L.A. Avengers draft NFL veteran Chris Doering
October 14, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers News Release
LOS ANGELES -- Chris Doering, a wide receiver with six years of National Football League experience, was selected by the Los Angeles Avengers in the Arena Football League's dispersal draft today.
Doering (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) was on the Carolina Cobras' exempt list while playing in the NFL and thus eligible to be selected along with other players whose rights were held by the Cobras, Indiana Firebirds and Detroit Fury, three teams that had their memberships terminated by the AFL last month.
The Avengers took Doering in the second round with the 26th overall selection. The expansion Nashville Kats had the first pick and used it on former Indiana Firebirds' quarterback Adrian McPherson, the 2004 AFL Rookie of the Year.
A record-setting wideout at the University of Florida, Doering was drafted in the sixth round of the 1996 NFL Draft (185th overall selection). He played two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts (1996-97) and one with the Denver Broncos (1999), before a ruptured Achilles tendon sidelined him for the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
Doering signed a free agent contract with the Cobras on Dec. 19, 2001, but never played for the AFL team because he joined Steve Spurrier with the Washington Redskins for his college coach's first season in the nation's capital. Doering started three games for the Redskins in 2002 and played in a dozen more, catching 18 passes for 192 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
In 2003, he moved on to the Pittsburgh Steelers and caught 18 passes for 240 yards and a score. Doering, who grabbed the Steelers' longest pass of the 2003 season, remained with Pittsburgh this year until he was cut following the team's first game.
Doering has caught 42 passes for 476 yards and three touchdowns in 37 career NFL games. Thirty of his 42 catches have resulted in first downs.
At Florida, Doering set a Southeastern Conference record with 31 career touchdown catches. He caught 149 passes for 2,107 yards in his Gator career, ranking him fourth in school history in both categories. As a 1995 senior, Doering finished with 70 receptions for 1,045 yards and an SEC single-season record 17 touchdowns, earning him Associated Press All-America second-team and All-SEC first-team honors.
Doering was born on May 19, 1973, in Gainesville, Fla.
The Avengers went 9-7 this past season and qualified for the ArenaBowl Playoffs for the third consecutive year. Los Angeles led the AFL in scoring (56.5 points per game) and averaged 12,590 fans at STAPLES Center for eight home games.
Fifty dollar deposits for 2005 Avenger season tickets are now being accepted at 1-888-AVENGERS or online at www.laavengers.com.
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