William James (American football)
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| Buffalo Bills — No. 21 | |
| Cornerback | |
| Date of birth: June 15, 1979 | |
| Place of birth: Uniontown, Pennsylvania | |
| Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | Weight: 200 lb (91 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
|---|---|
| 2001 for the New York Giants | |
| Career history | |
| College: Western Illinois | |
| NFL Draft: 2001 / Round: 3 / Pick: 16 | |
Teams:
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| Current status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Stats at NFL.com | |
William James (born William James Peterson, Jr. June 15, 1979 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania) is an American football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was originally 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 played for the Philadelphia Eagles in his career.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Buffalo Bills
On March 18, 2008, James was signed by the Buffalo Bills to a two-year contract.
[edit] Name change
Upon signing with the Eagles, James officially dropped the Peterson Jr. from his name, citing changes in his personal values.[1]
