Craphonso Ja'won "Cro" Thorpe (born June 27, 1983) 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. He was drafted by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

in the fourth round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

. 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 ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

. Thorpe has also been a member of the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

New York Sentinels New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, and

Omaha Nighthawks The Omaha Nighthawks were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which played in the United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010. During their first season, the Nighthawks played their home gam ...

Early years

Craphonso's first name is derived from his father's two given names, Craig and Alphonso, and is pronounced roughly "Crah-fonzo". He attended Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Florida. His senior year saw him catch 64 passes for 1,024 yards and eight touchdowns. He also played cornerback, and was regarded as a top prospect in Florida at both positions. Thorpe recorded 24 tackles, three interceptions, 14 pass break-ups and recovered two fumbles at the cornerback position. Lincoln High School won the Florida State Title Championship in his junior year there. In track, he was a fast 100m runner, placing 2nd in the Florida 4A Track Meet behind Wharton High Schools Dwight Ellick in his senior year. His time in the finals was 10.68, Ellick ran a 10.6 flat. He played in the first-ever U.S. Army All-American Bowl on December 30, 2000.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Thorpe was drafted by the

in the fourth round (116th overall) of the

. He signed a three-year contract with the team on July 29, 2005. He was released by the team during final cuts on September 3, 2005. Following his release, Thorpe was added to the Chiefs'

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, ...

. He remained there until December 30, 2005 when he was signed to the active roster. However, he was inactive for the team's final game of the season. Thorpe battled a shoulder injury during the 2006 preseason and was waived by the team on August 28, 2006.

Houston Texans

On October 17, 2006, the

signed Thorpe to their practice squad. He was released by the team on October 25.

Detroit Lions

Thorpe remained unsigned until January 2, 2007, when he signed with the

. He failed to make it to training camp with the team, however, and was waived on April 18.

Indianapolis Colts

Thorpe was then claimed off waivers by the

. He was waived by the team on September 1, 2007 but re-signed to the practice squad on September 20, 2007. On October 7, 2007, Thorpe was signed to the active roster after Rob Morris was placed on

injured reserve 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 ...

. He made his NFL debut that day against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

, returning three kickoffs for 19 yards and four punts for nine yards. Thorpe recorded his first offensive statistics against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

on November 11, 2007 catching five passes for 41 yards in what would also be his most productive game of the season. He caught another pass for six yards the following week against the

. In the team's regular season finale against the

, Thorpe caught his first career touchdown on a three-yard pass from backup quarterback

Jim Sorgi James Joseph Sorgi Jr. (born December 3, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. Sorgi served as ...

. Two weeks later, Thorpe was inactive for the team's divisional round playoff game against the Chargers, which the Colts lost 28–24. He was waived by the team the following offseason on February 29, 2008.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On May 31, 2008, Thorpe was signed by the

to a one-year, $370,000 contract. However, he was waived on June 16.

New York Giants

On June 20, 2008, Thorpe signed with the

. He was released with an injury settlement on August 28.

Tennessee Titans

After spending the 2008 season out of football, Thorpe was signed by the

on January 6, 2009. He was waived on July 7, 2009.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Thorpe signed a practice roster agreement by the

on July 13, 2009. He was released on September 2.

New York Sentinels

Thorpe was signed by the

of the United Football League on September 9, 2009.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsIndianapolis Colts bioJacksonville Jaguars bioWinnipeg Blue Bombers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Craphonso 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Tallahassee, Florida American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers American players of Canadian football Florida State Seminoles football players Kansas City Chiefs players Houston Texans players Detroit Lions players Indianapolis Colts players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Giants players Tennessee Titans players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players New York Sentinels players Omaha Nighthawks players