Just a few years ago, in 2022, wide receiver/returner Richie James was a pretty key contributor for the New York Giants. On July 18, just before the start of NFL training camp around the league, James announced his official retirement from professional football.
“It took time but i have come to realize i am Retired from the NFL,” James posted unexpectedly on X. “7th round out of MTSU. I feel like i was just a ball player to last that long. Unfortunately my knee never healed properly. I was playing hurt since 22’. Oh well. I gave everything I got to the game of Football.”
James remained unsigned throughout the 2024 campaign after winning a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2023.
Retired NFL WR Richie James Had His Best Season With the Giants
While the former Giants veteran retiring comes as a bit of a shock, considering he’s only 29 years old and was playing solid football in 2022 and 2023, his announcement makes it sound as if injuries just caught up to him. Sadly, many NFL players suffer the same fate.
James did have his best statistical season with the Giants despite his injury-shortened career.
In 2022, the WR/returner recorded 569 yards and 4 touchdowns as a member of Big Blue. He also returned 24 punts for 174 yards, although he did fumble the ball a total of 3 times.
That performance actually ranked second for NYG receivers in terms of yardage, just behind Darius Slayton. It was the last time the Giants made the playoffs, with new head coach Brian Daboll and former quarterback Daniel Jones leading the charge.
James signed with the Chiefs in free agency the following offseason, appearing in 13 games for KC between the regular season and the playoffs combined.
Although his final NFL campaign ended with a championship and a Super Bowl ring, James was far less impactful as a player in 2023, with just 120 total receiving yards. He did add 387 return yards split between kickoffs and punts, and that was his main role throughout the playoffs and the Super Bowl.
Giants Have Several Intriguing Roster Hopefuls to Watch at WR at Training Camp in 2025
The Giants have gotten much younger at wide receiver since James’ departure. Headlined by 21-year-old rising star Malik Nabers, Big Blue has a total of 10 receivers on the roster, age 25 or younger.
A few of these younger pass-catchers are pretty much guaranteed to make the roster, including Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt.
Then, NYG has a much longer list of promising receivers that should be fun to watch this summer.
Five of them are undrafted rookies. They are Dalen Cambre, Beaux Collins, Da’Quan Felton, Jordan Bly and Juice Wells.
Finally, two core special teamers are vying for a roster spot on the 53-man roster as well. Those two players are return specialist Ihmir Smith-Marsette and punt coverage gunner Bryce Ford-Wheaton.
Add in several veterans like Slayton, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Zach Pascal and Montrell Washington, and you have a pretty diverse and competitive group at wide receiver. While the top four in this group are relatively locked in, the final one or two spots are not.
This is shaping up to be one of the harder-to-predict roster battles of Giants training camp.
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