Justice Cunningham (born January 14, 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He played college football at

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. In the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

, he was the 254th and last player to be drafted, making Cunningham the year's

Mr. Irrelevant Mr. Irrelevant is the nickname given to the last pick of the annual National Football League Draft. Although NFL drafts date back to 1936, the first person to be called Mr. Irrelevant was Kelvin Kirk of the 1976 NFL Draft. History "Mr. Irrelev ...

. Cunningham was the second consecutive Mr. Irrelevant for 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 ...

, who chose

Chandler Harnish Chandler Harnish (born July 28, 1988) is a former American football quarterback. He was the final pick of the 2012 NFL Draft, selected 253rd overall by the Indianapolis Colts, becoming Mr. Irrelevant 2012. He played college football for Northern ...

as the last pick of

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

High school

Cunningham graduated from Central High School (

Pageland, South Carolina Pageland is a town in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second largest town in Chesterfield County. The population was 2,760 at the 2010 census. It is known as "The Watermelon Capital of World" because of the importan ...

) in 2009. While there, he collected his fair share of accolades. His senior year, he helped Central reach the 2008 Class AA state finals and a 14–1 record while playing

and

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 ...

. This same year, he collected 20 sacks. His efforts landed him a spot on the All-State First-team, the 2008 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, and on PrepStar's All-Atlantic Region Team. As a junior, he caught 21 passes for 400 yards and 8 touchdowns. On defense, he registered 92 tackles, seven sacks, two interceptions, and three fumble recoveries. He also excelled on the basketball court averaging 12 points and 11 rebounds his junior year.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Cunningham had the "honor" of being Mr. Irrelevant in the 2013 NFL Draft, being the 254th, and last player selected in the draft. On September 2, 2013, he was waived. On September 3, 2013, he was signed to the practice squad. On November 19, 2013, he was promoted to the active roster. He played his first regular season game on November 24, 2013 against Arizona. Cunningham had one catch for four yards. On November 26, 2013, he was waived.

St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams

On November 28, 2013, Cunningham was signed to the practice squad. On December 31, 2013, he was signed a future contract. On September 1, 2014, he was placed on injured reserve. On September 2, 2014, he was waived from injured reserve. On October 29, 2014, Cunningham was signed to the practice squad. On November 25, 2014, he was promoted to the active roster. On September 5, 2015, he was waived and was signed to the practice squad the next day. On October 15, 2015, he was promoted to the active roster. On November 28, 2015, he was waived. On December 1, 2015, he was re-signed to the practice squad. On September 3, 2016, Cunningham was waived by the Rams as part of final roster cuts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Justice 1991 births Living people People from Pageland, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina African-American players of American football American football tight ends South Carolina Gamecocks football players Indianapolis Colts players St. Louis Rams players Los Angeles Rams players 21st-century African-American sportspeople