Player Roster

A Bengals fourth-round draft choice in 2004 ... Has been a significant contributor in all of his Cincinnati seasons ... No. 1 on depth chart at LDE in 2011 with 14 games played and 13 starts, and started in Wild Card playoff ... Started every game in 2010 ... Led line in tackles in 2009 as Bengals won AFC North title ... A two-time team leader in sacks, and his 10.5 total from 2006 stands as the most by a Bengal since 1983.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS: GENERAL: Played in Games 1 and 4-16, with 13 starts at LDE, and started at LDE in Wild Card playoff ... Suffered shoulder injury Sept. 11 at Cleveland, rendering him inactive in Games 2-3 ... Had 44 tackles, including 2.5 sacks and two passes defensed ... Supported effort for Bengals defense to rank seventh in NFL in fewest yards allowed per game (316.3), 10th in fewest rushing yards allowed (104.7), fourth in fewest yards allowed per offensive play (5.0), eighth in fewest yards per rushing play (3.9) and fifth in sacks (45).

2011 GAME-BY-GAME: Logged one tackle and one pass defensed Sept. 11 at Cleveland, helping hold Browns to 83 rushing yards on 26 attempts (3.2) … Three tackles Oct. 2 vs. Buffalo in first game back from injury … Three tackles Nov. 6 at Tennessee … On Nov. 13 vs. Pittsburgh, had 1.5 sacks, six total tackles (tied for line lead), one tackle-for-loss on a rushing play and an additional QB pressure ... Six tackles (tied for line lead) Nov. 20 at Baltimore, with one tackle-for-loss … Led line in tackles (seven) Nov. 27 vs. Cleveland, including a four-yard sack of Colt McCoy … Two tackles Dec. 4 at Pittsburgh … Logged three tackles, all for losses, Dec. 11 vs. Houston, including a shared sack … One tackle Dec. 18 at St. Louis ... Two tackles and a pass defensed Dec. 24 vs. Arizona ... Four tackles in Wild Card playoff 1-7-12 at Houston.

PREVIOUS SEASONS: 2010 - Missed final four Bengals preseason games with foot injury, but returned to action for regular-season opener … In win Sept. 19 vs. Baltimore, led line with five tackles … On Sept. 26 at Carolina, his recovery of a Jonathan Stewart fumble and return to Panthers 37 set up fourth-quarter drive for TD that iced the game … Also at Carolina, helped hold Panthers rushing duo of DeAngelo Williams and Stewart to 77 net yards … Four tackles (led line) and two QB pressures Oct. 10 vs. Tampa Bay … Season-high seven tackles Oct. 24 at Atlanta, tied for line lead … Three tackles Nov. 8 vs. Pittsburgh, including sack of Ben Roethlisberger for nine-yard loss in third quarter … Three tackles Dec. 5 vs. New Orleans, and forced a fumble against RB Chris Ivory (Saints recovered) … Line-leading six tackles, a QB pressure and a pass defensed in Dec. 26 win that knocked San Diego from playoff contention.

2009 - Had line-leading eight tackles in Sept. 27 win vs. Pittsburgh, including a shared sack of Ben Roethlisberger on third down in fourth quarter, forcing Steelers punt that preceded Bengals game-winning drive … On Oct. 18 vs. Houston, had a forced fumble in fourth quarter while downing RB Steve Slaton for a four-yard loss (Bengals recovered fumble) … Led line in tackles for fourth straight week Oct. 25 vs. Chicago, with three … Helped preserve win Nov. 8 vs. Baltimore with 10-yard sack of Joe Flacco late in fourth quarter … On Nov. 15 at Pittsburgh, had nine-yard sack of Roethlisberger on first-and-goal from Bengals eight in second quarter, helping hold Steelers to a FG … Had line-leading six tackles Dec. 6 vs. Detroit, including a tackle-for-loss on a run play and a seven-yard sack of QB Matt Stafford on a third down in the third quarter, forcing a punt … On Dec. 20 at San Diego, his three tackles included teaming with Dhani Jones to stop QB Philip Rivers for no gain on third-and-one from Chargers 29 in third quarter, forcing a punt … Logged six tackles in Wild Card playoff 1-9-10 vs. N.Y. Jets.

