Ayokunmi Christopher Oluwaseun Banjo (born February 26, 1990) is a former American football safety and current assistant special teams coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). 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 ...

at SMU. Banjo was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He has also played for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, New Orleans Saints, and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

College career

Banjo attended Southern Methodist University, where he played on the SMU Mustangs football team from 2008 to 2011.

Statistics

''Source
SMUMustangs.com
'

Professional playing career

Jacksonville Jaguars

After going undrafted in the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

, Banjo signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on April 18, 2013. On July 25, 2013, he was released by the Jaguars.

Green Bay Packers

On July 29, 2013, Banjo was signed by the

. He was re-signed by the Packers on February 26, 2014. On August 30, 2014, Banjo was released by the Packers during final team cuts. He was signed to the Packers'

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, ...

the following day. On December 13, 2014, Banjo was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster. He was re-signed by the Packers on March 10, 2015. Banjo was elected by teammates as a playoff

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

after leading the team in special teams tackles in the 2015 season. On March 8, 2016, Banjo was re-signed by the Packers. He was 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 ...

on October 24, 2016. On October 31, 2016, Banjo was waived by the Packers after reaching an injury settlement.

New Orleans Saints

On November 15, 2016, Banjo was signed by the New Orleans Saints. On March 7, 2017, Banjo signed a two-year contract extension with the Saints. On March 9, 2019, Banjo signed a three-year contract extension with the Saints. He was released on August 31, 2019.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 25, 2019, Banjo was signed by the

. On April 2, 2020, Banjo was re-signed by the Cardinals. He was placed on the reserve/ COVID-19 list by the team on December 31, 2020, and activated on January 5, 2021. On March 31, 2021, Banjo was re-signed by the Cardinals to a one-year contract. He was released on August 31, 2021 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 4, 2021. On September 29, 2022, Banjo was signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad after going unsigned in the offseason. He was signed to the active roster on October 12. On February 26, 2023, Banjo's 33rd birthday, he announced his retirement from the NFL after 10 seasons in a post on his Twitter account.

Statistics

''Source
NFL.com
'

Professional coaching career

The Denver Broncos announced the hiring of Banjo as an assistant special teams coach under new head coach

Sean Payton Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

on February 25, 2023.

Personal life

Banjo was born to Nigerian parents who migrated to Houston. His mother died in 2010. His name "Oluwaseun" means "We thank God" in

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba consti ...

References

External links

Green Bay Packers bio

Jacksonville Jaguars bio

SMU Mustangs bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Banjo, Chris 1990 births Living people American sportspeople of Nigerian descent American people of Yoruba descent Yoruba sportspeople Players of American football from Houston People from Sugar Land, Texas American football safeties SMU Mustangs football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Green Bay Packers players New Orleans Saints players Arizona Cardinals players