William Earl Saxton Jr. (born August 13, 1993) is an American football tight end for the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at South Alabama. He has also been a member of the New York Jets, Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL); Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF); St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL; and New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL).
| No. 17 – Memphis Showboats | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | August 13, 1993 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Hueytown (AL) |
| College: |
|
| Undrafted: | 2015 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
editSaxton graduated from Hueytown High School in Alabama in 2011.[1]
College career
editSaxton was selected to the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges all-state second-team while playing at Itawamba Community College. In his only season, Saxton had 10 receptions, 137 receiving yards one receiving touchdown. Saxton was selected to the all-Sun Belt Conference first-team and all-league first-team by Phil Steele Publications and College Sports Madness in his junior season at South Alabama.
Professional career
editNew York Jets
editOn May 2, 2015, Saxton signed with the New York Jets following the conclusion of the 2015 NFL draft.[2] On September 6, 2015, Saxton was signed to the practice squad a day after being released.[3]
On October 12, 2015, Saxton was cut from the team.[4] On October 14, Saxton was re-signed to the practice squad after clearing waivers.
On September 3, 2016, Saxton was released by the Jets as part of final roster cuts.[5]
Washington Redskins (first stint)
editThe Washington Redskins signed Saxton to their practice squad on September 5, 2016.[6] He signed a futures contract with the Redskins on January 2, 2017.[7] He was waived by the Redskins on May 15, 2017.[8]
Buffalo Bills
editOn May 24, 2017, Saxton signed with the Buffalo Bills.[9] He was waived on September 2, 2017.[10]
Detroit Lions
editOn June 4, 2018, Saxton signed with the Detroit Lions.[11] He was waived on June 14, 2018.[12]
San Francisco 49ers
editOn July 31, 2018, Saxton signed with the San Francisco 49ers.[13] He was released on August 31, 2018.[14]
Birmingham Iron
editOn November 9, 2018, Saxton signed with the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) for the 2019 season.[15] He was waived before the start of the regular season, but was re-signed on February 20, 2019.
Seattle Seahawks (first stint)
editAfter the AAF folded in April 2019, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks on August 3, 2019.[16] He was waived on August 31, 2019.[17]
Washington Redskins (second stint)
editOn October 15, 2019, Saxton was signed to the Redskins practice squad.[18] He was released on November 12.[19]
Seattle Seahawks (second stint)
editOn November 26, 2019, Saxton was signed to the Seahawks practice squad.[20] His practice squad contract with the team expired on January 20, 2020.[21]
St. Louis BattleHawks
editSaxton was selected by the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL in the fifth round (38th overall) of the skills phase of the 2020 XFL Draft on October 15, 2019. He signed a contract with the team on January 26, 2020.[22] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[23]
New Jersey Generals
editSaxton signed with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL) on April 19, 2022.[24] He was transferred to the team's active roster on April 22.[25]
Saxton re-signed with the team on July 11, 2023.[26] The Generals folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[27]
Memphis Showboats
editSaxton was selected by the Memphis Showboats during the 2024 UFL dispersal draft on January 5, 2024.[28]
Personal life
editSaxton is the cousin of former NFL running back and former assistant coach Tony Nathan.[29]
References
edit- ^ Hueytown High School Retrospect Yearbook (2011)
- ^ "South Alabama's Wes Saxton signs free agent deal with Jets". al.com. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- ^ "Jets Sign 8 Players to Practice Squad". newyorkjets.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ^ "NFL Transactions | October 2015 All Transactions". www.foxsports.com. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
- ^ Lange, Randy (September 3, 2016). "Jets Release 18 Players Ahead of Deadline". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017.
- ^ Czarda, Stephen (September 5, 2016). "Redskins Add Wes Saxton, Louis Nix III To Practice Squad". Redskins.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
- ^ "Redskins Sign Nine To Reserve/Future Contracts". Redskins.com. January 2, 2017. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
- ^ Czarda, Stephen (May 15, 2017). "Redskins Sign Cornerback Tevin Homer, Tight End Manasseh Garner". Redskins.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017.
- ^ Brown, Chris (May 24, 2017). "Bills sign TE Saxton, WR Streater; Kouandjio released". BuffaloBills.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018.
- ^ Brown, Chris (September 2, 2017). "Bills move 30 off the roster to reach 53". BuffaloBills.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2018.
- ^ "Lions sign free agent TE Wes Saxton". DetroitLions.com. June 4, 2018. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018.
- ^ "Lions sign TE Sean McGrath and waive TE Wes Saxton". DetroitLions.com. June 14, 2018. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018.
- ^ "49ers Sign TE Wes Saxton". 49ers.com. July 31, 2018.
- ^ "49ers Trade for OL Shon Coleman, Cut 12 Players". 49ers.com. August 31, 2018.
- ^ "32 Players Sign New Contracts with the Alliance". AAF.com. November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- ^ Boyle, John (August 3, 2019). "Seahawks Sign Tight Ends Jackson Harris & Wes Saxton; Waived/Injured Tyrone Swoopes & Justin Johnson". Seahawks.com. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ Boyle, John (August 31, 2019). "Seahawks Make Roster Moves, Establish 53-Man Roster". Seahawks.com.
- ^ "Redskins Place TE Jerome Cunningham On IR; Release TE Drew Belcher, T Victor Salako; Sign FB Michael Burton". Redskins.com. October 15, 2019. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- ^ "Redskins Sign TE Keith Towbridge To Practice Squad, Release TE Wes Saxton". Redskins.com. November 12, 2019. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ "Seahawks sign TE Wes Saxton to the practice squad". Field Gulls. SB Nation. November 26, 2019.
- ^ @HBalzer721 (January 21, 2020). "Seahawks practice-squad contracts expired Monday: WR Brendan Langley; G Reggie McKenzie; TE Wes Saxton; WR Jaylen Smith" (Tweet). Retrieved January 21, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
- ^ Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ @USFLGenerals (April 19, 2022). "Roster updates" (Tweet). Retrieved April 20, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ @USFLGenerals (April 22, 2022). "Roster Updates" (Tweet). Retrieved April 23, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ @USFLGenerals (July 11, 2023). "Free Agent Signings" (Tweet). Retrieved July 15, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Seifert, Kevin (January 1, 2024). "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ "2024 UFL Team Rosters". TheUFL.com. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
- ^ "South Alabama Profile". usajaguars.com.
External links
edit- South Alabama Jaguars bio
- New York Jets bio Archived September 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine