Andre James (born May 2, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

Early life

James grew up in

South Jordan, Utah South Jordan is a city in south central Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, south of Salt Lake City. Part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, the city lies in the Salt Lake Valley along the banks of the Jordan River between the Oquirrh ...

, and attended

Herriman High School Herriman High School (HHS) is a state school, public high school in Herriman, Utah, Herriman, Utah, United States. It is a part of the Jordan School District and serves students from the cities of Herriman, South Jordan, Utah, South Jordan, and Ri ...

, where he was a member of the football and track and field teams. He was named first-team All-State as a senior at offensive tackle. James was also a three time class 5A state champion in the shot put. He was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play

at UCLA over offers from Oregon, USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Utah.

College career

James was a member of the

, redshirting his true freshman season. He became a starter during his redshirt freshman season following an injury to

Kolton Miller Kolton Daniel Miller (born October 9, 1995) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins. Early life Miller was born the ol ...

. James started the final 32 games of his collegiate career, appearing in 35 games total. As a redshirt junior, he made the decision to play in the Bruins' week seven game against Arizona and continue his consecutive games started streak despite his father passing away of cancer earlier that week. James declared for the NFL Draft on December 18, 2018, forgoing his final season of NCAA eligibility.

Professional career

Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders

James signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

on May 3, 2019. He was reunited with UCLA offensive tackle

. He made his NFL debut on September 9, 2019, against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. He made his first career start at center in Week 9 in place of the injured

Rodney Hudson William Rodney Hudson (born July 12, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, earning All-American honors twic ...

. James appeared in 12 games with one start as a rookie. On March 22, 2021, the Raiders signed James to a three-year, $12.5 million contract extension through the 2023 season. He was the full-time starting center for all three seasons. On March 11, 2024, James signed a three-year, $24 million contract extension with the Raiders. James was released by the Raiders on March 12, 2025.

Los Angeles Chargers

James signed with the

on March 18, 2025.

References

External links

UCLA Bruins profileLos Angeles Chargers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Andre 1997 births Living people People from Herriman, Utah Players of American football from Salt Lake County, Utah American football offensive tackles UCLA Bruins football players Los Angeles Chargers players Las Vegas Raiders players Oakland Raiders players