He played professionally for the Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston/Tennessee Oilers, and San Francisco 49ers of the NFL.

Despite the fact that he had experience at quarterback and possessed a strong arm, Hawkeyes head coach Hayden Fry made the 6'4", 250-pounder a punter and kick-off specialist, also using him for long range field goals.

With Roby, the 1981 team earned its first Rose Bowl invitation in 23 years on the strength of a 6–2 conference record (8–4 overall) and co-Big Ten championship with Ohio State.

Dolphins coach Don Shula said following the game "We're supposed to have the best punter in the football, but today, he didn't punt like he was the best.

"[2] However, it is notable that despite Miami's #1 ranked offense during the 1984 season, which set numerous NFL records, he still made the Pro Bowl that year.

Roby helped popularize the now-standard two-step approach and often wore a watch to gauge his hangtime.

The Miami Dolphins had cut him after the 1992 season largely because a corollary of this filing would have meant he could have become a free agent and left Miami at any point of the following season, but he continued to play professionally until 1998 and later became marketing and development director for Backfield in Motion, a non-profit group mixing athletics and academics to help inner city boys.

[4] In the days after his death, former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula praised Reggie Roby, saying "his booming kicks often helped us win the field position battle.