Philip Kenwood Sam II (born February 26, 1983) is a former professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

wide receiver. He last played for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

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 ...

in 2011. 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 fifth round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 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 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. 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 ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

. Sam earned a

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...

with the Patriots in

Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League ( ...

over 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 ...

. He has also been a member of the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

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 pla ...

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 ...

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. ...

, and

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

. He is the son of Travis Johnson. He is the older brother of former FSU and UTEP Miners QB/WR

Lorne Sam Lorne Wallace Sam (born December 5, 1984) is a former professional American and Canadian football quarterback. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Texas-El Paso. Sam has been a ...

Personal

Sam majored in political science at Florida State. He is the older brother of

. His sister, Autumn, played collegiate basketball at Clemson and is a sportscaster at WSB-TV in Atlanta, GA. He works with high school athletes in Bellbrook, Ohio to train Wide Receivers that will be selected for college teams with some success. He has been arrested for domestic assault of his wife in Dayton Ohio.

Early years

Sam first attended

Norcross High School Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school is also th ...

before transferring to Buford High School in

Buford, Georgia Buford is a city in Gwinnett and Hall counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 17,144. Most of the city is in Gwinnett County, which is part of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan ...

. As a senior at Buford, Sam caught 39 passes for 1,067 yards and seven

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 while also rushing for two scores. As the team's

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

on defense, Sam accumulated 91

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

and grabbed five

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s. On special teams, Sam served as the team's punter and also returned two kicks for touchdowns, bringing his total for the season to 13. He earned all-state honors, was named conference and county player of the year, and was a Super Southern selection by the

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

. While playing with the Florida State Seminoles, Sam gained fame for catching a pass from teammate

Chris Rix Christopher Charles Rix (born May 1, 1981) is a former American football quarterback. Rix is also widely known as a coach and sportscaster. Early life Chris Rix was born and raised in upstate New York. He is of Filipino, German, and Irish des ...

. This play led to Sam being noticed and leaving college early to pursue a career in the NFL.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Sam was selected with the 164th overall pick in the fifth round of the

out of Florida State University by the

. In his rookie season, Sam was inactive for six contests before being placed on

Injured Reserve 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 ...

with a groin injury. In January 2005, Sam was moved to the reserve/suspended list for violation of team rules. However, Sam did receive a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

ring after the Patriots beat the

24–21 in

. In 2005, Sam battled an undisclosed injury during training camp and the preseason, which hurt his chances of making the Patriots' 53-man roster. He was waived on September 3 and worked out for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

prior to being added to the Patriots' practice squad, where he would spend the rest of the season.

Cincinnati Bengals

As a free agent following the season, Sam was signed by

in February 2006. He caught two passes for 23 yards — his only receptions of the preseason — in the team's final exhibition 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 ...

. He was subsequently waived on September 2.

Miami Dolphins

After working out for 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 ...

in October 2006, Sam signed with the Miami Dolphins and was placed on the team's practice squad. During the 2006 season Sam was forced to take a hiatus for personal reasons and was released, however he was re-signed a short time later and ended the season on the practice squad. In 2016, Sam alleged that he was released for missing a practice to visit his dying father. Despite a new head coach, Sam was re-signed to a future contract by the Dolphins in February 2007. He played for the

Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...

of NFL Europa in the spring. On May 15, Sam was named the NFL Europa Offensive Player of the Week after racking up 122 yards and a touchdown in a 27–24 victory over the Frankfurt Galaxy. Sam was ultimately a final training camp cut of the Dolphins.

Oakland Raiders

Early in the 2007 NFL season, Sam signed a practice roster agreement with the Oakland Raiders. He was later released by the team in October.

First stint with Argonauts

On September 4, 2008, Sam was a free agent signing of the

of the

and was assigned to their practice roster. On September 20, he made his CFL debut against the

and ended the 2008 CFL season playing in six games and made 36 receptions for 499 yards and three touchdowns.

Buffalo Bills

On January 26, 2009, Sam was signed to a reserve/future contract by the

. He was waived/injured by the Bills July 29, 2009 and reverted to season-ending

injured reserve 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 ...

. The team released him with an injury settlement on July 31, making him 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 ...

Second stint with Argonauts

Sam was activated from the deferred list by the Argonauts on August 4, 2009.

Calgary Stampeders

On February 17, 2010, Sam was traded to the Calgary Stampeders in exchange for wide receiver

Jeremaine Copeland Jeremaine Copeland (born February 19, 1977) is a former professional gridiron football wide receiver who is currently the wide receivers coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He has played with the Montreal Alo ...

Third stint with Argonauts

On May 19, 2011, Sam was traded back to the Toronto Argonauts, along with defensive lineman

Miguel Robede --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disa ...

, for wide receiver

Reggie McNeal Reginald Parrish McNeal (born September 20, 1983) is a former professional American football player. He played five seasons in the Canadian Football League. He played college football at Texas A&M University. High school career McNeal attended ...

and defensive lineman Adrian Davis. He was released on June 20, 2011, after playing in just one preseason game.Argos cut ties with Sam, two others
June 20, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2011.

References

External links

P.K. Sam Gives BackArrest DetailsBuffalo Bills bio

New England Patriots bioToronto Argonauts bioArgonauts, Stampeders, Complete Six-Player Deal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sam, P. K. 1983 births Living people People from Norcross, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American players of American football American football wide receivers Norcross High School alumni Florida State Seminoles football players New England Patriots players Cincinnati Bengals players Miami Dolphins players Rhein Fire players Oakland Raiders players Buffalo Bills players African-American players of Canadian football Canadian football wide receivers Toronto Argonauts players Calgary Stampeders players Violence against women in the United States American expatriate sportspeople in Germany 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people