Kelvin Mack Edwards (born July 19, 1964) 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 ...

wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for 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 ...

and

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 also was a member of the

Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to: American football *Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League *Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs * Dallas Texans (arena), 1990–1993 Arena Football League team ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL). 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 ...

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

Early years

Edwards attended Russell High School, where he played as a wide receiver. He accepted a football scholarship from

, where he was a part of a passing offense that included wide receiver Fred Banks. As a senior, he led the team and set the school career records in receptions, receiving yards, touchdown receptions, scoring, kickoff returns and punt returns. The team's final two games of the season were canceled after the flooding of

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

, that caused $2 million in damage to the athletic facility and destroyed all football equipment. He finished as the school's record holder in career receiving yards (2,546) and career receiving touchdowns (24). He caught a pass in 32 consecutive games and in 39 of his 41 contests. He was selected to play in the 1985

Blue–Gray Football Classic The Blue–Gray Football Classic was an annual American college football all-star game held in Alabama, usually in late December and often on Christmas Day. The brainchild of Alabama college football legend Champ Pickens, the contest began in ...

. Edwards also practiced

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and set the school record in the

300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 (Roman numerals, CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, ...

and

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

. In 2009, he was inducted into the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2019, the school retired Edwards' jersey number (83).

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Edwards was selected by the

in the fourth round (88th overall) of the

1986 NFL Draft The 1986 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 draft was held April 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott Marq ...

. As a rookie, he caught 9 of his 10 receptions in the final six games. He totaled 10 receptions for 132 yards and one carry for 6 yards. He was waived on September 7,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Dallas Cowboys

After the players went on a strike on the third week of the 1987 season, those games were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

decided that the games would be played with replacement players. In September, he was signed to be a part of the

replacement team, that was given the mock name "Rhinestone Cowboys" by the media. Although he was a backup wide receiver behind

Sebron Spivey Sebron Ervin Spivey (born August 2, 1964) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Southern Illinois University. Early years Spivey attended Rayen High Sch ...

in the first game against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, he earned the starting position after tallying 2 receptions for 68 yards, 2

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s and causing a pair of long pass-interference calls in favor of the Cowboys. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week after making 6 receptions for 100 yards and scoring on a 62-yard reverse run against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

on October 11, which was the longest rush by a wide receiver in franchise history. In the next game 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 ...

, he had 6 receptions for 104 yards and a 38-yard touchdown. He ended up being one of the league's best players during the replacement games, posting 14 receptions for 272 yards, 62 rushing yards, 3 receiving touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and 4 total touchdowns (led all replacement players). He was kept for the rest of the season, starting 7 additional games, while finishing with a total of 34 receptions for 521 yards and 3 touchdowns. In

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, he suffered a knee injury that required arthroscopic knee surgery in June. In the fourth quarter of the season opener against 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 ...

, he re-injured the knee when he was leading the team with 5 receptions for 93 yards. Although he played in 7 more games (including one start), he was never at full speed and did not catch another pass. He was placed on the

injured reserve list 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 ...

on November 29. In

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, he was limited with a right knee injury and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in June. He was released before the start of the season.

San Francisco 49ers

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. He was released on May 14.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL)

On July 22,

, he was signed by the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

to their practice roster. He was released on August 26.

Dallas Texans (AFL)

On June 16,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, he was signed by the

of the

. He played in one game making 5 receptions for 30 yards and one tackle.

Personal life

Edwards currently owns a car dealership in Dallas. Edwards was hired in 2020 to lead diversity initiatives at

. In 2021, he filed a lawsuit against the school when he was dismissed, with him citing discrimination based on race alongside breach of contract. The lawsuit was dismissed the following year. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/ex-nfl-player-dismisses-bias-suit-against-liberty-university

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Kelvin 1964 births Living people Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama Players of American football from Fulton County, Georgia American football wide receivers Liberty Flames football players New Orleans Saints players Dallas Cowboys players Dallas Texans (Arena) players National Football League replacement players Liberty Flames and Lady Flames athletes