Robert William James (born December 26, 1983) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the fifth round of the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

. 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 ...

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

James was selected as a fifth round (138th overall) draft choice by the

in the

. He was signed to the Falcons

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 6, 2009 and was elevated to the 53-man roster on December 29, 2009. He was waived by the Falcons on October 5, 2010, but was re-signed to the team's practice squad a day later. Atlanta signed him to the active roster for the regular season finale at Tampa Bay where he saw action on special teams. He was released during final cuts on September 3, 2011, and re-signed to the Falcons' practice squad the following day. On December 28, 2011, a day after the Falcons placed veteran linebacker

Mike Peterson Porter Michael Peterson (born June 17, 1976) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the outside linebackers coach at the University of Florida. He most recently was the outside linebackers coach at the University of S ...

on the injured reserve list, James was signed to the active roster. James was released by the Falcons during the final cuts after the 2013 preseason.

Baltimore Ravens

James was claimed off waivers by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

on September 1, 2013. He was released on September 11, 2013.

Kansas City Chiefs

James signed 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 tea ...

on December 31, 2013, and appeared in their Wild Card loss to 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 released on March 6, 2014.

External links

Arizona State Sun Devils bio

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Robert 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Phoenix, Arizona American football linebackers Arizona State Sun Devils football players Atlanta Falcons players Baltimore Ravens players Kansas City Chiefs players