George Atkinson III
No. 34, 25 | |||||||||
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Position: | Running back | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Oakland, California | November 29, 1992||||||||
Died: | December 2, 2019 | (aged 27)||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Granada (Livermore, California) | ||||||||
College: | Notre Dame (2011–2013) | ||||||||
Undrafted: | 2014 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
George Henry Atkinson III (November 29, 1992 – December 2, 2019)
As a rookie with Oakland in 2014, Atkinson began the season on the
Early years
Atkinson and his twin brother Josh were born to Michelle Martin and former
Atkinson attended
Atkinson was also a standout athlete on the school's
College career
Atkinson and his twin Josh attended the
As a sophomore in 2012, the Irish went 12–1 and played in the national championship game. Atkinson had his most productive season in 2013 as a junior, when he was third on team in rushing with 555 yards on 93 carries. Late in the season, he lost playing time to Tarean Folston and Cam McDaniel.[10]
Atkinson was also a member of the Irish's track & field team. He ran a personal-best time of 6.85 seconds in the
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle |
Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 1+3⁄8 in (1.86 m) |
218 lb (99 kg) |
33+1⁄4 in (0.84 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.48 s | 1.61 s | 2.64 s | 4.33 s | 7.07 s | 38.0 in (0.97 m) |
10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) |
19 reps | |
Sources:[14][15] |
Oakland Raiders
On May 16, 2014, Atkinson signed with the
On September 5, 2015, Atkinson was waived by the Raiders.[21] On September 7, 2015, he was signed to the Raiders' practice squad,[22] spending three weeks with the team before being released on September 22.[23][24] On November 17, he was re-signed to their practice squad.[24]
On September 3, 2016, Atkinson was released by the Raiders as part of final roster cuts.[25]
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns claimed Atkinson off waivers on September 4, 2016.[26] He played on special teams in all 16 games during the season,[20] totaling six tackles and eight kickoff returns for an average of 16.9 yards.[27] Atkinson made his regular-season debut at running back in the season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had seven rushes for 34 yards and his first career rushing touchdown in the 27–24 overtime loss.[28] On July 28, 2017, the Browns waived Atkinson.[29]
Oakland Raiders (second stint)
Atkinson was claimed off waivers by the Raiders on July 29, 2017.[30] He was waived on September 2.[31]
Kansas City Chiefs
Atkinson was signed to the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad on September 19, 2017.[32] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Chiefs on January 10, 2018.[33] He was waived on April 4.[34]
New York Jets
On July 29, 2018, Atkinson signed with the New York Jets.[35] He was waived on August 31, 2018.[36]
Personal life
Atkinson's twin brother Josh died of suicide on Christmas in 2018.[37] Their mother had died two months before due to complications from Crohn's disease.[4] Atkinson suffered from depression after his brother's death.[38] At one point, he was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital after trying to harm himself due to the pain of Josh's death.[6][39] In October 2019, Atkinson wrote an open letter on TheUnsealed.com about his mental health struggles.[39][40] He died on December 2, 2019, three days after his 27th birthday. The cause of death was not initially released.[2][4] At the time of his death, he had left behind a two-year-old daughter.[4]
See also
References
- ^ "George Atkinson Stats". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Sinn, Dylan (December 3, 2019). "Former Irish running back Atkinson, 27, dies". The Journal Gazette. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Notre Dame Profile". und.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Peterson, Gary (December 3, 2019). "George Atkinson III, former Raider and son of team legend, dead at 27". The Mercury News. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Guitterez, Paul (November 4, 2019). "Oakland Raiders' Derek Carr mourns loss of former teammate George Atkinson III". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ a b c McDonald, Jerry (December 4, 2019). "Derek Carr remembers George Atkinson III: 'Always there…always full of life…always joyful'". The Mercury News. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ Jensen, Phil (June 6, 2009). "Pressure no problem for De La Salle's Wheeler". East Bay Times. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Stephens, Mitch (April 27, 2011). "George and Josh Atkinson quit track team over fired coaches". Max Preps. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Jensen, Phil (April 26, 2011). "George and Josh Atkinson quit Granada High track team". East Bay Times. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ a b c Wright, Lincoln (December 3, 2019). "Former Notre Dame running back George Atkinson III dead at 27". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ Rudner, Dennis (December 2, 2019). "Ex-Oakland Raiders running back George Atkinson III dies at 27". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "Big Meet – Track & Field Meet". Athletic.net.
- ^ "Big East Championship – Complete Results". flrunners.com.
- ^ "George Atkinson Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ "2014 NFL Draft Scout George Atkinson College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ "George Atkinson III headlines Raiders undrafted free agent signings". nbcsports.com. May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
- ^ "Raiders cut Little, Ross to get to 53". washingtonpost.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
- ^ "George Atkinson III makes Raiders' practice squad". mercurynews.com. September 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
- ^ Damien, Levi (November 29, 2014). "Raiders send Carlos Rogers to IR, confirm George Atkinson III activation". Silver and Black Pride. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
- ^ a b Derrick, Matt (September 21, 2017). "Former Raiders RB finds home on Chiefs practice squad". SI.com. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "Oakland Raiders Announce 53-Man Roster". Raiders.com. September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on November 13, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ "Raiders Establish Practice Squad". Raiders.com. September 7, 2015. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ "Oakland Raiders Claim CB David Amerson via Waivers from Washington Redskins". Raiders.com. September 22, 2015. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ a b "Raiders Make Roster Moves". Raiders.com. November 17, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "Oakland Raiders Announce Transactions". Raiders.com. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017.
- ^ "Browns claim 5 players, sign 4 to practice squad". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 4, 2016. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017.
- ^ Cabot, Mary Kay. "Cleveland Browns training camp 2017: Running backs preview". Cleveland.com. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "George Atkinson III". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "Browns sign RB Brandon Wilds". ClevelandBrowns.com. July 28, 2017. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018.
- ^ "Raiders Claim George Atkinson III Via Waivers". Raiders.com. July 29, 2017. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018.
- ^ "Raiders Announce Transactions". Raiders.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
- ^ Roesch, Wesley (September 19, 2017). "Chiefs shuffle practice squad, sign three players". USAToday.com.
- ^ "Chiefs sign all 10 practice squad players to reserve/futures deals". USAToday.com. January 10, 2018.
- ^ "Chiefs Waive RB George Atkinson". April 4, 2018.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (July 29, 2018). "Jets Sign RB George Atkinson, Waive TE Bucky Hodges". NewYorkJets.com.
- ^ Lange, Randy (August 31, 2018). "Jets Cut 18 Players on Their Way to 53-Player Active Roster". NewYorkJets.com.
- NY Post. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- ^ Gaydos, Ryan (December 5, 2019). "Former NFL player, college football standout dies one year after twin brother's suicide". Fox News. FOX. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- ^ a b Brill, Lauren (December 4, 2019). "George Atkinson III Opened Up About 'Pain' He Felt Over Brother's Suicide Just Before Death". People. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ [1]George Atkinson III shares his message on mental health in his own words. The Unsealed. Retrieved December 5, 2019 – via TheUnsealed.com.[2]