Ray Edwards life and biography

Ray Edwards, Jr. is an American football defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League.

GAMES/STARTS (regular season, playoffs) 2006 (15/2), 2007 (12/11), 2008 (15/15), 2009 (16/16, 2/2). Total- 58/44, 2/2.

• Tied Vikings playoff record with 3.0 sacks vs. Dallas in NFC Divisional Round game.
• Posted career-high 8.5 sacks in 2009 and added 4.0 more in playoff run. The 4.0 sacks were tops for the 2009 postseason.
• Scored 1st career TD on a 9-yard FR at Detroit (9/16/07).

OFF THE FIELD
Mentors local students at Summitt Academy, working with them on classwork and social interaction...Active with youth literacy programs...Majored in physical education, spending time in past offseasons working on degree...Owns a t-shirt company and does some modeling.

PRO
Enjoyed breakout season in 2009 with career-best 8.5 sacks...Tied Vikings playoff record with 3.0 sacks in Divisional Round game vs. Dallas (1/17/10) and set a Vikings record for most sacks in a playoff season...Part of Vikings line that has keyed the defense to rank #1 in NFL rushing defense in 2006-08 and ranked #2 in 2009...Made playoff debut in 2009 after missing the 2008 post-season with injury...Has posted 7.5 career sacks against Detroit, posting a sack in 7 of the 8 career games he has played against the Lions...Showcased playmaking abilities in 2007 when he tied for team lead with 4 FFs and scored 1st career TD on a 9-yard FR at Detroit (9/16/07)...His score was 1 of 8 defensive TDs for the Vikings in 2007 to lead the NFL...Made his presence felt as a rookie in 2006 and started 2 of the final 4 games…Played in more games (15) than any other rookie on the roster in 2006...Selected in the 4th round with the 127th pick.

2009
Enjoyed breakout season with career-high 8.5 sacks and chipped in 4.0 more in the playoffs...Helped Vikings rank #1 in the NFL with 48.0 sacks and still play tough against the run, finishing #2 in rushing defense...Tied Vikings playoff record with 3.0 sacks against Dallas in Divisional Round game and helped set team record with 6 sacks in the game...Posted sack in NFC Championship game...Blocked a PAT in game at Carolina (12/20)...Notched season-high 11 tackles vs. Seattle (11/22) and finished season with career-high 75 tackles...Led Vikings defensive linemnen with 75 tackles...Ranked 2nd on team with 9.0 tackles for loss...Had career-high 5 tackles for loss vs. Seattle (11/22)...Terrorized the Lions in 2 matchups, posting 15 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 9 QB hurries.

2008
Transitioned to LDE after Vikings acquired RDE Jared Allen in offseason trade...Started career-high 15 games and led team with 10 tackles for loss...Sidelined for Wild Card playoff game vs. Philadelphia (1/4/09) with knee injury suffered in regular-season finale vs. NY Giants (12/28)...Matched career-high with 5.0 sacks...Notched 1st career multi-sack game with 2.0 against Rookie of the Year Matt Ryan vs. Atlanta (12/21)...Helped Vikings rank #6 in total defense, a 14-place improvement from 2007 and the highest ranking since 1994...Part of Vikings unit that led NFL in rushing defense for the 3rd straight season, the 1st squad to accomplish the feat since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

2007
Tied for team high in sacks (5.0) and forced fumbles (4) in his 1st season as a full-time starter...Scored 1st career TD on 1st career fumble recovery at Detroit (9/16), taking a fumble by Lions QB J.T. O’Sullivan caused by DT Kevin Williams back 9 yards for a score...His TD was 1 of 8 by the Vikings defense in 2007 and 1 of 2 on fumble recoveries...Had season-best 1.5 sacks at Detroit (9/16).

2006
Tied for 3rd on the team with 3.0 sacks...Started 2 of the final 4 games…Posted the 1st sack of his career when he brought down J.P. Losman at Buffalo (10/1)…Followed that up the next week with another sack when he caught Jon Kitna vs. Detroit (10/8)…Inactive for game vs. Green Bay (11/12)…Shared a sack of Matt Leinart vs. Arizona (11/26) with fellow rookie DE Jayme Mitchell and posted a career-high 4 QB hurries in the game…Started his 1st career game at Detroit (12/10)…Posted a career-high 3 tackles and shared a sack of Chad Pennington vs. NY Jets (12/17) with Mitchell…Started at Green Bay (12/21) and became the 1st Viking to block a FG since Eric Kelly (vs. N.Y. Giants, 11/10/02) when he blocked Dave Rayner’s attempt.

COLLEGE

Finished his career tied for 7th on Purdue’s career sacks list with 16.0 and 15th with 24.5 tackles for loss…Played in 36 games with 18 starts during his 3 years with the Boilermakers…Named to Bronko Nagurski and Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year watch lists as a junior in 2005…Ranked 2nd on the team as a junior with 11.0 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks…Honorable Mention All-Big Ten choice by coaches and the media in 2004…Tied for team lead and tied for 2nd in the Big Ten with 8.0 sacks.

Was a 1st-team All-State selection and was named conference’s Player of the Year at Woodward High in Cincinnati.

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