami Dolphins

On March 17, 2010, Incognito signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins.

2010 season

In 2010, the Miami Dolphins signed Incognito to a one-year deal in order to help strengthen their offensive line. Incognito started all 16 games of the season playing mainly Left Guard while seeing some action at Center. According to Pro Football Focus he was ranked in the Top 20 for Pass Blocking Efficiency.

2011 season

In 2011, the Dolphins resigned Incognito, this time to a three-year deal. Incognito started all 15 games and allowed just 1.5 sacks on the year. Was part of an offensive line that helped the Dolphins rush for 254 yards at Buffalo (11/20).

2012 season

In the 2012 season Incognito started all 16 games at left guard. Incognito made his first Pro Bowl appearance after the 2012 season.

2013 season

On November 4, 2013, the Dolphins suspended Incognito indefinitely for alleged misconduct related to the treatment of teammate Jonathan Martin, who left the team a week earlier to receive help for emotional issues. His conduct was said to be detrimental to the team.

Good Guy Award

The Good Guy Award is given out in each NFL city to the player(s) who best helps the media do its job. In the 2012 season, Incognito was awarded this honor by the South Florida Chapter of the Pro Football Writers Association, alongside teammate Reggie Bush.

NFL's "Dirtiest" Player

Incognito has garnered attention over the years for perceived dirty play amongst NFL players, coaches, and fans. He has been alleged to have gouged player's eyes, punched players, and made illegal tackles on a regular basis.

Jonathan Martin incident

In November 2013, ESPN reported on Incognito's alleged role in harassment of teammate Jonathan Martin. According to Incognito, he had reached out to Martin after he'd left the team, and the two had an amicable text exchange, in which Incognito claims Martin said he did not blame him or his teammates personally. Incognito subsequently expressed outrage over the report, going on Twitter to demand that ESPN's Adam Schefter "Stop slandering my name."

Schefter and Chris Mortensen reported on ESPN on November 3 that Martin fears "retribution, primarily from Incognito." The article goes on to state that "the matter is absolutely under review and preliminarily identifies Incognito as an alleged offender in multiple incidents of possible harassment and bullying over the past two seasons, with Martin not the only victim." Schefter and Mortensen also cited unnamed sources that one of the significant allegations is an incident during the summer of 2013 when Incognito got Martin to contribute $15,000 to help finance a trip to Las Vegas by a group of Dolphins, even though Martin preferred not to, "fearing the consequences if he did not hand over the money."

On November 3, Mike Garafolo reported on Fox Sports 1 that Incognito is alleged to have sent Martin threatening and racially charged messages. He also reported that the team and league—rather than the players' association—has been asked to investigate. That same day, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported that Incognito "has had to be reprimanded in the past for his actions toward team employees," citing an unnamed source. La Canfora subsequently reported statements from an unnamed source that the team and the league are now in possession of texts from Incognito in which he uses a racial slur against Martin, and disturbing exchanges including "a reference to tracking down members of Martin's family and harming them."

The Dolphins have suspended Incognito indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. The Dolphins also asked the NFL to join their own internal investigation of the matter.

Training regimen

The 6-foot-3, 324-pound guard also has a reputation as a reliable lineman who works hard to stay healthy. Incognito's methods to stay off the injured list include core exercises like Pilates, weekly trips to the chiropractor, massage therapy and other nontraditional forms of conditioning. "The main thing is longevity, but the real goal of these methods of training is just staying on top of the small stuff," Incognito said. "The body is all interconnected.” "The main goal is to stay on the field and remain ready to deal with the grind of the NFL," Incognito said. "It's a violent sport, it's a collision sport and I take pride in being a professional and being prepared mentally and physically to play."

NFL Harvard Program

In the 2012 off-season, Incognito was one of sixty-six players who took part in the NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program held at Harvard Business School and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He said about it that it was "a good experience just learning from those guys because they bring a ton of experience to the table" and "just a good all-around experience and it really opened up my eyes to a lot of opportunities outside of the game of football and gave me confidence moving forward with my business."

Personal

Incognito is the oldest son of Richard and Donna Incognito, who also have a younger son, Derek. Incognito's father, proud about being a Nebraska parent and having Richie attend college at Nebraska, wrote a piece to Huskerboard.com describing the recruiting process. During the 2012 season, Incognito hosted a private screening with Operation Homefront and book reading of the animated film, Rise of the Guardians for Operation Homefront. At the event, Incognito led a book reading to over 100 kids before the screening of the holiday movie. Incognito supports Operation Homefront, which is an organization that provides assistance to families of service members and wounded soldiers.

External links

• Nebraska Cornhuskers bio