2008 - On Sept. 7 at Baltimore, recovered Todd Heap fumble at Ravens 33 in first quarter, and also had two tackles … Had four tackles (two for minus yardage) and two QB hurries Sept. 21 at N.Y. Giants … Led line with eight tackles, including one tackle-for-loss, and had a QB hurry Sept. 28 vs. Cleveland … Led line for second straight week in tackles with six, including a shared sack, Oct. 5 at Dallas … On Oct. 19 vs. Pittsburgh, tied for team lead with personal season-high 10 tackles, including two for losses … On Nov. 2 vs. Jacksonville, sacked David Garrard for 10-yard loss to force a second-quarter punt … On Nov. 16 vs. Philadelphia, led line with five tackles, including a sack-and-strip against Donovan McNabb in first quarter to set up a FG (Bengals recovered fumble) … On Nov. 20 at Pittsburgh, recorded two tackles and a QB hurry before suffering a season-ending knee injury in first quarter.

2007 - Led line with eight tackles Oct. 14 vs. Kansas City and had a pass defensed ... Had 1.5 sacks among his five tackles on Nov. 18 vs. Arizona ... Forced a three-and-out on Arizona's first possession when he dropped Kurt Warner for a five-yard loss on third down ... Had three tackles Nov. 25 vs. Tennessee, including a stop for no gain against Chris Brown on a third-down play from the Bengals 18 in the third quarter ... Led line with season-best nine tackles Dec. 15 at San Francisco, and had nine-yard sack of Shaun Hill to Bengals 20 on third down in third quarter, forcing 49ers FG attempt ... Led line Dec. 23 vs. Cleveland with four tackles, including a team-up with LB Landon Johnson to stop RB Jamal Lewis for no gain on fourth-and-one from Bengals 19 in first quarter.

2006 - On Sept. 10 at Kansas City his six tackles included two sacks for 18 yards against Trent Green ... Also at K.C., tackled Green after five-yard rushing gain in second quarter, forcing Green to leave game with a concussion, but the hit was ruled legal by on-field officials and by NFL office review ... In win Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh, recorded four tackles, including two sacks of Ben Roethlisberger for eight yards ... On Oct. 15 at Tampa Bay, recorded three tackles, with a two-yard sack of Bruce Gradkowski ... On Oct. 22 vs. Carolina, his three tackles included nine-yard sack of Jake Delhomme to Panthers' four-yard line that ended the game ... Also vs. Carolina, stopped DeShaun Foster for six-yard loss on a running play ... On Nov. 12 vs. San Diego, his four tackles included four-yard sack of Philip Rivers on third-down play in second quarter, forcing a punt ... Had four tackles Nov. 19 at New Orleans, including a shared sack in the first quarter which forced a Saints punt ... Had five tackles in shutout Nov. 26 at Cleveland, including 10-yard sack of Charlie Frye to Browns 18 on third-down play in fourth quarter, forcing a punt ... On Nov. 30 vs. Baltimore, had three tackles, including a two-yard loss against Jamal Lewis in first quarter ... Had two sacks among his five tackles Dec. 10 vs. Oakland, including a three-yard drop of Aaron Brooks on third-and-seven from Bengals 12 with 27 seconds left in first half, forcing Raiders to settle for a FG and 14-3 Bengals halftime lead.

2005 - Tied for line lead with three tackles Sept. 18 vs. Minnesota ... Recorded two tackles Oct. 30 vs. Green Bay and had a pass defensed that led to an Odell Thurman INT in second quarter ... Had a season-high six tackles Nov. 6 at Baltimore, including 10-yard sack of Anthony Wright to Bengals 14 late in fourth quarter, helping lead to Ravens turning ball over on downs ... Had five tackles Nov. 20 vs. Indianapolis ... Had four tackles in crucial win Dec. 4 at Pittsburgh, and helped stop scoring threat in second quarter when he forced a Hines Ward fumble that was recovered by Cincinnati's Kevin Kaesviharn at Bengals 25 ... Had four tackles Dec. 11 vs. Cleveland, including a 10-yard sack of Charlie Frye to the Bengals 49 on third-down play in fourth quarter, forcing a punt ... Had four tackles in division-clinching win Dec. 18 at Detroit ... Recorded five tackles Dec. 24 vs. Buffalo ... Had four tackles in Wild Card playoff on 1-8-06 vs. Pittsburgh.

