Player Information
Raymond James Edwards, Jr. was born on January 1, 1985, and graduated from Woodward High in Cincinnati, OH. He earned All-Big 10 freshman honors with 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery as a freshman reserve. He earned the starting spot as a sophomore, appearing in and starting 12 games. He finished the year with 45 tackles, 11 for loss, 8 sacks, 4 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 recovery. He earned All-Big 10 conference honorable mention. As a junior, he started the first 6 games but was benched for the final five games due to poor play. He still wound up with 28 tackles, 11 for loss, 5.5 sacks, 1 interception, and 1 pass breakup in 11 total appearances as a junior. He declared early for the 2006 NFL Draft, and was selected in the 4th round (127th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings.
Career Statistics
| Year | Team | G | GS | Tack | Ast | Sack | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR |
| 2006 | MIN | 15 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | MIN | 12 | 11 | 30 | 4 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2008 | MIN | 15 | 15 | 53 | 19 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 51 | 8 | 8.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2010 | MIN | 14 | 14 | 37 | 9 | 8.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 33 | 9 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TOTALS | 88 | 74 | 214 | 52 | 33.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | |
Transactions
Signed by Minnesota Vikings on July 17, 2006 ... Suspended for 4 games by NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy on December 5, 2007 ... Re-signed by the Minnesota Vikings on June 14, 2010 ... Signed by the Atlanta Falcons on July 29, 2011.
Contract details
Signed a four-year deal with Vikings in 2006 worth $2.003 million, and including a $393,000 signing bonus ... Signed a one-year restricted free agent tender with Vikings in 2010 worth $2.521 million ... Signed a five-year deal with Falcons worth $27.5 million, including $11 million in guaranteed money. His deal included a signing bonus of $4 million. His base salaries are: $2 million (2012, fully guaranteed); $3 million (2013); $5.5 million (2013); $5 million (2014 and 2015). Two-thirds ($2 million) of his 2012 base salary is fully guaranteed. He also has an option bonus due of $3 million in 2012. There is a $2.5 million base salary escalator potentially due for the 2015 season dependent on sack total over the course of the deal. His cap hits are as follows: $2.8 million (2011); $6.8 million (2012); $6.3 million (2013). $5.8 million (2014 and 2015).