Edward Jay Jenkins (born August 31, 1950) is an American lawyer and 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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

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

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

, the

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

, the

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 ...

, and the

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. ...

. 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 ...

at the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

as a wide receiver and running back and was drafted by the Dolphins in the eleventh round of the

1972 NFL Draft The 1972 NFL draft was held February 1–2, 1972, at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski. Player selections Round one Round two ...

Football career

Jenkins was originally drafted as a wide receiver but switched to running back because of his blocking ability and the Dolphins' depth at wide receiver. Although he was on Miami's undefeated 1972 Super Bowl championship team, he did not get a single rushing attempt that season. He spent most of the season on the

taxi 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, ...

except for the first three games in which he played solely 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 ...

before injuring his knee. He was on the Dolphins' roster for the 1973 Dolphins Super Bowl championship season but spent the season 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 ...

due to an injured shoulder. Jenkins was traded to the New York Giants prior to the start of the 1974 season in exchange for a 14th round draft pick, with which the Dolphins selected

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

James Lewis. He was released by the Giants in October after playing four games for them. He was then signed by the Bills a few days later. Jenkins made his only NFL pass reception with the Bills in a game against the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

on November 10, 1974. The Bills released him after 5 games with them to make room on the roster for

Al Randolph. He was then signed by the

and played 4 games for them in 1974. In the final game of the season against the Dolphins, on December 15, Jenkins recovered a fumble to set up a Patriots

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

, but Miami won the game. The Patriots released Jenkins before the 1975 season. In 1975, Jenkins was in Packers training camp. His reps were limited, and he went to coach Bart Starr to discuss his future. “Coach Starr said, ‘Eddie Jenkins, you’re going to make a great lawyer,’ ” Jenkins said.

Personal life

After his football career ended Jenkins obtained his J.D. degree from

Suffolk Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, across the street from the Boston Common and the Freedom Trail, two blocks ...

in 1978, the same law school as 1972 Miami teammate

Nick Buoniconti Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti (December 15, 1940 – July 30, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played for the Boston Patriot ...

graduated from. He subsequently worked as an attorney, and was a candidate for Suffolk County district attorney in 1990. His son

Julian Jenkins Julian Jenkins (born October 25, 1983) is a former gridiron football defensive end. He attended Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and track and field. Jenkins played both defensi ...

played as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for 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 ...

in 2006 after being drafted in the 5th round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

References

External links

NFL.com player page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Ed 1950 births Living people Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida American football wide receivers Holy Cross Crusaders football players Miami Dolphins players Buffalo Bills players New England Patriots players New York Giants players Suffolk University Law School alumni