James Ray Thrash (born April 28, 1975) 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 ...

wide receiver. He was signed by 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 play ...

as an

undrafted 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 ...

in 1997. He played college football at

Missouri Southern State University Missouri Southern State University (Missouri Southern, MSSU, or MoSo) is a public university in Joplin, Missouri. It was established in 1937 as Joplin Junior College. The university enrolled 4,346 students in Fall 2021. History Missouri Southern ...

. Thrash also played for 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 currently works on the Redskins' player development staff.

Early years

Thrash graduated from Wewoka High School in

Wewoka, Oklahoma Wewoka is a city in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,271 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Seminole County. Founded by a freedman, John Coheia, and Black Seminoles in January, 1849, Wewoka is the capital ...

Professional career

Thrash was signed as an

out of

by the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, but was quickly released and signed by the

during training camp. Thrash played for four seasons with the Redskins before signing with the Eagles again. After three seasons with the Eagles, including two as their leading wide receiver, the Redskins traded a 5th round draft pick in 2005 to the Eagles to bring him back to Washington. The pick later became

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 formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

Trent Cole Trent James Cole Jr. (born October 5, 1982) is a retired American football defensive end and outside linebacker. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles as well his final two with ...

. The Redskins released Thrash on June 12, 2009 after he failed his physical due to a neck injury.

After retirement

Since retiring from the NFL, Thrash has worked on Christian evangelism, and has spoken at numerous churches. He is also a coach for the NVHAA Centurions in Manassas, Virginia. Most recently Thrash has joined the No More Organization to combat domestic violence and sexual assault. James Thrash has been appointed as an appeals officer by the NFL since 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrash, James 1975 births Living people Players of American football from Colorado Players of American football from Oklahoma American football wide receivers Missouri Southern Lions football players Philadelphia Eagles players Washington Redskins players People from Wewoka, Oklahoma Ed Block Courage Award recipients