Jamel Richardson

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1982)}}

{{Infobox CFL biography

| image =

| alt =

| caption = Richardson (left) with Matt Dunigan after winning the 98th Grey Cup MVP award

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|1|22}}

| birth_place = Syracuse, New York, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| team =

| number = 18

| import = yes

| position1 = Slotback

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 3

| weight_lb = 226

| college = Victor Valley College

| high_school = Corcoran

| playing_years1 = {{CFL Year|2003|2006}}

| playing_team1 = Saskatchewan Roughriders

| playing_years2 = {{NFL Year|2007}}

| playing_team2 = Dallas Cowboys

| playing_years3 = {{CFL Year|2008|2013}}

| playing_team3 = Montreal Alouettes

| playing_years4 = {{CFL Year|2015}}

| playing_team4 = Saskatchewan Roughriders

| career_highlights =

2× Grey Cup champion (2009, 2010)
Grey Cup MVP (2010)

| CFLAllStar = {{CFL Year|2008}}, {{CFL Year|2011}}

| CFLEastAllStar = {{CFL Year|2008|2011}}

| CFL-archive = https://web.archive.org/web/20150921114404/http://www.cfl.ca/roster/show/id/571

}}

Jamel Richardson (born January 22, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a slotback in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He won two Grey Cup championships with the Montreal Alouettes, and was named the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 98th Grey Cup. Richardson attended Corcoran High School before he was a two-year All-Foothill Conference in Basketball and All-American in Football at Victor Valley College{{cite web |title=High hopes for VVC football |url=http://archive.desertdispatch.com/2001-2003/103193506748791.html |website=Desert Dispatch |publisher=Desert Dispatch |access-date=12 August 2018}} where he led the state in receptions and yardage.

Early life

Richardson attended Corcoran High School where he played football. In 2011 he was inducted into the Corcoran High school athletic hall of fame.{{cite web |title=Corcoran to induct four into Athletic Hall of Fame |url=http://highschoolsports.syracuse.com/news/article/984308656114596171/corcoran-to-induct-four-into-athletic-hall-of-fame/ |website=Syracuse .com |date=16 September 2011 |publisher=Syracuse .com |access-date=12 August 2018}}

Professional career

=Saskatchewan Roughriders=

Richardson played for four seasons, from 2003–2006, for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Over that span of time he caught 113 passes for 1471 yards and scored 4 touchdowns.

=Dallas Cowboys=

Richardson was signed by the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League in March 2007, but he faced an uphill battle at making the Cowboys' roster due to the depth Dallas had at the wide receiver position. On August 27, 2007, the Dallas Cowboys waived Richardson, along with seven other players, as part of its roster cuts prior to the start of the 2007 regular season.

=Montreal Alouettes=

On March 18, 2008, the Montreal Alouettes signed Richardson.{{Cite news| url=https://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=newser&func=display&nid=23269| title=Alouettes sign Jamel Richardson| date=2008-03-18| publisher=CFL.ca}} In the 2008 season, Richardson was named a CFL All-Star after leading the CFL with 16 TD receptions while catching 98 passes for 1287 yards.

Richardson made news on January 7, 2009, when it was reported that he turned down an offer from the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL and chose to remain with the Alouettes for at least 3 seasons. He also drew interest from Seattle, San Francisco, and Tampa Bay.[http://tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=262262&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_cfl Richardson spurns Vikings offer to stay in Montreal]

On November 28, 2010 in the 98th Grey Cup in Edmonton, Alberta vs. the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Richardson helped the Alouettes to a 21-18 victory as well as receiving the MVP trophy. He was the first receiver to receive this honour since 2003. For six consecutive seasons Richardson amassed over 1,000 receiving yards; from 2008 through the 2012 CFL season. On August 4, 2013, partway through the season, Richardson tore his LCL and ACL, in his left knee, during practice. He then missed the remainder of the 2013 CFL season.[https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/alouettes-lose-jamel-richardson-for-season-1.1329544 Richarson tears LCL and ACL, August 5 2013.] Following the season-ending injury, Richardson was part of the team's final cuts of 2014 training camp and was released on June 21, 2014.[http://cfl.ca/article/report-alouettes-part-ways-with-richardson Au revoir: Alouettes part ways with Richardson]

=Saskatchewan Roughriders (II)=

After sitting out the regular season in 2014, Richardson signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on December 22, 2014.[http://cfl.ca/article/back-at-it-richardson-returns-inks-deal-with-roughriders Back at It: Richardson returns; inks deal with Roughriders]