Jerry Wayne Crafts (born January 6, 1968) 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 ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

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) for 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 ...

and

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 also played in the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

, XFL,

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 ...

and

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

. He is the only person to have been involved with teams that played in the championship games of each of the aforementioned Leagues. 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

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

under coach

Barry Switzer Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is an American former college and professional football coach. He served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma and four years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the Natio ...

before transferring to the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

. Currently he is an assistant coach for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Early life and college

Crafts is a native of

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, where he attended Metro Christian Academy. He began his college career at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

before transferring to the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

after his sophomore season.

Professional career

Crafts was selected 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 ...

in the 11th round (292nd pick overall) of the

1991 NFL draft The 1991 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 21–22, 1991, at the Marriott Ma ...

, but was released during the preseason on August 16. After not making the Colts' roster, Crafts played for the

Orlando Thunder The Orlando Thunder was a member of the World League of American Football from 1991 to 1992. The team played their games in the 70,000 seat Florida Citrus Bowl, and was coached by Don Matthews in 1991 and Galen Hall in 1992. The team's most visi ...

of the

(WLAF) in the spring of 1992. He was a backup to left tackle Rick Cunningham and right tackle Kevin Allen, before starting

World Bowl '92 World Bowl '92 (also referred to as World Bowl II) was the second championship game of the World League of American Football (WLAF), played on Saturday, June 6, 1992 at Olympic Stadium (Montreal), Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 43,78 ...

in the place of an injured Cunningham. Following the World League season, Crafts signed with the

on July 7. He played as a backup in the first six games of the

1992 NFL season The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was re ...

before suffering a knee injury. On October 26, the Bills placed him on the

injured reserve list 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 t ...

, where he remained for the rest of the season. Crafts would go on to play as a tackle/guard for the Buffalo Bills from 1992 to 1994, but was released by the Green Bay Packers in 1995 after being signed during the offseason. Out of the league, Crafts played the 1996 and 1997 seasons in the World League for the

Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, t ...

. His play would lead to a signing with the

, for whom he played from 1997 to 1998. He was released in camp in 1999, and later by the Oakland Raiders in 2001. In the latter years of his career, Crafts made stops across three different football leagues: the

(AFL), the

(CFL), and the XFL. In the AFL, he played for the

New Jersey Red Dogs The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the N ...

(2000),

Buffalo Destroyers Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

(2001–2002), Las Vegas Gladiators (2003), and

Detroit Fury The Detroit Fury were an arena football team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were a member of the original Arena Football League from 2001 to 2004 and played at The Palace of Auburn Hills, also the home of the NBA's Detroit Pistons. The ...

(2004). Crafts was a member for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

(2000–2001),

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 ...

(2002, a year the team would go on to win the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

), and

Hamilton Tiger Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Hamilton Stadiu ...

(2002) of the CFL. In the spring of 2001, he played for the

Los Angeles Xtreme The Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the original version of the XFL (2001), XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major ...

of the XFL, winning the league's championship; he used the uniform nickname "Big Daddy" (along with jersey number 69) with the Xtreme.Bulkema, Will
The only XFL championship was also the worst
by

SB Nation ''SB Nation'' (an abbreviation for their full name ''SportsBlogs Nation'') is a sports blogging network owned by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Tyler Blezinski, Markos Moulitsas, and Jerome Armstrong in 2003. The blog from which the netwo ...

, February 7, 2019

Coaching career

Crafts is currently an assistant offensive line coach and scheduler with the

. He spent one season as offensive line coach with the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams. A team's typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, but as of the 2022 ...

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team plays its home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. They were members of the Are ...

, helping them win NALBowl I.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crafts, Jerry 1968 births Living people Players of American football from Tulsa, Oklahoma American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Oklahoma Sooners football players Louisville Cardinals football players Orlando Thunder players Buffalo Bills players Amsterdam Admirals players Philadelphia Eagles players New Jersey Red Dogs players Los Angeles Xtreme players Buffalo Destroyers players Oakland Raiders players Las Vegas Gladiators players Detroit Fury players American expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Players of Canadian football from Oklahoma Canadian football offensive linemen Toronto Argonauts players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Montreal Alouettes players Coaches of American football from Oklahoma Jacksonville Jaguars coaches