Ray Edwards (American football)

Raymond James Edwards, Jr. (born January 1, 1985) is an American football defensive end. He is currently a free agent in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue.

Early years
Edwards attended Woodward High School in Cincinnati and was a student and a letterman in football. In football, he was a two-year starter and posted 12.0 sacks, 110 tackles, and seven forced fumbles as a senior.

College career
Edwards played college football for three years at Big Ten school Purdue from 2003-2005. In his college career, Edwards played 36 games (starting in 18). He recorded a total of 16 sacks and received many honors including All-Freshmen team choice by The Sporting News (2003), honorable mention All-Big Ten (2004) and semifinalist for the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award (2005).

Minnesota Vikings
Edwards was drafted as the 127th pick (4th round) of the 2006 NFL draft. During his rookie season, he appeared in 15 of the 16 regular season games, (the most for a Vikings rookie that year) and started in 2 of the last 4 games. He recorded 3 sacks and 10 tackles. In 2007 Edwards had 5 sacks and 30 tackles in 12 games. He scored one touchdown on a fumble recovery against Detroit. On December 5, Edwards was suspended for four games the by the National Football League for a violation of the league's Steroid policy. He was not eligible to play for the remainder of the Vikings regular season. In 2008 Edwards made 55 tackles and 5 sacks as the starting left defensive end after the acquisition of Jared Allen. In 2009, Edwards had a breakout year, recording 8.5 sacks, and having a strong performance against the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round of the post-season. Edwards became a restricted free agent in the 2010 offseason due to the CBA dispute instead of an unrestricted FA as he would have been if there were a labor agreement. The Vikings gave him a first-round restricted free agent tender. He signed the tender on June 14, 2010 after deciding to miss the Vikings offseason program.

Atlanta Falcons
Edwards was signed by the Atlanta Falcons to a five-year contract on July 29, 2011. During the Falcons' 8-1 start in 2012, Edwards was largely invisible, with most of his snaps being taken by players with much lower salaries.

Edwards was surprised to be released by the Falcons on November 12, 2012 due to his poor attitude.

Boxing
Edwards made his professional boxing debut at a Minnesota casino on May 20, 2011, defeating T. J. Gibson in a four-round bout. Edwards told the Star Tribune that he has signed a two-fight contract. His trainer is Jeff Warner, a former heavyweight boxer and pro wrestler.

Professional boxing record

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 * Win||4−0 ||align=left|🇺🇸 "Volkswagen" Van Goodman
 * KO
 * 3, :30
 * Mar 15, 2013
 * align=left|🇺🇸 Grand Casino, Hinckley, Minnesota
 * align=left|Edwards calls out Vitali Klitschko for a third time
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 * Win||3 −0 ||align=left|🇺🇸 Nick "Turbo Tax" Capes
 * KO
 * 1, :13
 * Feb 9, 2013
 * align=left|🇺🇸 Red River Valley Fairgrounds, West Fargo, North Dakota
 * align=left|Edwards calls out Vitali Klitschko.
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 * Win||2−0 ||align=left|🇺🇸 Cory "Spare Tire" Briggs
 * KO
 * 1, :39
 * Jan 25, 2013
 * align=left|🇺🇸 Grand Casino, Hinckley, Minnesota
 * align=left|Edwards calls out Vitali Klitschko.
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 * Win||1−0 ||align=left|🇺🇸 TJ Gibson
 * UD
 * 4
 * May 20, 2011
 * align=left|🇺🇸 Grand Casino, Hinckley, Minnesota
 * align=left|Edwards' professional debut.
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