Edgerrin James

Edgerrin James

refer to caption

James with the Seahawks in 2009
No. 32
Position: Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: (1978-08-01) August 1, 1978
Place of birth: Immokalee, Florida
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight: 219 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school: Immokalee (FL)
College: Miami (FL)
NFL draft: 1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4
Career history
Career highlights and awards

NFL

NCAA

Career NFL statistics
Rushes: 3,028
Rushing yards: 12,246
Touchdowns: 80
Player stats at NFL.com

Edgerrin Tyree James (/ˈɛdʒərɪn ˈdʒeɪmz/; born August 1, 1978) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for the University of Miami. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts fourth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. James also played for the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. The AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1999, he earned four Pro Bowl selections and four All-Pro selections.

College career

James was recruited out of Florida's Immokalee High School by the University of Miami. He proved to be one of the most successful running backs in the school's history.

James ranks third in all-time University of Miami rushing yards. He was the only running back in the university's history to post two consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus rushing yards, and he ranks first in school history with the most 100-plus rushing games (14). All single season records held by James have since been broken by former Cleveland Browns running back Willis McGahee.

Edgerrin was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame on April 23, 2009 at its 41st Annual Induction Banquet at Jungle Island in Miami.

Professional career

1999 NFL Draft

The Indianapolis Colts selected James in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft with the fourth overall pick. James signed a seven-year, $49 million rookie contract. Some critics believed that the Colts made a mistake by choosing James over the reigning Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams, but he proved to be the right choice for the Colts offense.[1]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BPWonderlic
6 ft 0 in 216 lb 4.38 s 1.49 s 2.54 s 3.88 s 6.87 s 19
All values from NFL Combine)[2]

Indianapolis Colts

James quieted the critics and was an immediate success, and was named the 1999 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press. James won the NFL rushing title in his first two seasons. He's the most recent player to win the NFL rushing title in his rookie season. Six games into the 2001 season, he tore his ACL. After the 2002 season, where James failed to regain his form of 1999 and 2000, many believed that James would never recover from his knee injury.

However, James rebounded well in 2003, and re-established his place as one of the top running backs in the NFL in 2004 and 2005, with over 1,500 rushing yards in both seasons.

James left Indianapolis as their all time leading rusher with 9,226 yards. James was given a Super Bowl ring from the Colts after he left the team in 2006, when they won Super Bowl XLI.[3]

On September 23, 2012, James was inducted into the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor during the week 3 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Arizona Cardinals

James signed a four-year, $30 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals on March 23, 2006.[4] James went through a stretch of 10 games out of the 2008 season where he carried the ball only 20 times. Through this time, Ken Whisenhunt brought him in strictly as a pass protector. In Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks, James carried the ball 14 times for 100 yards. James said he would not come back to Arizona following the 2009 NFL playoffs, despite a year left on his contract.[5] In the Cardinals' first playoff game since 1998, James averaged 4.7 yards per carry and ran for 100 yards. In the Divisional round of the playoffs, James rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown in the Cardinals' upset victory over the heavily favored Carolina Panthers. James rushed for 73 yards in the Cardinals' 32-25 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game. James rushed 9 times for 33 yards in the Cardinals' 27-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.

His long-time girlfriend, the mother of his children, died of cancer in April 2009.[6] After this, he asked for his release from the team, and the Cardinals honored his request on April 28.

Seattle Seahawks

After spending the 2009 offseason grieving with his four children and declining NFL offers,[6] James finally agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks on August 24, 2009, missing the team's training camp.[7] The team released running back T. J. Duckett to make room for James on the roster.[8] However, James rushed for only 125 yards on a career-low 46 carries. He played in only seven games, and on November 3, 2009, Seattle cut him from the team.[6]

On July 26, 2011, James announced his retirement from football.[9]

Colts franchise records

NFL Records

[12]

Professional statistics

Year Team G ATT Yards AVG LG TD REC Yards AVG LG TD
1999 IND 16 369 1,553 4.2 72 13
2000 IND 16 387 1,709 4.4 30 13
2001 IND 6 151 662 4.4 29 3
2002 IND 14 277 989 3.6 20 2
2003 IND 13 310 1,259 4.1 43 11
2004 IND 16 334 1,548 4.6 40 9
2005 IND 15 360 1,506 4.2 33 13
2006 ARI 16 337 1,159 3.4 18 6
2007 ARI 16 324 1,222 3.8 27 7
2008 ARI 13 133 514 3.9 35 3
2009 SEA 7 46 125 2.7 10 0
Tot. N/A 148 3,028 12,2464.0 72 80

Personal

James currently resides in Miami, Florida. He has six children: Edquisha, Emani, Eyahna, Edgerrin Jr., Euro and Eden. On April 14, 2009, Andia Wilson, James' long-time girlfriend and the mother of his four children, died from leukemia at the age of 30.[13]

In 2000, James donated $250,000 to the University of Miami, the largest donation ever made to the university by one of its former athletes. The university responded by naming the football meeting room after him.

James appeared in the music video for Trick Daddy's songs Nann, Take It To Da House, and Shut Up. He was also the spokesman and cover athlete for the football video game ESPN NFL Primetime 2002.

James has been consecutively nominated to the NFL Hall of Fame: 2014 and 2015.

As of 2015, Edgerrin's net worth is estimated to be at $50 million.

He also has a non-profit foundation targeted towards the betterment of children: www.edgerrinjamesfoundation.org.

He is the cousin of NFL running backs Javarris James and Mike James.

References

External links

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