The Denver Broncos on Friday signed free-agent running back J.J. Arrington, it was announced. As per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Arrington (5-foot-9, 212 pounds) is a fifth-year running back who originally signed with Denver a year ago today, but was waived May 28, 2009. He spent the 2009 season out of football.
Arrington, 27, spent his first four NFL seasons with Arizona, which selected him in the second round (44th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft from the University of California. He has played 58 career regular-season games (8 starts), totaling 183 rushes for 654 yards (3.6 avg.) with three touchdowns along with 91 receptions for 693 yards (7.6 avg.) with two scores. Arrington owns 114 career kickoff returns for 2,694 yards (23.6 avg.) with two touchdowns.
In 2008, Arrington saw time in 11 regular-season games (3 starts) and all four postseason contests for the Cardinals, who won the NFC West title and advanced to Super Bowl XLIII. He rushed for 187 yards on 31 carries (6.0 avg.) with one touchdown and tied a career high with 29 receptions for 255 yards (8.8 avg.) with one score during the regular season. He also returned 36 kickoffs for 923 yards (25.6 avg.) with a 93-yard touchdown return.
During his rookie campaign with Arizona in 2005, Arrington rushed for a career-high 370 yards on 112 carries (3.3 avg.) with two touchdowns and had 25 receptions for 139 yards (5.6 avg.). He returned 67 kickoffs for 1,520 yards (22.7 avg.) with a 99-yard touchdown return for the Cardinals in 2006.
Arrington played two seasons at California after beginning his collegiate career at College of the Canyons in Valencia, Calif. He received consensus All-America honors as a senior at Cal, rushing for at least 100 yards in every game en route to finishing the year as the nation’s leader in rushing yards (2,018) and yards per carry (7.0 avg., 289 rushes).
A two-way player at Northern Nash High School in Rocky Mount, N.C., Arrington was born on Jan. 23, 1983