Chris Banjo

Ayokunmi Christopher Oluwaseun Banjo (born February 26, 1990) is an American professional football coach and former safety who is the special teams coordinator for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the SMU Mustangs. Banjo was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He has also played for the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, and Arizona Cardinals.

College career

Banjo attended Southern Methodist University, where he played for the Mustangs from 2008 to 2011.

Statistics Season Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR 2008 SMU 12 8 61 40 21 0.0 0 1 33 33.0 33 0 0 0 2009 SMU 13 13 86 45 41 0.0 5 1 16 16.0 16 0 3 1 2010 SMU 14 14 92 60 32 0.0 8 2 25 12.5 25 0 0 0 2011 SMU 12 12 82 50 32 0.0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2 Career 51 47 321 195 126 0.0 15 4 74 18.5 33 0 3 3

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars After going undrafted in the 2012 NFL draft, Banjo signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on April 18, 2013. On July 25, 2013, he was released by the Jaguars.

Green Bay Packers On July 29, 2013, Banjo was signed by the Green Bay Packers.

He was re-signed by the Packers on February 26, 2014. On August 30, 2014, Banjo was released by the Packers during final team cuts. He was signed to the Packers' practice squad the following day. On December 13, 2014, Banjo was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster.

He was re-signed by the Packers on March 10, 2015. Banjo was elected by teammates as a playoff captain after leading the team in special teams tackles in the 2015 season.

On March 8, 2016, Banjo was re-signed by the Packers. He was placed on injured reserve on October 24, 2016. On October 31, 2016, Banjo was waived by the Packers after reaching an injury settlement.

New Orleans Saints On November 15, 2016, Banjo was signed by the New Orleans Saints. On March 7, 2017, Banjo signed a two-year contract extension with the Saints.

On March 9, 2019, Banjo signed a three-year contract extension with the Saints. He was released on August 31, 2019.

Arizona Cardinals On September 25, 2019, Banjo was signed by the Arizona Cardinals.

On April 2, 2020, Banjo was re-signed by the Cardinals. He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on December 31, 2020, and activated on January 5, 2021.

On March 31, 2021, Banjo was re-signed by the Cardinals to a one-year contract. He was released on August 31, 2021 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 4, 2021.

On September 29, 2022, Banjo was signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad after going unsigned in the offseason. He was signed to the active roster on October 12.

On February 26, 2023, Banjo's 33rd birthday, he announced on his Twitter account his retirement from the NFL after 10 seasons.

NFL career statistics +Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR 2013 GB 16 1 19 17 2 0.0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2014 GB 3 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2015 GB 16 1 16 15 1 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 02016 GB 2 0 2 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 NO 7 0 5 5 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2017 NO 16 0 12 10 2 0.0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 1 1 2018 NO 16 0 10 8 2 0.0 3 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2019 ARI 13 0 12 6 6 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2020 ARI 13 4 48 34 14 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2021 ARI 16 0 7 4 3 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2022 ARI 13 1 11 6 5 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 Career 131 7 143 108 35 0.0 8 3 0 0.0 0 0 1 2

+Playoffs Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR 2013 GB 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2014 GB 2 0 2 1 1 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2015 GB 2 0 2 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2017 NO 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2018 NO 2 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2021 ARI 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 Career 10 0 5 4 1 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0

Coaching career Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos announced the hiring of Banjo as an assistant special teams coach under new head coach Sean Payton on February 25, 2023.

New York Jets On January 31, 2025, Banjo was hired to serve as the New York Jets' special teams coordinator.

Personal life Banjo was born to Nigerian parents who migrated to Houston. His mother died in 2010.

His name "Oluwaseun" means "We thank God" in Yoruba.