20 years after leaving Indy, Colts legend Edgerrin James remembers city that helped raise him

MIAMI — Edgerrin James is relaxed, ankles crossed and resting on the light gray rope-woven lounge chair by the pool at his Miami condo. It’s halfway through the two-hour conversation, and a cool breeze is starting to settle in, a common weather change for a Wednesday evening in early February. A clump of trees obscures a clear view into the Straits of Florida, while purple and orange cloud streaks highlight the sky as the sun sets.

James changes his position for the first time in almost 40 minutes , since he placed four empty Popeyes boxes in a large brown paper bag. He leans forward out of his chair to grab his phone on the patio table, his black and white Hall of Fame slides now positioned on the concrete deck. As ‘90s R&B faintly plays from his compact Bose speaker roughly five feet away, James begins to scroll speedily through one particular string of text messages.

There are multiple emojis in the thread, from fire to footballs, and videos of an elated James. James doesn’t get excited for much, but this particular batch of messages drew a sustained smile out of the former Indianapolis Colts running back. The contact name reads: Colts Big Man.

It’s Jim Irsay. “Look at how much we communicated,” James proudly says, referencing the late Colts owner . “It was non-stop.