Cedric James (born March 19, 1979) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

Early years

James attended

Kennedale High School Kennedale High School is a public high school in Kennedale, Texas. The only high school in the Kennedale Independent School District, it serves students in Kennedale and a small part of Arlington. It was rated in 2011 "Recognized" by the Texas E ...

, where he was a two-time All-District 11-3A selection, registering in his senior season 27 receptions for 678 yards (25.11-yards per reception), 11 touchdowns and 10 carries for 155 yards (15.50 yards per attempt). He graduated in 1997.

College career

James accepted a football scholarship from

, where he played in a run oriented offense built around future College Football Hall of Famer

LaDainian Tomlinson LaDainian Tarshane Tomlinson (born June 23, 1979) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. After a successful college career with the TCU Horned Frogs, the San Diego Chargers se ...

. As a true freshman, he appeared in 10 games, making 4 receptions for 51 yards. As a sophomore, he recorded 13 receptions (third on the team) for 167 yards (fourth on the team) and was the only wide receiver on the team to catch a touchdown pass. As a junior, he tallied 4 receptions (tied for sixth on the team) for 52 yards As a senior, he posted 19 receptions (tied for the team lead) for 310 yards (second on the team) and 3 touchdowns. He finished his career with 41 receptions for 593 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

James was selected by the

in the fourth round (131st overall) of the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

. On September 6, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

with a strained hamstring injury. In

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, he appeared in 5 games playing mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, returning 10 kickoffs for 228 yards and making 2 tackles. He was waived August 13,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Dallas Cowboys

On September 1,

, he was signed by the

to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. On December 31, he was promoted to the active roster, but was inactive in the wild card playoff game against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. He was released on August 31,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

New England Patriots

On September 22,

, he was signed by the

to the

. On February 19,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, he was allocated to the

Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

. He started 8 games, posting 39 receptions (tied for the team lead) for 515 yards (led the team), with a 17.8-yard average and 5 touchdowns. He missed the final 2 games of the season with an injury, but still received NFL Europe All-League honors. Against the

Hamburg Sea Devils Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Hamburg Sea Devils: * Hamburg Sea Devils (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 2005 and 2007; * Hamburg Sea Devils (ELF) The Hamburg Sea Devils are an American football team in ...

, he had 6 receptions for 149 yards and a 73-yard touchdown catch. In

, he was injured most of the preseason, which led to his release and signing to the

. He was released on March 2,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Personal life

James' wife, Myriah, once appeared on the hit game show ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

''.

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Cedric 1979 births Living people Players of American football from Fort Worth, Texas TCU Horned Frogs football players American football wide receivers Minnesota Vikings players Dallas Cowboys players New England Patriots players Rhein Fire players