Kendall James (born June 29, 1992) 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

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 ...

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

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

in the sixth round of the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. 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

Maine Black Bears The Maine Black Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maine. A member of the America East Conference, the University of Maine sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's and women's Col ...

Early life

James attended the Union County Academy for Information Technology in

Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a Township (New Jersey), township in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located on a ridge in North Jersey, northern-central Jersey, central New Jersey, within the Raritan R ...

. While playing for

Abraham Clark High School Abraham Clark High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from the borough of Roselle, in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Roselle Publ ...

Roselle, New Jersey Roselle ( ) is a borough located in Union County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 22,695, an increase of 1,610 (+7.6%) from the 2010 census count of 21,085, which in turn ref ...

, he earned all-conference and all-league honors during both his junior and senior seasons, and helped lead his team to its first winning record in 10 years in 2007. He set the school record with a 103-yard interception return for a touchdown. He also played basketball, where he was a three-year starter at point guard helping lead his team to a sectional championship during his junior season. He also ran track and helped lead his team to a state title his junior season. He was considered a two-star recruit by Scout.com.

College career

James attended 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 ...

, where he was a member of the

Maine Black Bears football The Maine Black Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Maine located in the U.S. state of Maine. The team competes in the Division I FCS, NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS ...

team from 2009 to 2013. During his career, he accumulated 136 tackles, nine interceptions, 25 pass break-ups and three forced fumbles. He earned All-

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

honors twice; a third-team selection in 2011, and a first-team selection in 2013. He was also named a second-team FCS All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Professional career

James was selected by the

in the sixth round (184th overall) of the

. On May 16, 2014, he signed his rookie contract with the Vikings. On August 30, 2014, he was released by the Vikings. On the following day, James cleared waivers and was signed to the Vikings' practice squad. On September 2, 2014, James was released. James was signed to the practice squad of the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

on October 1, 2014. He was released on October 28, 2014. James was signed to the practice squad of the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

on October 30, 2014. He was released on December 8, 2014. On December 3, 2014, James was signed by 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 September 5, 2015, he was waived by the Browns. On the following day, he cleared waivers and was signed to the practice squad. James was signed to the practice squad 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 ...

on December 15, 2015. James was signed to a reserve/future contract by 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 ...

on January 8, 2016. James was waived/injured on August 11, 2016, after being placed on the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp. James signed with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

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 ...

on September 4, 2017. He played in two games, both starts, for the Lions in 2017, recording seven tackles on defense and one pass breakup. He was released on June 9, 2018. On October 26, 2018, James signed with the San Diego Fleet of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

. He played in eight games, starting seven, for the Fleet in 2019, totaling 31 solo tackles and five assisted tackles. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

References

External links

Maine Black Bears bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Kendall 1992 births Living people Abraham Clark High School alumni American football cornerbacks BC Lions players Cleveland Browns players Maine Black Bears football players Minnesota Vikings players New York Jets players People from Roselle, New Jersey San Diego Chargers players San Diego Fleet players Players of American football from Union County, New Jersey Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Canadian football defensive backs Players of Canadian football from New Jersey