Azur Kamara (born September 26, 1998) is an Ivorian professional gridiron football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Kansas. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent. He has also been a member of the Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Edmonton Elks.
| Personal information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | September 26, 1998 Abidjan, Ivory Coast | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 235 lb (107 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Central (Phoenix, Arizona) | ||||
| College: | Kansas | ||||
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||
| Undrafted: | 2020 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
Early life
editKamara was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He moved to the United States at the age of 10, after his mother finally gained approval to send for her four children (there was a maximum of three children allowed). His mother had arrived 5 years earlier as a refugee from the First Ivorian Civil War.[1]
He attended Central High School. As a freshman, he began playing American football for the first time.[2] As a senior, he had 106 tackles, 25.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery, while receiving All-conference honors.[3]
College career
editArizona Western
editKamara enrolled at Arizona Western College. As a freshman, he tallied 45 tackles, 13.5 tackles-for-loss, 8 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.
As a sophomore, he posted 30 tackles, 15.5 tackles-for-loss (led the team), 12.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, one pass breakup and one blocked kick, while contributing to the team reaching the NJCAA national title game.
Kansas
editHe transferred to the University of Kansas after his sophomore season. As a junior, he appeared in all 12 games with 3 starts. He registered 16 tackles (5 for loss), one sack, one quarterback hurry, one pass breakup and one forced fumble.[4]
As a senior, he was named the starter at outside linebacker. He started 12 games, while making 51 tackles (sixth on the team), 6 tackles-for-loss (second on the team), 3.5 sacks and 4 quarterback hurries.
Kamara played with fellow Jayhawk Hakeem Adeniji in the 2020 Senior Bowl.
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+1⁄4 in (1.91 m) |
245 lb (111 kg) |
35+1⁄4 in (0.90 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
4.59 s | 1.63 s | 2.71 s | 4.46 s | 7.20 s | 28.0 in (0.71 m) |
10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) |
13 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine[5][6] | ||||||||||||
Dallas Cowboys
editKamara was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 2020 NFL draft on April 27, 2020.[7] On August 1, 2020, he was waived with an injury designation. After going unclaimed on waivers, he reverted to the Cowboys' injured reserve.[8]
During training camp in 2021, Kamara, along with his mother, who attended a game of his for the first time, were featured on Hard Knocks as he battled for a roster spot. He appeared in nine games, playing mostly on special teams, and recorded three tackles. He was waived on December 20.[9]
Carolina Panthers
editOn December 21, 2021, Kamara was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers.[10] On December 22, he was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.[11] He was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list on December 28.
Kamara was waived on May 11, 2022.[12]
Kansas City Chiefs
editKamara was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs on July 27, 2022.[13] He was released during final roster cut downs on August 30, 2022.[14] The following day he was signed to the practice squad.[15] He was waived off the practice squad on September 6, 2022.[16] He was later re-signed on November 1. He was released on November 29.[17]
Edmonton Elks
editKamara signed with the Edmonton Elks on April 11, 2024. He was released on May 11, 2024.[18]
References
edit- ^ "From refugee to NFL draft, Azur Kamara cherishes a remarkable journey". Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ "Azur Kamara's Feel-good Path From West Africa to the Dallas Cowboys". Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ "Tom Keegan: Azur Kamara grateful for journey from African soccer player to Kansas football player". Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ "Azur Kamara Reflects on Journey Leading up to the NFL Draft". Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ "Azur Kamara Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
- ^ "Azur Kamara, Kansas, OLB, 2020 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
- ^ "UDFA Profile: Kamara Has Length-Speed Combo". Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ "Kai Forbath Released; Rookie LB Waived/Injured". Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ "Dallas Cowboys cut Azur Kamara from 53-man roster, Osirus Mitchell from practice squad". 247sports.com. December 20, 2021.
- ^ Gantt, Darin (December 21, 2021). "Panthers place A.J. Bouye on injured reserve". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ "Panthers' Azur Kamara: Returns from COVID list".
- ^ Gantt, Darin (May 11, 2022). "Panthers release Azur Kamara". Panthers.com.
- ^ Dixon, John (July 27, 2022). "Report: Chiefs sign former Cowboys defensive end". SBNation.com.
- ^ "Chiefs Announce Roster Moves to Meet NFL-Mandated 53 Players". Chiefs.com. August 30, 2022.
- ^ "Kansas City Chiefs 2022 Practice Squad Tracker". SI.com. August 31, 2022.
- ^ Goldman, Charles (September 6, 2022). "Chiefs make a pair of moves on the practice squad". USAToday.com. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
- ^ Goldman, Charles (November 29, 2022). "Chiefs release C Austin Reiter, RB Wayne Gallman from practice squad". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ "Azur Kamara". Footballdb.com. Retrieved August 14, 2024.