Matt Roth (American football)

Matthew M. Roth (born October 14, 1982) is a former American football player in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Iowa. He also played for the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Early years
Roth attended Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Illinois. He was a consensus All-America pick as a senior when he played linebacker and fullback.

Roth lettered three times in wrestling (took his junior off to focus on football), where he won a state title as a senior with a record of 31-0.

College career
Roth was a two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection and an All-America selection as a senior at the University of Iowa.

Roth began his Iowa career as a middle linebacker. He shifted to the defensive line in 2002.

Miami Dolphins
Roth was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the second round (46th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft, using the pick acquired in the Patrick Surtain trade.

Roth played in a reserve role in all 32 games in his first two seasons.

With the departure of Kevin Carter to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and David Bowens to free agency, Roth was named starting defensive end in 2007.

In 2008, Roth moved to outside linebacker after the Dolphins shifted to the 3-4 defense. He started 14 of 16 games.

Roth was the subject of controversy at the beginning of training camp in 2009. According to head coach Tony Sparano, Roth failed the team's initial conditioning test due to an unknown illness. Roth's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, stated in a television appearance the failed test was due to a groin injury. On September 5, Roth was placed on the Reserve/Non-Football-Injury list. He was later waived on November 24 of that year.

Cleveland Browns
Roth was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns on November 25, 2009.

Jacksonville Jaguars
On August 11, 2011, Roth signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

NFL statistics
Key
 * GP: games played
 * COMB: combined tackles
 * TOTAL: total tackles
 * AST: assisted tackles
 * SACK: sacks
 * FF: forced fumbles
 * FR: fumble recoveries
 * FR YDS: fumble return yards
 * INT: interceptions
 * IR YDS: interception return yards
 * AVG IR: average interception return
 * LNG: longest interception return
 * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
 * PD: passes defensed