Craig Sauer
{{Short description|American football player (born 1972)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Craig Sauer
| number = 52, 59
| position = Linebacker
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|12|13}}
| birth_place = Sartell, Minnesota, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lb = 240
| high_school = Sartell
| college = Minnesota
| draftyear = 1996
| draftround = 6
| draftpick = 188
| pastteams =
- Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|1996|1999}})
- Minnesota Vikings ({{NFL Year|2000}})
| statlabel1 = Tackles
| statvalue1 = 100
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 1.0
| statlabel3 = Interceptions
| statvalue3 = 1
| pfr = SaueCr20
}}
Craig Curtis Sauer (born December 13, 1972) is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Atlanta Falcons from 1996 to 1999 and the Minnesota Vikings in 2000.{{cite web|title=Craig Sauer|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SaueCr20.htm|publisher=Sports Reference, LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference|accessdate=March 20, 2009}} His father was a professional minor league baseball player and he has three brothers who have played professional ice hockey.
Football career
Sauer played college football at the University of Minnesota. He was selected in the sixth round (188th overall pick) of the 1996 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons.{{Cite web |title=1996 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1996/draft.htm |access-date=March 30, 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He ended up playing more NFL games than all but 12 of the 87 players taken in the last two rounds of that year's draft. As a rookie in 1996, Sauer played in all 16 games for the Falcons, but only started one. He had seven tackles, four assists and one forced fumble that season. In 1997, he once again played in all 16 games and started one. He had eight tackles, one assist and one fumble recovery for the season.
In 1998, he played all 16 games again, and started six, primarily at right linebacker, as the Falcons went on to win the National Football Conference championship and play in the Super Bowl.{{cite web|title=1998 Atlanta Falcons|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/atl/1998.htm|publisher=Sports Reference, LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference|accessdate=March 20, 2009}} He set a career high with 29 tackles, and also had five assists and his only career interception, and got to play in Super Bowl XXXIII. In 1999, he again played all 16 games for the Falcons, starting three. He had 18 tackles, six assists and his only career sack.
Sauer joined the Minnesota Vikings for the 2000 season. In what would be his final NFL season, he played in nine games for the Vikings. He did not start any games, and had only one tackle for the season.
Family
Sauer's father, Curt Sauer was a minor league baseball player in the Minnesota Twins system.{{cite web|title=Youngest Sauer skates past siblings|url=http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=27506|publisher=The Portland Tribune|date=December 10, 2004|accessdate=March 20, 2009|archive-date=June 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608042454/http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=27506|url-status=dead}} Three of his brothers, Kent, Kurt and Michael have played professional ice hockey.{{cite web|title=SAUER FEELING RIGHT AT HOME|url=http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=390202&page=NewsPage&service=page|publisher=National Hockey League|date=November 3, 2008|accessdate=March 20, 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726183907/http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=390202&page=NewsPage&service=page|archivedate=July 26, 2011}} Kent Sauer was a 4th round draft pick by the Nashville Predators in 1998, but his professional career was derailed by a knee injury.{{cite web|title=Kent Sauer|url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=36999|publisher=HockeyDB.com|accessdate=March 20, 2009}}{{cite web|title=Kent Sauer Announces Retirement|url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3091383|date=October 8, 2004|publisher=OurSportsCentral|accessdate=March 20, 2009}} Kurt was a defenseman who played for three different National Hockey League franchises.,{{cite web|title=Kurt Sauer|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/2678|publisher=Yahoo Sports|accessdate=March 20, 2009}} while Michael was a defenseman for the National Hockey League's New York Rangers.{{cite web|title=Michael Sauer|url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=80355|publisher=HockeyDB.com|accessdate=March 20, 2009}}{{cite web|title=Rangers recall Sauer from Hartford|url=http://rangers.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=415022|publisher=New York Rangers|accessdate=March 23, 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327092920/http://rangers.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=415022|archivedate=March 27, 2009}} Both brothers had their careers end prematurely as a result of concussions.
References
{{reflist}}
{{Atlanta Falcons 1996 draft navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauer, Craig}}
Category:People from Sartell, Minnesota
Category:Players of American football from Minnesota
Category:American football linebackers
Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers football players