Abram Elam
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | October 15, 1981 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | West Palm Beach, Florida | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 212 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | West Palm Beach (FL) Newman | ||||||||
| College: | Kent State | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2005 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Abram "Abe" Elam (born October 15, 1981) is a former American football safety. He played college football at Notre Dame and Kent State.
He also played for the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns, and the Dallas Cowboys.
Early years
He attended Cardinal Newman High School (West Palm Beach, Florida). He lettered in basketball helping his team win two state titles and was also an all-state selection as a senior playing quarterback and defensive back.
Elam accepted a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame but a felony sexual battery conviction in 2002 got him expelled from the school.[1]
He attended Palm Beach Community College and worked at a dentist's office before receiving a scholarship offer from Kent State University in 2004, where he graduated from in 2005 after playing just one year.
Professional career
Miami Dolphins
Elam was signed by the Miami Dolphins in 2005 as an undrafted free agent, but was released during training camp.
Dallas Cowboys (first stint)
Dallas Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells signed him as a free agent in 2006, based on a recommendation from Tucker Frederickson who had a son that played at Kent State University. That season he contributed mostly as one of the tackling leaders in the special teams unit.
The team decided to keep Courtney Brown instead of Elam during the last cuts of the preseason on September 2, 2007, which was a decision they would later come to regret.[2]
New York Jets
In 2007 the New York Jets claimed him based on a recommendation from Bill Parcells and would start 8 games at safety. In 2008 he started 9 games. On April 25, 2009, he was traded to the Cleveland Browns as part of a trade to acquire the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, in order to select Mark Sanchez.
Cleveland Browns
In Cleveland he was reunited with former New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini and was the Browns starter at safety. In 2010, he registered 77 tackles, 2 interceptions, 10 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.
Dallas Cowboys (second stint)
In 2011, after hiring his former Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, the Cowboys signed him to a one-year contract as a free agent and named him the starter at safety. [3] Elam started every game and registered 79 tackles (second on the team), one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. The team didn't bring him back after the season.
Kansas City Chiefs
On June 5, 2012, Elam signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs.[4] He wasn't re-signed at the end of the year.
Personal
Since 1987, three of Elam's siblings were shot to death. His older brother, Donald Runner, was fatally shot in 1987. His sister, Christina Elam, was killed in 1999. On May 9, 2008, his older brother Donald Elam was fatally shot; at age 14, Donald Elam was once the youngest person ever indicted for murder in Palm Beach County, though he was later acquitted.[5] On December 1, 2011, Abram's father died, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones let Abram use his private plane to go to Florida to be with his family. Abram's younger brother, Matt Elam, was drafted into the NFL in 2013.
References
- ↑ Abram Elam aiming for fresh start, New York Daily News, 25 Nov 2007
- ↑ Todd Archer (June 15, 2011). "Abram Elam should be safety choice". ESPN.
- ↑ Todd Archer; Calvin Watkins (August 4, 2011). "Abram Elam reunites with Rob Ryan". ESPN.
- ↑ Associated Press (2012). "Chiefs sign Abram Elam". ESPN.
- ↑ Brother of Jets safety fatally shot in Florida, Fox Sports, 10 May 2008