Rodney Adams’ retirement from NFL stuns peers, pals

A day after news broke of former USF receiver Rodney Adams' decision to retire from football, former teammates remained perplexed by the abrupt announcement.

The Indianapolis Colts, with whom Adams signed a futures contract in February, announced late Monday afternoon they had placed Adams, 23, on the reserve/retired list, but gave no explanation for his decision. Neither Adams nor his grandmother, Ruth Cooper, could immediately be reached.

Former Bucs WR Bernard Reedy, who preceded Adams as Lakewood High's resident speedster, said the news caught him off-guard. Devin Abraham, an Adams teammate at USF, had the same reaction.

Some online reports indicate he may be pursuing a career in modeling and/or acting. Adams' recent Twitter activity seems to corroborate that.

Adams set a USF single-season record with 67 catches in 2016, and ranks second behind Andre Davis in career receptions (135).

The Vikings' fifth-round draft choice last spring, Adams never made a regular-season catch in the NFL. Active the first eight weeks of the 2017 regular season, he was waived on Oct. 30 and re-signed to Minnesota's practice squad.

His most prominent post-USF moment may have occurred at the NFL scouting combine, where he raised approximately $3,000 in donations and pledges for every inch he jumped in the vertical leap. The proceeds benefited a camp for kids who recently suffered the death of a parent, primary caregiver or sibling.

Adams lost his own mother late in his freshman season at Toledo in 2013. Michelle Conway Scott died in an automobile crash at age 37.

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