Eric Pinkins (born August 7, 1991) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. He was drafted by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in the sixth round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. 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 ...

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

Early years

Pinkins attended Inderkum High School in Sacramento, California. He was selected to the 2008 all-Metro football defense second-team in high school. Pinkins was named as an all-San Joaquin honorable mention by the National Football Foundation. He recorded 52 tackles, three interceptions, nine pass deflections, four blocked punts, and a fumble recovery in his Junior season of high school. He registered 63 tackles, two interceptions, and 12 pass deflections in his senior season of high school. He was a member of his high school track and field team.

College career

He finished his college football career with a total of 172 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and 10 pass deflections.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

On May 10, 2014, Pinkins was selected by the

in the sixth round of the

. On September 5, 2015, he was waived. On September 6, 2015, he was signed to the Seahawks'

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 September 22, 2015, Pinkins was released from the practice squad. On October 14, 2015, he was signed to the practice squad. On November 21, 2015, he was promoted to the active roster. On September 3, 2016, he was waived/injured by the Seahawks and placed on injured reserve. On September 10, he was released from the Seahawks'

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 ...

New York Giants

On October 12, 2016, Pinkins was signed to 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. ...

practice squad. On November 29, 2016, he was promoted to the active roster. On September 1, 2017, Pinkins was waived by the Giants.

Dallas Cowboys

After spending the entire

2017 NFL season The 2017 NFL season was the 98th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 52nd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 7, 2017, with Kansas City defeating defending Super Bowl LI champion New England in ...

as a free agent, On May 29, 2018, Pinkins signed with

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 ...

. He was released on September 1, 2018.

San Diego Fleet

In 2019, Pinkins joined the

San Diego Fleet The San Diego Fleet was a professional American football franchise based in San Diego, California, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019, with the team playing its home game ...

. He was one of seven San Diego State alumni to make the team's final 52-man roster. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Los Angeles Wildcats

In October 2019, Pinkins was selected by the

Los Angeles Wildcats Los Angeles Wildcats is a name shared by several American football teams from Los Angeles: *Los Angeles Wildcats (AFL) The Los Angeles Wildcats (also reported in various media as Pacific Coast Wildcats, Los Angeles Wilson Wildcats and Wilson's ...

in the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

. He was waived during final roster cuts on January 22, 2020. He signed to the XFL's Team 9 practice squad during the regular season. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

References

External links

San Diego State Aztecs football bio

Seattle Seahawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinkins, Eric 1991 births Living people American football safeties San Diego State Aztecs football players Seattle Seahawks players New York Giants players Players of American football from Sacramento, California Dallas Cowboys players San Diego Fleet players Los Angeles Wildcats (XFL) players Team 9 players