James Sanders (born November 11, 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 ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

. Sanders also played for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

College career

After graduating from

Monache High School Monache High School is one of the three high schools located in Porterville, California, United States and is part of the Porterville Unified School District (PUSD). It's the city's second high school and as of 2021 serves approximately 2,583 s ...

, Sanders attended

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

, where he played for head coach

Pat Hill Lawrence Patrick Hill (born December 17, 1951) is an American football coach, former player, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach at Fresno State from 1997 until his dismissal following the 2011 season. In 15 seasons as head coa ...

, a former assistant under Patriots head coach

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...

, then coach of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. As a freshman in 2002, Sanders was a first-team freshman

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n selection by the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

and an All- WAC honorable mention. He started every game at strong safety for the second straight year in his 2003 sophomore season, earning first-team All-WAC honors. In his junior season in 2004, Sanders again earned All-WAC honors in what would prove to be his final season at Fresno State.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Sanders was drafted by the

in the fourth round of the

(133rd overall). He was subsequently signed by the Patriots in July 2005. He played in 10 games as a rookie in

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 ...

, starting twice. In a Week 14 game against 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. ...

, Sanders returned an interception late in the game 39 yards for a touchdown. Sanders started five of the 16 games he played in during the

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 ...

season, filling in for an injured

Rodney Harrison Rodney Scott Harrison (born December 15, 1972) is an American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons with the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots. He was selected in the fifth round of th ...

. During the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

season, fellow safety Eugene Wilson lost his starting spot to Sanders, who went on to start 15 games in the regular season and

Super Bowl XLII Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. He started 14 games in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, missing two games in December due to an injury. In March 2009, Sanders agreed to terms with the Patriots on a three-year contract. It was reported that Sanders turned down more money elsewhere to return to the Patriots. During an August 2, 2009 press conference, Patriots head coach

spoke of Sanders: Sanders started the first game of the 2009 season before losing his job to

Brandon McGowan Brandon McGowan (born September 16, 1983) is a former American football safety. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Maine. Early years McGowan attended Lincoln High School in Jers ...

in Week 2. He suffered a shoulder injury in Week 4 and missed the team's Week 5 game. He regained his starting job in Week 14, and started the final four games of the season as well as the Patriots' playoff loss to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. He finished the season with 48 tackles. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Sanders opened the regular season as a starter in the Patriots' base defense following the demotion of

Brandon Meriweather Brandon Meriweather (born January 14, 1984) is a former American football free safety. He played college football at the University of Miami, and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Meriweather has ...

, and started two of the first three games. After Meriweather returned as a starter in Week 4, Sanders was the team's third safety until he filled in for an injured

Patrick Chung Patrick Christopher Chung (born August 19, 1987) is a Jamaican-American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Oregon and wa ...

in Weeks 8 and 9. In Week 10, Sanders did not start but was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after intercepting a

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college footba ...

pass and returning it 32 yards for a touchdown in a win over the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. In the next game against the

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 ...

, Sanders made a game-saving interception at the Patriots' 6-yard line with seconds remaining when he picked off quarterback

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...

's throw as the Colts offense (already in field goal range) was poised to score and either tie the game or take the lead with a touchdown. Sanders finished the 2010 season with 58 tackles, three interceptions, and one forced fumble in 15 games played (nine starts). He was released by New England on August 29, 2011.

Atlanta Falcons

On August 30, 2011, Sanders signed with the

Arizona Cardinals

Sanders signed with the

on April 4, 2012.James Sanders says he’s signing with Cardinals
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References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, James 1983 births Living people People from Porterville, California Players of American football from California Sportspeople from Tulare County, California African-American players of American football American football safeties Fresno State Bulldogs football players New England Patriots players Atlanta Falcons players Arizona Cardinals players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people