Jesse_James_(tight_end)

Jesse James (tight end)

Jesse James (tight end)

American football player (born 1994)

Jesse Dylan James (born June 4, 1994) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at Penn State, and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He has also been a member of the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders.

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Early years

James attended South Allegheny Middle/Senior High School in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.[1] where he was a two-time Second-team All-State selection in both football and basketball.[2] He was named First-team All-Century Conference as a tight end for both his junior and senior seasons.[2] Over the two seasons he recorded 71 receptions for 1,030 yards and 10 touchdowns.[2] For his final three seasons, he was named a team captain.[2] He was invited to play in the Semper-Fidelis All-American game.[2] He was also named to the 2011 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22.[2]

MaxPreps rated him as the nation's No. 3 tight end as a senior.[2] He was rated by Rivals.com as a three-star recruit.[3] He committed to Penn State University to play college football.[4]

College career

James began attending Penn State in 2012. He played in 12 games as a true freshman in 2012, with six starts. He recorded 15 receptions for 276 yards and tied a school record with five receiving touchdowns by a tight end.[2] As a sophomore in 2013, James started all 12 games and recorded 25 receptions for 333 yards and three touchdowns.[5][6] During his junior season in 2014, James broke the school's record for career touchdowns by a tight end, passing Ted Kwalick's 10.[7] For the season, he recorded 38 receptions for 396 yards and three touchdowns.

After his junior season, James entered the 2015 NFL draft.[8][9] He finished his career at Penn State with 76 receptions for 1,005 yards and 11 touchdowns.[10]

College statistics

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Professional career

Pre-draft

Coming out of Penn State, James was projected to be drafted anywhere from the fourth to sixth round by the majority of NFL analysts and scouts. He received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed all of the required drills and positional workouts.[11] On March 19, 2015, James attended Penn State's annual Pro Day and succeeded in lowering his times in the 40, 20, and 10-yard dash from the combine. He also performed positional drills for representatives and scouts from 19 NFL teams, who attended to scout James, Donovan Smith, Adrian Amos, and eight other Penn State players.[12] He was ranked the fifth best tight end prospect available in the 2015 NFL draft by NFLDraftScout.com and was ranked the 13th best tight end by NFL analyst Charles Davis.[13]

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Pittsburgh Steelers

James was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round with the 160th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft.[16] On May 14, 2015, the Steelers signed James to a four-year, $2.48 million rookie contract with $218,912 guaranteed.[10][17] On November 8, 2015, James made his professional regular season debut and caught two passes for 13 yards and also scored his first touchdown on a four-yard reception in a 38–35 victory over the Oakland Raiders.[18] As a rookie, he appeared in eight games, recording eight receptions for 56 yards and one touchdown.[19]

The following season in 2016, with Heath Miller retired, and newly signed free agent Ladarius Green on injured reserve, James became the starting tight end to begin the season. James finished the 2016 season with 39 receptions for 338 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 16 games and 13 starts.[20]

On January 8, 2017, James started in his first career postseason game and caught one pass for nine yards as the Steelers defeated the Miami Dolphins 30–12 in the AFC Wild Card Round.[21] He began the regular season as the Steeler's de facto starting tight end ahead of Vance McDonald.[22] On September 10, in the season opening 21–18 victory over the Cleveland Browns, James had six receptions for 41 yards and two touchdowns for his first career multi-touchdown game.[23] During Week 15 against the New England Patriots, James caught a potential game-winning touchdown, but after a review, it was overturned when officials ruled that James lost control as the ball hit the ground. The controversial moment loomed large as Ben Roethlisberger threw an interception two plays later, resulting in the Steelers losing 27–24 and giving the Patriots another AFC East title and eventual #1 seed.[24][25][26] In the 2017 season, he finished with 43 receptions for 372 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.[27]

In Week 2 of the 2018 season, against the Kansas City Chiefs, James recorded a career-high 138 receiving yards and a touchdown on five receptions in the 42–37 loss.[28] He played in 16 games with seven starts, recording 30 receptions for 423 yards and two touchdowns.[29]

Detroit Lions

James with the Detroit Lions in 2019

On March 14, 2019, James signed a four-year, $22.6 million contract with the Detroit Lions.[30] In the 2019 season, he appeared in all 16 games and recorded 16 receptions for 142 receiving yards.[31] In the 2020 season, James appeared in 16 games and started seven. He had 14 receptions for 129 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.[32] He was released by the Lions on March 12, 2021.[33]

