Former Michigan State and Detroit Lions wide receiver Charles Rogers has died age 38. His former coach Don Durrett, whom he played for at Saginaw High, and fellow players confirmed the news and said he passed over night. The cause has not been made public.
“I’ll tell you, he was—and I’m including Flint, too, since I coached at Flint Northern all those years—he’s the best athlete I ever seen,” Don Durrett said to the Detroit Free Press. “I mean, honestly. We’re talking about basketball, football and track together. He could have had a scholarship in all three sports. That’s how good. … I haven’t seen nobody that fast that could do it all. He was just a blessed athlete that could do it all.”
Former Michigan State teammate Chris Baker echoed Durrett’s sentiments on Twitter. “Devastated to learn of the passing of my spartan brother Charles [Rogers],” he tweeted. “Spoke with his mom this morning. Please pray for her and his children. Please also be respectful of their privacy at this time. Rip Chuck.”
Rogers played for MSU from 2000-02 before entering the NFL draft as the No. 2 overall pick in 2003. His career with the Lions came to an end in 2006. “Two broken collarbones in his first two seasons with the Lions, a pain-killer addiction, failed drug tests, and an NFL suspensions for marijuana use left him one of the biggest busts in NFL history,” Detroit’s WWJ Newsradio 950 writes.
