James Leon Wilson (born July 30, 1986) 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 wi ...

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

. He was drafted by 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 p ...

in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Wilson was selected in the seventh round (235th overall) in the 2011 NFL Draft by the

. On September 25, 2011, Wilson recorded his first-career interception from

Colt McCoy Daniel "Colt" McCoy (born September 5, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas, where he won several awards and honors as a senior in 2009. McC ...

and 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 (A ...

. On October 17, 2011, Wilson recorded his first-career forced fumble against

Joe McKnight Joseph Nathan McKnight Jr. (April 16, 1988 – December 1, 2016) was an American football running back and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He attended the University of Sout ...

and the New York Jets. Wilson ended the 2011 season with 8 sacks, 5 passes defended, an interception, and a forced fumble. On October 14, 2012, Wilson recorded his second-career forced fumble against

Brit Miller Brit William Miller (born September 15, 1986) is a former American football fullback. Miller was born in Decatur, Illinois and attended high school at Eisenhower High School in the same city. He played college football at University of Illinois ...

and the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

. On October 28, 2012, Wilson recorded his first-career sack against

Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) and was draft ...

and the New York Jets. Wilson also blocked a punt for a touchdown against Robert Malone in the same game. On November 11, 2012, Wilson recorded his second-career sack on

Jake Locker Jacob Cooper Locker (born June 15, 1988) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Washington, and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans eighth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. A backup during his e ...

against the

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 hom ...

. Wilson ended the 2012 season with 35 tackles, 4 passes defended, a forced fumble and a career-high 2 sacks. On September 22, 2013, Wilson grabbed his 2nd interception off Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. On September 30, 2013, Wilson recorded his 3rd forced fumble off

Darren Sproles Darren Lee Sproles (born June 20, 1983) is an American football executive and former running back and return specialist who is a personnel consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

and 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 November 11, 2013, Wilson took his 3rd interception off

Mike Glennon Michael Joseph Glennon (born December 12, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at NC State and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also p ...

and 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) South division. The cl ...

. Wilson ended the 2013 season with 37 tackles, 5 passes defended, a forced fumble and a career-high 2 interceptions. On September 28, 2014, Wilson recorded his 4th interception off

Matt McGloin Matthew James "Matt" McGloin (born December 2, 1989) is a former American football quarterback. He was the starting quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 2010 to 2012. McGloin was the first walk-on quarterback to start a ...

and the Oakland Raiders. Wilson ended the 2014 season with a career-high 57 tackles, 2 passes defended, and an interception.

San Diego Chargers

On March 13, 2015, Wilson signed a two-year, $4.85 million contract with the San Diego Chargers. On September 20, 2015, Wilson recorded his first-career fumble recovery off

Jeremy Hill Jeremy Hill (born October 20, 1992) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU). After a promisin ...

and the Cincinnati Bengals. On October 12, 2015, Wilson caught his 5th interception from

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...

and the Pittsburgh Steelers. On November 29, 2015, Wilson recorded his 3rd-career sack off

Blake Bortles Robby Blake Bortles (born April 28, 1992) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at UCF, where he received ...

and the

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 pla ...

. On December 15, 2015, Wilson was released by the Chargers.

Kansas City Chiefs

On April 1, 2016, Wilson signed a one-year contract with 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 ...

. The Chiefs released Wilson on May 3, 2016.

Cincinnati Bengals

On July 28, 2016, Wilson signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. On September 2, 2016, Wilson was released by the Bengals.

Personal life

On June 2, 2007, Wilson was accused of shooting and killing the boyfriend of his aunt, 29-year-old Kevin Smoot of

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 173,516, making Lancaster the 153rd largest city in the United ...

. Wilson was subsequently arrested on June 12, 2007, on murder charges by the State of California. Two murder trials were held, in the first trial the jury was unable to reach a verdict after a week of deliberation, and the second trial ended on July 9, 2009, in an acquittal by the jury as his attorney argued Wilson acted in self-defense during the altercation.

References

External links

Montana Grizzlies football bioMiami Dolphins bioSan Diego Chargers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jimmy 1986 births Living people Players of American football from San Diego African-American players of American football American football cornerbacks American football safeties Montana Grizzlies football players Miami Dolphins players San Diego Chargers players Kansas City Chiefs players Cincinnati Bengals players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people