Muhsin Muhammad

Muhsin Muhammad, II (Turkish, Muhşın Muhammad, II) (born May 5, 1973, in Lansing, Michigan) is an American Football player who currently plays wide receiver for the Chicago Bears of the NFL. Muhammad was a star player at Waverly High School in Lansing before playing college football at Michigan State University. He was drafted in 1996 by the Carolina Panthers. After 2 mediocre seasons, he broke out. He averaged around a thousand yards per season from 1998-2000, had an off year in 2001, then returned to elite form. He played in Super Bowl XXXVIII in January 2004, losing to the New England Patriots. In the 2004-05 season, he exploded to lead the NFL with 1,405 receiving yards. He notched a career high and league-leading 16 receiving touchdowns as well, earning a Pro Bowl selection.

In February of 2005, Muhammad could not come to terms on a contract extension with the Panthers, and was released. Hours after his release from the Panthers, the 32-year old veteran agreed to a six-year deal with the Chicago Bears. By that time, he held all of the Panthers' receiving records, including catches (578), receiving yards (7,751), 100-yard games (26), the top three single-game yardage totals (192, 189, 179) and was tied with Wesley Walls at 44 touchdown receptions.

Despite these impressive accomplishments, Muhammad's career with the Panthers was plagued with several negative experiences. During his time there, he was the target of a racial slur from Kerry Collins, testified at murder hearings for Rae Carruth and Deidra Lane (wife of Fred Lane), was arrested in 2003 on misdemeanor drug and weapon offenses, and was criticized for dropping balls throughout his tenure as a Panther. He was also admonished for giving up on a route that led to a game-deciding interception against the Atlanta Falcons in 2003.

Muhammad's tenure with the Bears has been extremely eventful. He has not only established himself as one of the best receivers for the Bears, but also as their main receiving threat. Furthermore, Muhammad has helped bring about a new form of work ethic to the Bears Offensive team. Despite failing to catch several poorly thrown passes from the rookie quarterback, Kyle Orton, Muhammad held himself accountable for the mistakes, and promised the Chicagoland media he would work to improve his game. However, it should be noted that Muhammad would later be seen complaining to Orton during a Sunday night match up against the Atlanta Falcons. This has been widely accepted to be the cause of coach Lovie Smith’s choice for benching Orton in favor of a fully recovered Rex Grossman.

Muhammad practices both Islam and Christianity, as a result of the different persuasions of his parents.