J. J. Wilcox
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James Edward "J. J." Wilcox, Jr. (born February 14, 1991) is an American former 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 ...
player who was a
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
in 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 was selected by the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
in the third round of the
2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
. 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
Georgia Southern Eagles The Georgia Southern Eagles are the athletic team(s) of Georgia Southern University (GS). The Eagles compete in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A) and are members of the NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference. Prior to jo ...
. He was also a member of the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
,
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
,
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
,
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
, and
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
.


Early life

Wilcox was born in
Cairo, Georgia Cairo () is a city in Grady County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,179. The city is the county seat of Grady County. History Cairo was founded in 1835. It was incorporated as a town in 1870 and ...
. He attended Cairo High School, where he played
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
and
free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...
. As a senior, he registered 22 receptions for 400 yards, 5
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s, 77 tackles, one interception and 3 forced fumbles, while helping the Cairo Syrupmakers win the 2008 state championship. He received first-team All-region and first-team All-area honors at wide receiver.


College career

Coming out of high school, Wilcox was not a highly sought after prospect and planned onto walking onto Georgia Southern's football team after not receiving a scholarship offer. Georgia Southern only offered a scholarship after Samford had extended a scholarship offer to Wilcox a week before national signing day. Wilcox attended
Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public university, public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, Georgia, Statesboro, with ...
, where he played for the
Georgia Southern Eagles football The Georgia Southern Eagles football program represents Georgia Southern University in football as part of the Sun Belt Conference. The current head coach is Clay Helton. The Eagles have won six FCS (I-AA) national championships and have produc ...
team from 2009 to 2012. He started off his career as a
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
, tallying 16 receptions for 179 yards and 3 tackles on defense. As a sophomore, he was moved to
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
. He started 14 out of 15 games, registering 85 carries for 484 yards (5.7-yard average), 6 rushing
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s, 22 receptions (led the team) for 551 yards, 25.02-yard average per reception (school record), 3 receiving touchdowns and 2 tackles on defense. Against the
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is part of the University of Tennessee System. History UTC was founde ...
, he had 121 receiving yards, including a 63-yard catch. Against
Furman University Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the Liberal arts college, liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher l ...
, he had 107 receiving yards. As a junior, he started 8 out of 13 games, posting 52 carries for 480 yards (9.2-yard average), 7 rushing touchdowns, 7 receptions for 168 yards and one receiving touchdown. Against
Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU ...
, he had 115 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. Against the
University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...
, he collected 99 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. As a senior, he was moved
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
. He started 13 out of 14 games, finishing second on the team with 88 tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups and one blocked punt. He also returned 31 kicks for 780 yards and averaged 25.2 yards per kickoff return. Against Samford University, he had 12 tackles.


Professional career


Pre-draft

On December 4, 2012, it was reported that Wilcox had accepted his invitation to play in the
2013 Senior Bowl The 2013 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2012 college football season, and prospects for the 2013 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The 64th edition of the Senior Bo ...
. He became the second player from Georgia Southern to appear in the Senior Bowl, the first being Adrian Peterson in
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
. Under Detroit Lions' head coach
Jim Schwartz James J. Schwartz (born June 2, 1966) is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He was head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009 to 2013. He was al ...
, he had impressive performances in practice during the week leading up to the Senior Bowl. On January 26, 2013, Wilcox recorded two combined tackles to help the South defeat the North 21–16. As a top safety prospect, Wilcox received an invitation to the
NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...
and completed all of the required combine drills and positional drills. Amongst all safeties, Wilcox finished sixth in the short shuttle, eighth in the
40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
, and ninth in the broad jump. On March 15, 2013, he participated at Georgia Southern's pro day. Satisfied with his performance at the NFL combine, he chose to only perform positional drills. Team representatives and scouts from 22 NFL teams attended Georgia Southern's pro day. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Wilcox was projected to be a third round pick by the majority of NFL analysts and scouts. Wilcox was ranked the third best strong safety prospect available in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, the fifth best safety by NFL analyst
Josh Norris Joshua Norris (born May 5, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey center for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NHL entry draft by the San Jose Sharks and in 2018 was trad ...
, and the sixth best safety by NFL analyst
Mike Mayock Michael Francis Mayock Sr. (born August 14, 1958) is an American former professional football executive and player in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a safety with the New York Giants. After his playing career, he was a draft ...
.


