Jalen Jakory Wayne (born May 13, 1999) 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 ...

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 ...

for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). 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 ...

South Alabama South Alabama and Lower Alabama are overlapping, poorly-defined terms for various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view ...

Early life

Wayne grew up in

Spanish Fort, Alabama Spanish Fort is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census lists the population of the city as 10,049. It is a suburb of Mobile, Alabama, Mobile and ...

and attended Faith Academy, where he focused on basketball and was a member of the high school varsity team while he was in eighth grade. He transferred to

Spanish Fort High School Spanish Fort High School is a high school in Spanish Fort, Alabama, United States that was founded in 2005 and graduated its first class in 2008. The school serves grades 9- 12 and is part of the Baldwin County Public Schools. Campus The ca ...

before the start of his senior year. During his senior season, he brought in 28 catches for 469 yards and 3 touchdowns while also rushing for 279 yards. After graduation, he attended the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May 1963 and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alaba ...

College career

Wayne played American football with the

. He delayed engagement in athletics his sophomore season after playing in four games. In his junior season, he hauled 33 receptions for 418 yards and 1 touchdown. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

senior, he caught 53 passes for 630 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wayne used the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to South Alabama for a sixth season. He caught 58 receptions for 815 yards and nine touchdowns in his final season. For his performance he was named Second Team All Sun-Belt. Wayne finished his college career with 152 receptions for 1,980 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

After not being selected in the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

, Wayne signed with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

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 ...

. He was released on July 28, 2023.

Cleveland Browns

On August 4, 2023, Wayne signed with 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 ...

. On August 27, 2023, Wayne was released by the Browns.

Montreal Alouettes (first stint)

Wayne signed with the

of the

(CFL) on January 22, 2024.

Green Bay Packers

Wayne signed with 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 ...

on July 19, 2024. He was released on August 27, 2024, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on September 10, 2024.

Montreal Alouettes (second stint)

Wayne was signed by the Alouettes again on January 20, 2025.

Personal life

Wayne is the cousin of wide receiver

Reggie Wayne Reginald Wayne (born November 17, 1978) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football f ...

References

External links

South Alabama Jaguars bioMontreal Alouettes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wayne, Jalen 1999 births Living people American football wide receivers South Alabama Jaguars football players Players of American football from Baldwin County, Alabama Buffalo Bills players Cleveland Browns players Montreal Alouettes players Green Bay Packers players Canadian football wide receivers Players of Canadian football from Alabama