Craig James (born April 29, 1996) is an

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 wit ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

for the New York Jets of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

Early life and high school

James was born and grew up in

Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Illinois, and is a suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,808. The city was named in honor of Ninian Edwards, then Governor of the Illinois Territory. ...

and attended Edwardsville High School, where he played football and ran track.

College career

James played his first two seasons at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, serving as a reserve corner and the team's primary punt returner until breaking his leg during his sophomore season. James transferred to

for his final two seasons. As a junior, James recorded 30 tackles and led the Salukis with three interceptions and nine passes broken up and was named to the

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivi ...

All-Newcomer team.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

James was signed by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

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 ...

on April 30, 2018. He was cut by the Vikings at the end of the preseason. James was re-signed to the Vikings' practice squad on October 16, 2018. James was promoted to the Vikings' active roster on November 27, 2018. James made his NFL debut on December 2, 2018 against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. James played three games during his rookie season, appearing exclusively on special teams. James was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Philadelphia Eagles

James was signed to 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 ...

practice squad on September 2, 2019. He was promoted to the team's active roster on September 11, 2019. He was waived on September 17, and re-signed to the team's practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster again on September 24 after an injury to

Ronald Darby Ronald Darby (born January 2, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 201 ...

. In the following game against 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) North division. It is the th ...

and in the third defensive snap of his career, James deflected a pass at the Eagles three-yard line that was then intercepted by linebacker Nigel Bradham with 28 seconds left to preserve a 34-27 Eagles win. James made his first career start the next week on October 6, 2019 against the New York Jets, making three tackles. On September 4, 2020, James signed a one-year contract extension with the Eagles through the 2021 season. He was placed on injured reserve on September 15, 2020. He was designated to return from injured reserve on October 7, and began practicing with the team again. He was activated on October 10. He was placed back on injured reserve on November 16 with a shoulder injury. On August 31, 2021, James was waived by the Eagles and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was placed on the COVID list on January 1, 2022 and activated three days later, missing just one game. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on January 18, 2022. He was released July 18, 2022.

New York Jets

On July 21, 2022, James signed with the New York Jets, but was released five days later. He was signed to the practice squad on September 1, 2022. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023.

References

External links

Minnesota Golden Gophers bioSouthern Illinois Salukis bioPhiladelphia Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Craig 1996 births Living people American football cornerbacks Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Minnesota Vikings players New York Jets players People from Edwardsville, Illinois Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Illinois Southern Illinois Salukis football players Sportspeople from Greater St. Louis