Dallas Cowboys


2013

The
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
selected Wilcox in the third round (80th overall) of the
2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
. He was the seventh safety selected in 2013. On June 18, 2013, the Cowboys signed Wilcox to a four-year, $2.81 million contract. He competed with Will Allen,
Jeff Heath John Geoffrey Heath (April 1, 1915 – December 9, 1975) was a Canadian-born American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his career for the Cleveland Indians. He was one of the American League's most promising power ...
, Matt Johnson, and
Brandon Underwood Brandon Dante Underwood (born June 24, 1986) is an American former professional gridiron football, football player who was a safety (American football position), safety in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). H ...
for the job as the starting free safety left by the departure Gerald Sensabaugh. The Dallas Cowboys were going to name him starting
free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...
during
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 ...
, but the unexpected death of his mother slowed his progress due to a two-week absence. Head coach
Jason Garrett Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was most notably the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2010 to 2019. Garrett played college f ...
decided to name veteran Will Allen the starter instead to start the regular season instead. He made his professional regular season debut in the Dallas Cowboys' season-opener against the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
and assisted on one tackle during their 36–31 win. On September 22, 2013, Wilcox earned his first career start at free safety and recorded three combined tackles in the Cowboys' 31–7 victory over the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
. During a Week 5 matchup 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 ...
, Wilcox made a season-high eight combined tackles in a 51–48 loss. He started five consecutive games, until suffering a sprained right knee in practice, that forced him to miss three games (Weeks 8-10). The injury occurred during red zone drills as he was defending a pass against tight end Gavin Escobar During his absence, he was replaced by rookie
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 ...
Jeff Heath. On November 24, 2013, Wilcox returned from his knee sprain and recorded four combined tackles in a 24–21 loss at the New York Giants. He left the game in the first quarter and was placed into the concussion protocol. He finished the year in a reserve role at free safety and had a total of 38 combined tackles (22 solo) and a pass deflection in 13 games and five starts.


2014

Wilcox competed with Jeff Heath and
Ahmad Dixon Ahmad D'shaad Dixon (born September 5, 1991) is an American professional football safety who is a free agent. He played college football for the Baylor Bears and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL draft. Ear ...
in training camp for the starting free safety position. New defensive coordinator
Rod Marinelli Rodney Henry Marinelli (born July 13, 1949) is a former American football coach. For 48 consecutive years, he had been a defensive coach for several college and professional teams, serving primarily as a defensive line coach when not assigned as ...
chose to move Heath and Wilcox to the strong safety role and veteran Barry Church to free safety. He was named the starting strong safety by head coach Jason Garrett. On October 27, 2014, Wilcox collected seven solo tackles and made his first career interception off a pass attempt by Washington Redskins' quarterback
Colt McCoy Daniel "Colt" McCoy (born September 5, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, winning several award ...
during a 20–17 overtime loss. In Week 13, he recorded a season-high ten combined tackles in the Cowboys' 33–10 loss 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
. On December 14, 2014, Wilcox made four solo tackles, forced a fumble, and (sacked?) Eagles' quarterback
Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans ...
in their 38–27 victory. The following week, he made one solo tackle, deflected a pass, and intercepted a pass attempt by
Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is an American football executive and former professional quarterback who is the general manager of the Stanford Cardinal. He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons ...
as Dallas routed the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
42–7. The
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
finished the season atop the
NFC East The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It has four members: the Dallas Cowboys, New Yo ...
with a 12–4 record. On January 4, 2015, Wilcox started his first career playoff game and recorded seven solo tackles in a 24-20 NFC Wildcard championship victory over the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
. He also started the Cowboys' NFC divisional playoff 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
, but did not record a stat in their 26–21 loss. There was major controversy surrounding the ending of the game after Dez Bryant's 31-yard catch on a fourth and two was overturned after a challenge by Packers' head coach
Mike McCarthy Michael John McCarthy (born November 10, 1963) is an American professional American football, football coach who most recently was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) from 2020 Dallas Cowboys season, 2020 t ...
. Referee Gene Steratore stated that Bryant did not maintain possession of the ball throughout the entirety of the catch. He started 16 games and was fourth on the team with 74 combined tackles (62 solo), three interceptions, four pass deflections, one forced and two fumble recoveries. He played in 94.4% of the Dallas Cowboys defensive snaps in 2014.


