 Ajayi at the Eagles Super Bowl LII Victory Parade | |||||||||||||||
| No. 23, 36, 26, 28 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1993-06-15)15 June 1993 (age 32) London, England | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 223 lb (101 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Liberty (Frisco, Texas) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Boise State (2011–2014) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2015: 5th round, 149th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Jay Ajayi (born 15 June 1993) is an American former professionalfootballrunning back who played in theNational Football League (NFL) for five seasons with theMiami Dolphins andPhiladelphia Eagles. He playedcollege football atBoise State University and was selected by the Dolphins in the fifth round of the2015 NFL draft. Ajayi spent three seasons with the Dolphins, earningPro Bowl honors in 2016, before being traded to Philadelphia during the 2017 season. As a member of the Eagles, Ajayi was a member of the team that won the franchise's firstSuper Bowl title inSuper Bowl LII. He struggled with injuries afterwards, leading to his 2022 retirement.
Ajayi was born inLondon,England, on 15 June 1993, toNigerian parents and moved toMaryland in theUnited States when he was seven years old in 2000.[1][2] He eventually moved toTexas, where he attendedFrisco Liberty High School.[3] As a senior on thefootball team, herushed for 2,240 yards and had 35touchdowns.[4] He also earned onevarsity letter intrack & field as a member of the 4 × 400-meter (3:21.75), 4 × 200 m (1:29.44), and 4 × 100 m (42.86) district championship teams.[5]
Considered a three-star recruit byRivals.com, he was ranked as the 41st bestrunning back prospect of his class.[6]
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Ajayi attended and played college football for Boise State from 2011 to 2014.[7] He wasredshirted as a freshman atBoise State University in 2011. In October 2011, he was arrested for shoplifting after stealing a pair of sweatpants at a localWalmart and was later sentenced to five days in jail.[8] As a redshirt freshman in 2012, he played in 11 games. He had 82 rushes for 548 yards and four touchdowns, including 118 yards and a touchdown on just sixcarries againstNew Mexico in his second career game.[9][10] As a sophomore in 2013, he started 12 of 13 games and rushed for 100+ yards in six of them, including 24 carries for 222 yards and three touchdowns in game seven againstNevada.[11] He ended the season having carried the ball 249 times for 1,425 yards and 18 touchdowns.[12] As a junior in 2014, he became the first Boise State player to rush for 100+ yards in 10 games in a season, including two 200+ yard performances againstColorado State andUtah State.[13][14] He ended his season with a 134-yard, three touchdown performance in the Broncos' 38–30 victory over theArizona Wildcats in the2014 Fiesta Bowl.[15][16] He finished the season ranked fifth in the nation with a school-record 1,823 rushing yards and second nationally only toWisconsin'sMelvin Gordon with 28 rushing touchdowns (also a school record).[17][18] He also co-led the NCAA with Gordon with 32 total touchdowns and 192 points scored.[18] Ajayi finished his final season at Boise State having accounted for 41.3% of the team's total yards and touchdowns, third among running back prospects entering the2015 NFL draft, trailing only Melvin Gordon andIndiana'sTevin Coleman.[19] He was named a first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection for the second consecutive season, earned second-teamAll-American honors byThe Sporting News,[20] and third-team honors by theAssociated Press.[21]
On 21 December 2014, Ajayi announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2015 NFL draft.[22] He finished his collegiate career with 678 rushes for 3,796 yards and 50 rushing touchdowns, which ranked third, third, and tied for second on the Boise State career lists. He is the one of only 2 players in Boise State history along withAshton Jeanty with 3 or more games of 200+ yards rushing.
| Season | Team | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | TD | ||
| 2012 | Boise State | 82 | 548 | 6.7 | 71 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 0 |
| 2013 | Boise State | 249 | 1,425 | 5.7 | 71 | 18 | 22 | 222 | 1 |
| 2014 | Boise State | 347 | 1,823 | 5.3 | 74 | 28 | 50 | 535 | 4 |
| Career | 678 | 3,796 | 5.6 | 74 | 50 | 73 | 771 | 5 | |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft11+3⁄4 in (1.82 m) | 221 lb (100 kg) | 32 in (0.81 m) | 10 in (0.25 m) | 6 ft5+1⁄8 in (1.96 m) | 4.57 s | 1.59 s | 2.66 s | 4.10 s | 7.10 s | 39 in (0.99 m) | 10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) | 19 reps |
| All values fromNFL Combine[23][24] | ||||||||||||
Ajayi was selected in the fifth round of the2015 NFL draft with the 149th overall pick by theMiami Dolphins (traded from theMinnesota Vikings in exchange forMike Wallace). He was the 14th of 22 running backs selected in that year's draft.[25] On 7 May 2015, the Dolphins signed him to a four-year, $2.50 million rookie contract, which included a signing bonus of $220,813.[26]
On 6 September 2015, Ajayi was placed oninjured reserve/designated to return due to broken ribs he suffered in the Dolphins' last exhibition game.[27] On 8 November 2015, he made his NFL debut against theBuffalo Bills and rushed five times for 41 yards (8.2 average). He scored his first professional touchdown against theSan Diego Chargers in a 30–14 defeat.[28] He finished his rookie season with 49 carries for 187 yards (3.8 average) and one touchdown. He also recorded seven receptions for 90 yards.[29][30]
After the Dolphins lost starting running backLamar Miller to theHouston Texans via free agency, Ajayi was appointed the de facto starter going into the season.[31] However, he was declared the backup after free agent running backArian Foster supplanted him as the starter during training camp. After Ajayi grew disgruntled, head coachAdam Gase deactivated him for the season opener and Ajayi was left in Miami as the team traveled for a road game against theSeattle Seahawks. He was activated the following week and had five carries for 14 yards against theNew England Patriots after Foster was sidelined in the second half due to a groin injury.[32] After Foster's injury and eventual in-season retirement, Ajayi settled into a role as the Dolphins' lead running back.
