BIOGRAPHY
A.J. Bouye was born August 16, 1991, in Tucker, Georgia. He is a cornerback in the NFL. Bouye played college football at UCF from 2009 to 2012. As a freshman, he had 10 total tackles and one pass defend in six games. He saw an expanded role in his sophomore season. In ten games, he had 26 total tackles, one interception return for a touchdown (a 42-yarder against Marshall), and eight passes defended. As a junior, he appeared in seven games and had 21 total tackles, two interceptions, and five passes defended. In his final season with the Knights in 2012, he had 53 total tackles, three interceptions, 11 passes defended, one fumble recovery, and one forced fumble. In that stretch was a 32-yard pick-six and 79-yard fumble recovery touchdown against Memphis and a 76-yard pick-six against Tulsa. After his career with the Knights, Bouye entered the 2013 NFL Draft.
On April 28, 2013, the Houston Texans signed Bouye to a three-year, $1.41 million contract that includes a $5,000 signing bonus after he went undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft. During training camp, secondary coach John Butler held an open competition for the job as the third cornerback on the depth chart. The competition included Bouye, Brandon Harris, Josh Victorian, Elbert Mack, Andre Hal, and Marcus Williams. On October 18, 2015, Bouye recorded a season-high seven solo tackles, deflected two passes, and intercepted a pass by quarterback Blake Bortles during a 31–20 victory at the Jacksonville Jaguars. In Week 11, he deflected a pass before leaving the Texans' 24–17 victory against the New York Jets in the third quarter due to a concussion. He remained in concussion protocol and was inactive for their Week 12 victory against the New Orleans Saints. Bouye finished the 2015 season with 16 combined tackles (15 solo), six pass deflections, and two interceptions in 15 games and two starts. On March 9, 2017, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Bouye to a five-year, $67.5 million contract with $26 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $10 million. Bouye stated he turned down a larger contract offer by the Chicago Bears to join the Jaguars. Head coach Doug Marrone named Bouye the starting cornerback along with Jalen Ramsey entering training camp. Bouye made his Jaguars' regular-season debut in their season-opener at the Houston Texans and recorded six combined tackles and two pass deflections during their 29–7 victory. In the 2018 season, Bouye started in 13 games and totaled 54 total tackles, one interception, and eight passes defended as the Jaguars finished with a 5–11 record. On March 3, 2020, the Jaguars agreed to trade Bouye to the Denver Broncos for a 2020 fourth-round pick originally acquired from the San Francisco 49ers. Bouye signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2021.