2015

In training camp, Wilcox competed with Jeff Heath for the starting free safety position with Barry Church at strong safety. He won the job and was named the starter going into the regular season. Wilcox started the Dallas Cowboys' season-opener against The
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
and recorded three combined tackles and defended a pass in their 27–26 victory. During the first quarter, Wilcox delivered a vicious hit against Giants'
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
Odell Beckham Jr. Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr. (born November 5, 1992), commonly known by his initials OBJ, is an American professional American football, football wide receiver. He played college football for the LSU Tigers football, LSU Tigers and was selected ...
and successfully broke up a pass attempt by
Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning family, he is the youngest ...
. Unfortunately, Wilcox suffered a broken nose on the play, but continued to play the remainder of the game while Beckham briefly left the game. The following week, the Cowboys matched up at 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
and Wilcox made a solo tackle and intercepted a pass attempt by
Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Bradford attended Putnam City North High School, where he starred ...
, as the Cowboys defeated them 20-10 On November 8, 2015, Wilcox collected seven combined tackles in a 33–27 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Wilcox suffered heavy criticism for a poor play that resulted in the Eagles winning in overtime. Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback Sam Bradford completed a pass to
Jordan Matthews Jordan Armand Matthews (born July 16, 1992) is an American professional football tight end. He played college football for the Vanderbilt Commodores and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. Matthew ...
who scored a 41-yard touchdown after Byron Jones stumbled and Wilcox took a poor angle while in pursuit. The following week, Wilcox was demoted to be the backup safety behind rookie Byron Jones, but returned as the starting free safety in Week 11 after Jones had to substitute for
Morris Claiborne Morris Lee Claiborne (born February 7, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, winning the Jim Thorpe Award a ...
at
cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
after suffering a
hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...
injury. On November 13, 2015, he earned a season-high ten combined tackles in a 28–7 loss to 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
. During a Week 17 matchup against 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
, Wilcox recorded two solo tackles and had the first safety of his career in the Cowboys' 34–23 loss. Wilcox recorded the safety, along with
DeMarcus Lawrence DeMarcus Lawrence (born April 28, 1992) is an American professional football defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. He playe ...
in the fourth quarter, stopping Redskin' running back Alfred Morris in the endzone. He recorded 53 combined tackles (37 solo), three pass deflections, an interception, and a forced fumble in 13 starts and 16 games. He also played 821 defensive snaps and in 77.7% of the Cowboys' defensive plays. During the , Wilcox began developing an identity for delivering hard hits, but also missing tackles.
Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...
ranked him 47th of 63 safeties in tackle efficiency. He also missed 2.6% of his tackles while in deep coverage and was ranked the 79th best overall safety, out of 89 who qualified, for the season.


2016

Wilcox entered training camp on the roster bubble after losing his starting free safety job to Byron Jones after a difficult 2015 season. The Dallas Cowboys also drafted a safety in
Kavon Frazier Kavon Frazier (born August 11, 1994) is an American former professional football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Las Vegas Raiders. He played college football for the Central M ...
and had an upcoming and competent backup in Jeff Heath. Head coach Jason Garrett named Wilcox the backup strong safety to Barry Church to start the 2016 season. Due to the proven performance escalated that was placed in the 2011
Collective Bargaining Agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...
, Wilcox base salary for was raised from $690,000 to $1.68 million. This was due to him playing in 45.2% of the defensive snaps in his first three seasons, above the required 35%. In Week 9, Wilcox returned to the starting lineup at the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
after Barry Church fractured his arm the game prior against 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
. He recorded three combined tackles in Dallas' 35–10 victory. On November 13, 2016, Wilcox earned a season-high nine combined tackles and deflected a pass in a 35–30 win against the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
. During a Week 12 contest against 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
, Wilcox recorded four solo tackles, but left the Cowboys' 31–26 victory after suffering a thigh contusion. The injury caused him to miss the next three games (Weeks 13–15). Wilcox returned in Week 16 and made three combined tackles, defended two passes, and intercepted a pass attempt by
Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Georg ...
during the Dallas Cowboys 42–21 defeat of the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
. He finished the season with 49 combined tackles (37 solo), six pass deflections, and one interception in 13 games and four starts. Although Wilcox played a smaller role in the 2016 season, he was able to improve his play and his pass coverage ability.


Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 11, 2017, the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
signed Wilcox to a two-year, $6.25 million contract with $3.12 million guaranteed. Throughout training camp, Wilcox competed with
Chris Conte Christopher Michael Conte (born February 23, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. He pl ...
,
Keith Tandy Jordan Keith Tandy (born February 12, 1989) is an American professional football coach and former player who the assistant special teams coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played in the NFL as a safety. ...
, and Justin Evans for a job as one of the starting safeties, but struggled and was projected as a reserve player.


Pittsburgh Steelers

On September 3, the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
acquired Wilcox in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to improve their depth at
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
, following injuries to
Jordan Dangerfield Jordan Isaac Aldon Dangerfield (born December 25, 1990) is a former American football safety. He played college football at Towson and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Buffalo Bills in 2013. Dangerfield has also been a member of the ...
and Mike Mitchell. The Pittsburgh Steelers traded their sixth-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft ( Jack Cichy) for Wilcox and a seventh-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft Wilcox became expendable after the Buccaneers signed coveted free agent T. J. Ward, who had been released by 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 ...
the day prior in a cost-cutting measure. On September 7, it was reported that he agreed to restructure his contract he initially signed with the Buccaneers. The terms of his new contract are for two-years, $5.5 million deal with a $1.35 million signing bonus. This was done in order to open up more cap space for the season. Wilcox had $1.35 million of his base salary converted into a signing bonus and prorated it with the length of the contract. He was named the backup free safety to Mike Mitchell to begin the regular season. Wilcox made his Pittsburgh Steelers' debut in their season-opening 21–18 victory over the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
and finished with two combined tackles. He delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit on Browns' wide receiver
Corey Coleman Corey Defians Coleman (born July 6, 1994) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 6 seasons. He is currently the assistant wide receivers coach for TCU. He played college fo ...
in the fourth quarter and was knocked unconscious in the process. The Pittsburgh Steelers received a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty and Wilcox was fined $24,309 by the NFL days later. He missed the following week after being diagnosed with a concussion. On September 24, he collected five combined tackles and intercepted
Mike Glennon Michael Joseph Glennon (born December 12, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the NC State Wolfpack football, NC State Wolfpack ...
for his first pick with the Steelers, as they lost 17–23 to the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
. The following week, he made his first start as a member of the Steelers and finished with three solo tackles during a 26–9 victory over the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
. He appeared in 12 games (one start), making 12 tackles, one interception and one pass defensed. On April 30, 2018, Wilcox was released by the Steelers, after drafting two safeties in the
2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...
and signing two safeties in free agency.


New York Jets

On June 6, 2018, Wilcox signed with the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
. He was released by the team on October, 8 to make room for Rashard Robinson.


Indianapolis Colts

On December 18, 2018, Wilcox was signed by the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
.


Atlanta Falcons

On April 22, 2019, Wilcox signed with the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
. On July 22, 2019, he suffered a torn ACL in practice and was ruled out for the season. On August 9, 2020, Wilcox re-signed with the Falcons. He was released on September 5, 2020. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 8, 2020. He was released on October 20.


Personal life

Wilcox was raised by his parents, James Wilcox Sr. and Marshell Wilcox, in Cairo, Georgia. His mother suffered from
lupus Lupus, formally called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common ...
and did oxygen therapy due to scarring on her
lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...
. Due to her conditioning worsening, she had been using an oxygen machine full-time since 2010. Marshell also suffered from lung
sarcoidosis Sarcoidosis (; also known as Besnier–Boeck–Schaumann disease) is a disease involving abnormal collections of White blood cell, inflammatory cells that form lumps known as granulomata. The disease usually begins in the lungs, skin, or lymph n ...
. During the 2013 NFL Draft, she was in the hospital with pneumonia. On August 13, 2013, his mother died. His father previously played running back for
Fort Valley State Fort Valley State University (FVSU; formerly Fort Valley State College and Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School) is a public land-grant historically black university in Fort Valley, Georgia, United States. It is part of the University System ...
and had an invitation to attend training camp with the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
.


References


External links


Still New To Position, Best Yet To Come For Wilcox
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, J. J. Living people 1991 births People from Cairo, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football safeties Georgia Southern Eagles football players Dallas Cowboys players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York Jets players Indianapolis Colts players Atlanta Falcons players