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- Mar 18, 2019
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Charles Rogers, a talented wide receiver who was selected by the Lions with the second overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft but had a troubled and short NFL career, has died at the age of 38.
Some of Rogers’ former teammates confirmed the news this morning.
“Devastated to learn of the passing of my Spartan brother Charles Rogers,” former NFL receiver Chris Baker, a teammate of Rogers’ at Michigan State, wrote on Twitter. “Spoke with his mom this morning. Please pray for her and his children. Please also be respectful of their privacy at this difficult time. Rip Chuck.”
Rogers grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, and was a star high school receiver. He then went to Michigan State and won the Biletnikoff Award as the best receiver in college football in 2002. But after the Lions drafted him, he struggled in the NFL. He broke his collarbone in each of his first two NFL seasons, and had drug problems that saw him suspended from the NFL and plagued him for much of his post-football life.