2004 - Played in Games 3-16, with a start as nickel DE on Nov. 14 at Washington ... Inactive for Games 1-2, rehabbing an ankle injury ... Had 22 total tackles, one forced fumble, and one INT for TD ... Also had five special teams tackles ... Had breakout game in victory Nov. 7 vs. Dallas, with a sack and forced fumble, a key pass defensed, and a QB pressure that led to an intentional grounding penalty ... In the Dallas game, sacked Vinny Testaverde for a five-yard loss at the Cowboys 36 in first quarter and forced a fumble that Anthony Mitchell recovered for Cincinnati, setting up a field goal for the game's first score ... With 0:22 left in the second quarter vs. Dallas, deflected a Testaverde pass on third down from the Bengals 6-yard line, forcing Cowboys to settle for a field goal and a 9-3 halftime deficit ... In third quarter, with Dallas having reached the Cincinnati 28-yard line, pressured Testaverde into an intentional grounding penalty on third down that took Cowboys out of field goal range ... In first NFL start Nov. 14 at Washington, logged his second sack in two weeks, dropping Patrick Ramsey for a seven-yard loss to the Bengals 36 in the second quarter, helping to force a punt ... Had 1.5 sacks and four tackles in win Nov. 28 vs. Cleveland, and his solo sack was a crucial one, as he dropped QB Kelly Holcomb for a 10-yard loss to the Cleveland 32 on a third down play with just over five minutes to play in the fourth quarter, forcing the Browns to punt on the possession after Cincinnati had taken a 51-48 lead ... Had three tackles in comeback win Dec. 5 at Baltimore ... On Dec. 26 vs. N.Y. Giants, his deflection of an Eli Manning pass led to Carl Powell's game-clinching interception with less than a minute to play ... Continued his big-play ways Jan. 2 at Philadelphia, intercepting a Jeff Blake swing pass at the Eagles 36 in the third quarter and returning for a TD that gave the Bengals a 24-3 lead ... Had total of three passes defensed at Eagles.

TAKE THE FUMBLE AND RUN: Geathers had 113 return yards on his two fumble recoveries in 2009 — the most yards in a season by a Bengal since fumble recovery statistics became officially logged in 1976. The previous season record was 75, on one return by LB Ray Bentley in 1992. Bentley’s return was the longest single fumble return in Bengals history until Oct. 4 of last year, when Geathers tied it at Cleveland with a 75-yard TD return after grabbing a fumble by RB Jerome Harrison in midair. On Nov. 22 at Oakland, Geathers had 38-yard return of a Michael Bush fumble to Raiders 13, giving him his 113 total for 2009.

COLLEGE: Entered the NFL Draft after his junior season at Georgia ... Started all 14 games in 2003 as Bulldogs posted 11-3 record ... Played 39 games over three seasons (2001-03), but did not become a full-time starter until '03 ... Had career totals of 81 tackles, five sacks, 10 tackles-for-loss, 22 QB pressures and two INTs.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Geathers has the NFL in his blood. His uncle, Jumpy Geathers, and his father, Robert Sr., were both talented defensive linemen. Jumpy recorded 62 sacks in a 13-year NFL career (1984-96 with New Orleans, Washington, Atlanta and Denver). Robert Sr. starred at South Carolina State and earned a third-round draft selection by Buffalo in 1981 before being hampered by an injury. "My dad gave me a football when I was three years old," Robert Jr. recalls. "That's the first thing I remember, carrying that ball around the house, running from him."

PERSONAL: Hometown is Georgetown, S.C. … Attended Carvers Bay High School, where he recorded 100 tackles and nine sacks as a senior and had 130 tackles with 14 sacks as a junior … Married (wife Adria), with a son, Robert III … Sports studies major at Georgia … Last name is pronounced as “gathers.”