Edgerrin James Football Life: Peyton Manning, Trick Daddy, others share stories about NFL star

Edgerrin James overcame poverty, injury and tragedy to become one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. A new NFL Network documentary, “Edgerrin James: A Football Life," features interviews with family members, coaches, teammates and friends. It debuted on the NFL NetworkFriday night.

Here are 5 takeaways from the documentary about the former Immokalee High star who made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In Immokalee: NFL stars Edgerrin James, J.C. Jackson want Immokalee's youth to follow in their footsteps

After career: NFL great Edgerrin James building a Hall of Fame business empire on his way to Canton

Edge never forgot where he came from

Some of the most poignant scenes from the 45-minute documentary come in Immokalee, where James was born. Nearly one-third of the town’s 28,000 residents live in poverty. James lived with his brother, Cherron, and his mom, Julie, in a small unit that didn’t have a bathroom.

“Those are the things that give you a greater appreciation for where you’re at, make you dig deep,” James said.

James made a name for himself on the small high school's football field in town, and never forgot where he came from. The documentary showed newspaper headlines like “James rushes for 305 yards in Imokalee’s win” and “RB James passes 2,000-yard mark”.

He did it for his mom.

“My mom is the foundation of my life,” James said. “That’s always been my ‘why’. I wanted to make sure this lady never has to look to nobody else.”

When James tore his ACL six games into the 2001 season, he went back home to rehab. He bought two buildings. One became a weight room. The other a place for the neighborhood kids to hang out.

“All the kids in the neighborhood came after school, came during the summer. He let them meet NFL players that they would’ve never met in their life,” said the rapper Trick Daddy, who is a close friend of James. “These were kids that were never leaving that block, let alone that town. EJ knew it.”

He was an NFL sensation from the start

The consensus heading into the 1999 NFL Draft was that Ricky Williams, who’d rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 27 touchdowns during his senior year at Texas, would be the first running back picked. And after trading Marshall Faulk to the Rams, the Colts needed a running back.

“I thought we were probably going to take Ricky Williams because of all the attention he had gotten,” Peyton Manning said.

Back home in Imokalee, James’ phone rang.

“Out of nowhere I get this phone call, and everything takes off from there,” James said. “The only thing I asked, ‘Can I stay here for the rest of the day?’”

Colts general manager Bill Polian was ripped for the pick. He was asked if he felt the need to justify the selection to fans.

“I don’t know how you can justify it other than what happens on the field,” he said in a post-draft interview. “Talk is cheap. What happens in the fall is what counts.”

And James’ play as a rookie spoke volumes. He rushed for 1,553 yards — a total he’d only eclipse once in his 11-year Hall-of-Fame career. He was Rookie of the Year and finished fourth in MVP voting.

His quarterback was in awe.

“I’d hand it off to him. I was supposed to carry out my fake the other way,” Manning said. “I’d hand it off and watch. My coach would be like, ‘You’ve got to carry out your fake.’ I’d be like, ‘I have the greatest view of what this guy is doing. I want to watch.’”

Manning said James is "the best teammate that I ever had, and at the end of the day I don’t know if you can pay someone a bigger compliment.”

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Reflecting on leaving the Colts

During the 2005 season, James told Reggie Wayne his house was for sale.

“It’s going to come down between me and you, who they’re going to keep,” James said. “They ain’t going to re-sign me. I just got that feeling.”

His intuition was right. After the heartbreaking end to the 2005 season, a playoff loss to Pittsburgh by what many considered the best Colts team of the Manning era, James was a free agent.

“We can pay Edgerrin. We can keep everything together. But if we do, we will not be able to resign Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Dwight Freeney,” former Colts coach Tony Dungy reflected. “It was hard.”

The Colts drafted Joseph Addai in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft.

“When they signed Joseph Addai, I made sure I extended an open invitation,” James said. “Anything you want to know about this offense, any way I can help you.’ This is like my family. This team birthed me. I don’t want them to lose, because that’s my team.”

The Colts won the Super Bowl that season, and did it in Miami — James’ backyard. He was there rooting for his former teammates. Colts owner Jim Irsay sent James a ring.

Redemption in Arizona

James signed with the Arizona Cardinals ahead of the 2006 season and called it home for the next three seasons. He put up typical Edge numbers for the first two years, but his third year was marred by tragedy.

Andia Wilson-James, James’ longtime girlfriend and the mother of four of his children, was diagnosed with leukemia. James spent months going back and forth between Arizona and Florida, where she was receiving treatment. Eventually, he was benched.

“After she got sick, it really took something out of him,” his mom said. “He said, ‘All this money I’ve got and I can’t save the love of my life.’”

But he made a comeback at a pivotal juncture in the season. In the final game of the regular season, he rushed for 100 yards in a 34-21 win. In four playoff games, he rushed for 229 yards and a touchdown. It was far from what he was at his peak, but the numbers didn’t matter. What did? The fact that he got to play in a Super Bowl after so many had questioned his decision to join a franchise that was seemingly going nowhere.

“That was the icing on the cake,” James said. “I told you I didn’t make a bad decision. I went to Arizona and made it to the Super Bowl.”

Edgerrin James left millions on the table by staying true to himself

Plenty of people made assumptions about James — his dreads, gold teeth and his time at Miami presented an image. Only, it didn’t match reality.

“For 15 years, I never seen him drink,” Trick Daddy said. “Nowadays, I might talk him into a shot.”

Truth was, James was more likely to be working out late into the night than he was to be partying.

“If you’re trying to be the best of the best, everything you do has to be aligned with that,” he said. “I don’t think drinking or smoking is going to enhance anything.”

Manning admits James “had a very unique look.”

“But that’s not what jumped out to me. What jumped out to me was his confidence,” he said. “He didn't say a lot, but the way he carried himself, how he went about his business in the weight room and the field, you could tell he was a little bit different.”

Had James conformed to who others wanted him to be, it would have paid off financially. But it would’ve left him unfulfilled.

“I probably left millions of dollars on the table, but I was cool with that,” he said. “I never said I’d be popular. When you have to be this goody two shoes or you can’t really be who you are, that’s boring to me.”

James’ Hall of Fame speech is considered one of the best in recent memory. It was a celebration of how far he’d come, what he accomplished and who he represented. He was unequivocally and unashamedly him.

“Look at my Pro Football Hall of Fame bust,” he said. “Rocking the same dreads they said I shouldn’t. To all those who have been judged because of their appearance, the way they speak, where they come from, and in the minds of many should be locked up in prison, I represent us. I’m forever immortalized, locked up in the Canton Institute of Corrections. I’m inmate No. 336 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame."

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Best stories from legendary Immokalee star Edgerrin James