Chicago Bears

On July 25, 2021, James signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears.[34] In the 2021 season, he appeared in 14 games and started nine. He had one receiving touchdown on the season.[35]

Cleveland Browns

On September 5, 2022, James signed with the Cleveland Browns.[36] He was placed on injured reserve on September 20, 2022.[37] He appeared in two games in the 2022 season.[38]

New Orleans Saints

On May 31, 2023, James signed with the New Orleans Saints.[39] He was released on August 29, 2023, as a part of the team's final roster cuts.[40]

Las Vegas Raiders

On November 8, 2023, James was signed to the practice squad of the Las Vegas Raiders.[41] He was released on November 21, 2023.[42]

NFL career statistics

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References

  1. [1]
    Gery, Ryne (September 20, 2014). "Motivated to succeed: Jesse James received a push from his high school coach and used football as a way to a college education". Centre Daily Times. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  2. [2]
    "Jesse James Penn State bio". GoPSUSports.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  3. [3]
    "Jesse James". Yahoo! Sports.
  4. [4]
    Flounders, Bob (March 29, 2011). "South Allegheny tight end Jesse James heads list of recent verbal commitments for Penn State football program". PennLive.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  5. [5]
    Bodani, Frank (July 21, 2014). "Frank Bodani: How Penn State tight end Jesse James, 'The Freak,' became super". York Daily Record. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015.
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    Stuetz, John (September 2, 2014). "Penn State tight end Jesse James feeling". Philly.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  7. [7]
    Bodani, Frank (November 1, 2014). "Penn State notebook: James breaks Penn State tight end touchdown record in defeat". York Daily Record. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015.
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    "Jesse James to Enter 2015 NFL Draft". gopsusports.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  9. [9]
    Pickel, Greg (January 6, 2015). "Penn State football: Jesse James declares for NFL Draft, is third Lions' underclassman to do so". PennLive.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  10. [10]
    Bouchette, Ed (May 14, 2015). "Penn State's Jesse James signs Steelers contract". Post-Gazette.com. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
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    "*Jesse James, DS #5 TE, Penn State". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  12. [12]
    Brandt, Gil (March 20, 2015). "Penn State safety boosts draft stock at pro day". NFL.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
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    Charles Davis (April 7, 2015). "2015 NFL Draft prospect rankings by position". NFL.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
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    "Jesse James, Penn State, TE, 2015 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
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    "Jesse James Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
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    "Steelers select TE Jesse James in the Fifth Round". Steelers.com. May 2, 2015. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
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    "Oakland Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers – November 8th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
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    "Jesse James 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  20. [20]
    "Jesse James 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  21. [21]
    "Wild Card – Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers – January 8th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  22. [22]
    "Ourlads.com: Pittsburgh Steeler's depth chart: 09/01/2017". ourlads.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
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    "Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns – September 10th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  24. [24]
    Glasspiegel, Ryan (December 17, 2017). "VIDEO: The Steelers Got Screwed By Bad Catch Rule on Jesse James TD". The Big Lead. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
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    Schwab, Frank (December 17, 2017). "Did the Steelers get robbed on a controversial non-catch call?". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  26. [26]
    Rosenthal, Gregg (December 17, 2017). "NFL: Steelers' Jesse James lost control of the football". NFL.com. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  27. [27]
    "Jesse James 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  28. [28]
    "Steelers' Jesse James: Reels in touchdown". CBSSports.com. September 16, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  29. [29]
    "Jesse James 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  30. [30]
    "Lions sign three unrestricted free agents". DetroitLions.com. March 14, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  31. [31]
    "Jesse James 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  32. [32]
    "Jesse James 2020 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  33. [33]
    @Lions (March 12, 2021). "#Lions have released TE Jesse James and CB Justin Coleman" (Tweet). Retrieved March 12, 2021 – via Twitter.
  34. [34]
    Mayer, Larry (July 27, 2021). "Roster Move: Bears sign veteran TE James". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  35. [35]
    "Jesse James 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  36. [36]
    "Browns sign OT Joe Haeg and TE Jesse James". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 5, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  37. [37]
    "Browns place TE Jesse James and DE Chase Winovich on injured reserve". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  38. [38]
    "Jesse James 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  39. [39]
    Hendrix, John (May 31, 2023). "Saints Sign Jesse James, Jake Bargas to Roster". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  40. [40]
    "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. August 29, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  41. [41]
    Strackbein, Noah (November 9, 2023). "Raiders Sign Former Steelers TE Jesse James". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  42. [42]
    https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/jesse-james-let-go-by-las-vegas/amp/
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