James Robert Stone (born April 26, 1992) 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 ...

center. 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 ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. He has also been a member of 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 ...

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 ...

, and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

Early years

Stone played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Maplewood High School in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. He was the Tennessee AA Lineman of the Year and named to the Tennessee Sports Writers All-State first-team. He competed in the 2010

Under Armour All-America Game The Under Armour High School All-America Game is a high school football all-star game typically held in early January in the U.S. state of Florida created to spotlight the nation’s top high school seniors. The game was first played on January 5, ...

College career

Stone played from 2010 to 2013 for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

under head coaches Derek Dooley and Butch Jones.

Professional career

Stone was rated the 10th best center in 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 ...

by NFLDraftScout.com.

Atlanta Falcons

Stone signed with the

on May 10, 2014 after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut on October 5, 2014 against 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. ...

. In the 2014 season, Stone was in 12 games, starting nine at center. On November 30, 2014, Stone's offense recorded 500 total yards versus the

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 ...

. On December 8, 2014, Stone's offense recorded 465 total yards against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. Stone blocked for an offense that was 8th in the NFL in total offense with 378.2 yards per game. That same offense was 5th in passing yards per game with 284.6 yards a game. On October 11, 2015, Stone filled in at center for an injured

Mike Person Michael Sean Person (born May 17, 1988) is a former American football Guard (American football), guard. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Montana State Bobcats fo ...

, the offense gained a season-high 418 total yards, including 176 yards on the ground against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. On October 15, 2015, Stone made his first start of the season, the offense gained 413 total yards, including 150 rushing yards against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. On December 18, 2015, Stone was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. He was released by the Falcons with an injury settlement on July 19, 2016.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On January 20, 2017, Stone signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He was waived on September 2, 2017.

Oakland Raiders

On September 4, 2017, Stone was signed to the

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 20, 2017. On September 1, 2018, Stone was released by the Raiders.

Chicago Bears

On September 3, 2018, Stone was signed to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

' practice squad. He was released on November 17, 2018. Stone was suspended for the first three weeks of the

2019 NFL season The 2019 NFL season was the 100th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 54th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 5, 2019, with the NFL Kickoff Game, in which Green Bay defeated Chicago. The season concluded w ...

, and was reinstated from suspension on September 24, 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, James Living people 1992 births Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee American football centers African-American players of American football Under Armour All-American football players Tennessee Volunteers football players Atlanta Falcons players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Oakland Raiders players Chicago Bears players 21st-century African-American sportspeople