Elijah Riley

Originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles on Apr. 26, 2020…Waived on Sept. 3, 2020, and signed to the Eagles' practice squad on Sept. 6, 2020…Signed to Philadelphia's active roster on Oct. 10 and 17, and Dec. 16, 2020…Waived by Philadelphia on Aug. 31, 2021, and signed to the Eagles' practice squad on Sept. 2, 2021…Signed to Philadelphia's active roster on Oct. 23, 2021 and returned to the practice squad on Oct. 25, 2021…Signed to the Jets' active roster on Nov. 9, 2021…Waived by the Jets on Aug. 23, 2022, and awarded off waivers to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 24, 2022…Released by Pittsburgh on Aug. 20, 2022, and signed to the Steelers' practice squad on Aug. 31, 2022…Added to Pittsburgh's active roster on Oct. 8 and 15, Nov. 12, and Dec. 24, 2022…Signed as a free agent by the Giants on May 30, 2024.

TRANSACTIONS:

• Originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles on Apr. 26, 2020…Waived on Sept. 3, 2020, and signed to the Eagles' practice squad on Sept. 6, 2020…Signed to Philadelphia's active roster on Oct. 10 and 17, and Dec. 16, 2020…Waived by Philadelphia on Aug. 31, 2021, and signed to the Eagles' practice squad on Sept. 2, 2021…Signed to Philadelphia's active roster on Oct. 23, 2021 and returned to the practice squad on Oct. 25, 2021…Signed to the Jets' active roster on Nov. 9, 2021…Waived by the Jets on Aug. 23, 2022, and awarded off waivers to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 24, 2022…Released by Pittsburgh on Aug. 20, 2022, and signed to the Steelers' practice squad on Aug. 31, 2022…Added to Pittsburgh's active roster on Oct. 8 and 15, Nov. 12, and Dec. 24, 2022…Signed as a free agent by the Giants on May 30, 2024.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

• Riley has played in 30 regular-season games with 7 starts for Philadelphia, the Jets, and Pittsburgh…All of the starts were for the Jets in 2021…Totals include 58 tackles (30 solo), 2.0 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 2 quarterback hits, and one pass defensed…Made his NFL debut for Philadelphia at Pittsburgh (10/11/20) and his first start at safety for the Jets vs. Miami (11/21/21).
• In 2023, played in a career-high 13 games and recorded 10 tackles, (5 solo) and 1.0 sack…Played 50 snaps on defense and 216 on special teams…Posted his 2^nd career sack when he tackled Deshaun Watson for a 2-yard loss vs. Cleveland (9/18)…Recorded a season-high 3 tackles in consecutive games, vs. Green Bay (11/12), and at Cleveland (11/19).
• In 2022, played in 4 games…Spent the majority of the season on Pittsburgh's practice squad…Registered 3 tackles (2 solo) and 2 special teams tackles.
• In 2021, began the season on Philadelphia's practice squad and played one game for the Eagles before joining the Jets, for whom he started all 7 games in which he played…Tallied a career-high 45 tackles (23 solo), 1.0 sack, one pass defensed, one quarterback hit, and 3 tackles for loss…Collected a career-high 10 tackles (4 solo) vs. New Orleans (12/12) and 6 solo stops vs. Philadelphia (12/5), including a takedown of Gardner Minshew for his first career sacks.
• As a rookie in 2020, played in 5 games for the Eagles but recorded no statistics.

COLLEGE:

• Played in 44 games with 32 starts in 4 seasons at Army (2016-19)…Registered 201 career tackles (142 solo), 17.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 7 interceptions, 28 passes defensed, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and one blocked field goal (returned for a touchdown)…As a senior in 2019, was a team captain and recorded career highs in tackles (79), solo stops (55), tackles for loss (8.0), sacks (4.0), interceptions (3, tying his 2016 total), and forced fumbles (3)...Played in the East-West Shrine Bowl…One of 14 semifinalists for the 2019 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award, given to a defensive back and is based on performance on the field, athletic ability and character.

PERSONAL:

• Three-year letterwinner under head coach Joe Piccininni at Newfield High School in Selden, NY…First Team All-State and All-Metro…Recipient of the Carl Hansen Award, given to the top player in Suffolk County by Newsday…Won the Tom Cassese Award as the top defensive player in Suffolk County by Newsday…Newfield won the 2016 Rutgers Trophy as Long Island Champions (Class II) with Riley leading the way…Two-time team captain…After winning the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy in 2018 and celebrating at the White House, Riley asked President Trump whether athletes at service academies could be granted the opportunity to defer their mandatory active-duty service obligation to play professional sports…In June 2019, a new policy was created that allows athletes from the service academies to defer their service while they pursue pro careers.