Ajayi followed up a Week 6 204-yard and two touchdown performance against thePittsburgh Steelers with a 214-yard and one touchdown effort againstAFC East the rivalBuffalo Bills in Week 7, becoming only the fourth player in NFL history along withO. J. Simpson (twice),Earl Campbell, and former Miami DolphinRicky Williams to rush for over two hundred yards in two consecutive games.[33][34][35][36] Ajayi was namedAFC Offensive Player of the Week two weeks in a row for his 200+ rushing yards in back-to-back games in Weeks 6 and 7.[37][38] In Week 16, onChristmas Eve, Ajayi recorded a third 200-yard game, again at the expense of the Buffalo Bills, including a 57-yard rush to setAndrew Franks up to kick a game-winning field goal in overtime.[39] With his 32 carries for 206 yards and a touchdown, he became only the fourth player in NFL history to rush over 200 yards in three games in a single season,[40] and the only player to do it as early as his second season. As a result of his Week 16 performance, he became one of only 15 players in NFL history with three or morecareer 200+ yard rushing games. He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in the 2016 season.[41] In the 30–12 loss to the Steelers in theWild Card Round of the playoffs, he had 16 carries for 33 yards in his playoff debut.[42] As a result of his successful season in 2016, he was named to the AFC roster for the2017 Pro Bowl.[43] He was ranked 69th on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2017 list by his fellow players.[44]
Ajayi entered the 2017 season as the Dolphins' top running back. The Dolphins did not play in Week 1 due toHurricane Irma, so Ajayi made his season debut in Week 2 against theLos Angeles Chargers, where he had 28 carries for 122 yards in the 19–17 win.[45] After just 16 and 46 yards in Weeks 3 and 4, Ajayi rebounded for 77 yards against theTennessee Titans and 130 yards against theAtlanta Falcons. He had just 74 yards total in his next two games, and through Week 8 was the only NFL rusher with 100+ carries yet to record a rushing touchdown.[46][47]
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On 31 October 2017, Ajayi was traded to thePhiladelphia Eagles for a2018 fourth round draft pick.[48][49] In Ajayi's debut with the Eagles, he rushed for 77 yards on eight carries and one touchdown in a 51–23 rout of theDenver Broncos five days after being traded,[50] his longest being a 46-yard rush for a touchdown. In week 11 Ajayi rushed for 91 yards on 7 carries against theDallas Cowboys, helping his team increase their record to 9–1. In the game he had a career high 71 yard rush in the third quarter.[51] The Eagles made the playoffs as the #1-seed in theNational Football Conference (NFC).[52][53] In the Divisional Round against the Falcons, he had 54 rushing yards and 44 receiving yards in the 15–10 victory.[54] In theNFC Championship against the Vikings, he finished with 73 rushing yards and 26 receiving yards in the 38–7 victory.[55] DuringSuper Bowl LII against the Patriots, Ajayi rushed for 57 rushing yards as the Eagles won 41–33, giving them their first Super Bowl win in franchise history.[56][57]
In the 2018 season opener against the Falcons, Ajayi recorded his second career multi-touchdown game. He had 15 carries for 62 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, with the second being the late go-ahead touchdown, in the 18–12 victory.[58] On 8 October 2018, Ajayi was placed on injured reserve after suffering atorn ACL during Week 5 against the Vikings.[59][60] He finished the season with 184 rushing yards and three touchdowns.[61]
Ajayi re-signed with the Eagles on 15 November 2019 after they placedrunning backDarren Sproles on injured reserve.[62] On 23 December 2019, he was released by the Eagles.[63] He appeared in three games and recorded 10 carries for 30 rushing yards.[64]
On 8 January 2022, Ajayi announced his retirement from the NFL. That same evening, he was made the Eagles' honorary captain for the team's final regular season game against the Cowboys.[65]
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 2015 | MIA | 9 | 0 | 49 | 187 | 3.8 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 90 | 12.9 | 20 | 0 |
| 2016 | MIA | 15 | 12 | 261 | 1,272 | 4.9 | 62 | 8 | 27 | 151 | 5.6 | 15 | 0 |
| 2017 | MIA | 7 | 7 | 138 | 465 | 3.4 | 27 | 0 | 14 | 67 | 4.8 | 15 | 0 |
| PHI | 7 | 1 | 70 | 408 | 5.8 | 71 | 1 | 10 | 91 | 9.1 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2018 | PHI | 4 | 3 | 45 | 184 | 4.1 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 4.0 | 12 | 0 |
| 2019 | PHI | 3 | 0 | 10 | 30 | 3.0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 45 | 23 | 572 | 2,546 | 4.5 | 71 | 13 | 63 | 419 | 6.7 | 32 | 1 | |
On 7 January 2020, Ajayi was signed byMajor League Soccer's Philadelphia Union as the club's esports player ineMLS League Series One.[66]
Ajayi took part in the NFL's "My Cause, My Cleats" campaign in the 2016 season. The campaign allowed players to wear custom cleats supporting their favorite charities. His cause wasmultiple endocrine neoplasia.[67] He is a lifelong fan ofArsenal F.C. in thePremier League.[68]
