BIOGRAPHY
Rico Gafford was born May 23, 1996 in Des Moines, Iowa. He is a Wide Receiver for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL.
Gafford was born and grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. He originally attended East High School, where he played football and ran track and was named All-State at cornerback by The Des Moines Register. He transferred to Dowling Catholic High School going into his senior year and was again named All-State. He also competed in the Iowa High School Athletic Association track and field state championships, where he set the state's 100 meter dash record at 10.61 seconds and also won the class 4A 200 meter dash title as well.
Gafford began his collegiate career at Iowa Western Community College, where he played two seasons and totaled 77 tackles, five interceptions and three fumble recoveries before committing to play at Wyoming for his final two seasons of college eligibility over offers from Troy and Ohio. In total, he accumulated 103 total tackles, six interceptions, 17 passes defended, three forced fumbles and 1.5 tackles for loss over the course of his two seasons with the Cowboys. In his senior season, Gafford made 43 total tackles, a forced fumble and a tackle for a loss with four interceptions and six pass deflections and was named second team All-Mountain West Conference. His performance also earned him an invitation to participate in the 2018 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
Gafford signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2018. He was cut by the team at the end of training camp on September 1, 2018.
Gafford was signed to the Oakland Raiders practice squad on September 3, 2018. On November 7, 2020, Gafford was waived by the Raiders and re-signed to the practice squad three days later.
Gafford signed a reserve/futures contract with the Arizona Cardinals on January 6, 2021.
