William James (American football)

Infobox NFLactive
name=William James


currentteam=Jacksonville Jaguars
currentnumber=22
currentposition=Cornerback
birthdate=birth date and age|1979|6|15
birthplace=Uniontown, Pennsylvania
heightft=6
heightin=0
weight=200
debutyear=2001
debutteam=New York Giants
college=Western Illinois
draftyear=2001
draftround=3
draftpick=16
pastteams=
* New York Giants (2001-2005)
* Philadelphia Eagles (2006-2007)
* Buffalo Bills (2008)*
* Jacksonville Jaguars (2008-present):*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
status=Active
nfl=PET477762

William James (born William James Peterson, Jr. June 15, 1979 in city-state|Uniontown|Pennsylvania) is an American football cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Western Illinois.

James has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills.

College career

James (then known as Will Peterson) attended the University of Michigan for two years, one of them with the school's 1997 national championship team, before finishing his collegiate career at Western Illinois University with a brief stint at Youngstown State in Ohio between the two. Although he played in 21 games for the Wolverines, he only started two of them. In his senior season at Western Illinois, James started 10 games. He finished his college career with 96 tackles (77 solo), 9 interceptions, 2 sacks, and 11 tackles for losses. He averaged over 26 yards per interception return and scored two defensive touchdowns.

Professional career

New York Giants

In his rookie NFL season with the Giants in 2001, James played in all sixteen games, starting in five of them. In 2002, he started all 12 games in which he played, but missed four due to injuries. In 2003, James started five games, but missed the rest of the season because of a stress fracture in his lower back. In 2004, James played in every regular season game for the Giants, and started fifteen of them. James was released by the Giants on Friday May 26, 2006; the Giants waived him because of severe back problems and health issues related to stress fractures in his lower back.

Philadelphia Eagles

He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on October 30, 2006 and played with the team for two seasons before becoming a free agent in 2008.

Buffalo Bills

On March 18, 2008, James was signed by the Buffalo Bills to a two-year contract, but was released on August 30 during final cuts.

Jacksonville Jaguars

James was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 1, 2008.

Personal

Name change

Upon signing with the Eagles, James officially dropped the Peterson Jr. from his name, citing changes in his personal values. [ [http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/15897315.htm "James gets new team, new name all in one day"] . "The Philadelphia Inquirer", November 1, 2006]

References

External links

* [http://jaguars.com/Team/Player.aspx?id=2825 Jacksonville Jaguars bio]