James Maxwell (born August 8, 1981) 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 ...

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, ...

. He was signed by the NFL New York Giants 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 2004. He played college football at Gardner–Webb. Maxwell has also played for 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 ...

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 p ...

, and Cincinnati Bengals.

Early years

Maxwell attended Johnsonville High School in Johnsonville, South Carolina where he was a letterman in football. Maxwell graduated from Johnsonville in 1999 as a

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in the United States, Armenia, and the Philippines to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is tradi ...

College career

Maxwell started all 42 games in which he played during his four-year collegiate career at Gardner–Webb from 2000 to 2003. He finished his career with 306

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 ...

, 10 sacks, four

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 ...

s, 11 fumble recoveries and eight forced fumbles. He was a first-team All- Big South Conference selection as a senior in 2003 when he tallied 116 tackles, three sacks and an interception. He graduated with a degree in business administration.

Professional career

New York Giants

Maxwell went undrafted in 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 ...

and was signed 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 ...

by the New York Giants on April 27, 2004. He was waived by the team following

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

on August 30 but was re-signed to the practice squad. Maxwell was promoted to the active roster on September 14 and remained there the final 14 games of the regular season. He recorded seven tackles and a sack on defense and 11 stops on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. Prior to the 2005 season, Maxwell was recognized by the NFL for completing his college studies and earning an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from Gardner–Webb. He was able to earn the degree by taking advantage of the Continuing Education Program, offered by the NFL Player Development Department. In 2005, Maxwell once again was waived by the Giants at the conclusion of the preseason.

San Francisco 49ers

On October 11, the

signed him to their active roster, where he stayed for 11 games. On the year, he recorded seven tackles on defense, and finished third on team on with 14 stops on special teams. He also recovered a fumble on special teams. Maxwell was waived by the 49ers on September 2, 2006.

Miami Dolphins

With linebacker

Derrick Pope Derrick Trayon Pope (born May 4, 1982) is a former American and Canadian football linebacker. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alabama. Pope has also been a member of ...

nursing a

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupe ...

injury prior to Week 6, the Dolphins signed Maxwell to their active roster on October 11. He ended up playing in a reserve role eight games during the season and was inactive three times. He made his Dolphin debut in a special teams role on October 15 against the New York Jets. He finished the season with three solo tackles and one assisted tackle.

Cincinnati Bengals

Jim Maxwell's debut with the Cincinnati Bengals came on December 15, 2007 in a 13-20 loss at San Francisco. Despite the team loss, Maxwell recorded his first two tackles as a Bengal. He was released during final cuts on August 30, 2008. The Bengals re-signed Maxwell on December 17 after

Victor Hobson was waived.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Jim 1981 births Living people People from Florence County, South Carolina American football linebackers Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football players New York Giants players San Francisco 49ers players Miami Dolphins players Cincinnati Bengals players