Duane Butler

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1973)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Duane Butler

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| number = 31

| position = Linebacker
Safety

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|11|9|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Trotwood, Ohio, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 1

| weight_lbs = 211

| high_school = Trotwood (OH) Madison

| college = Illinois State

| undraftedyear = 1997

| expansiondraftyear = 1999

| expansiondraftround = 1

| expansiondraftpick = 18

| pastteams =

| pfr = ButlDu20

}}

Duane Butler (born November 9, 1973) is an American former professional gridiron football linebacker and safety. He played college football at Illinois State.

College career

Duane Butler attended Illinois State University.{{cite web|title=ILLINOIS STATE ATHLETES IN THE PROS {{!}} FOOTBALL|url=http://www.goredbirds.com/trads/ilsu-trads-inthepros-m-footbl.html|work=Illinois State Athletics|accessdate=27 October 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413165454/http://www.goredbirds.com/trads/ilsu-trads-inthepros-m-footbl.html|archivedate=13 April 2010}} While there, he was a three time All-Conference selection, and left school with the school's fifth most career tackles record with 332 tackles.

Professional career

Butler began his career as a free agent, eventually playing in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings, in 1997 for three games and in 1998 for fourteen games.{{cite web|title=All-Time Numerical Roster |url=http://www.vikings.com/team/history/all-time-numerical-roster.html |work=vikings.com |accessdate=27 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905030712/http://www.vikings.com/team/history/all-time-numerical-roster.html |archivedate=5 September 2015 }} In 1998, he also played for the London Monarchs of the NFL Europa. In 1999, he tried out for the Cleveland Browns. In 2000, he played for the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europa. 2001 was a busy year, as Butler played 15 games with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL, and a season with the Birmingham Thunderbolts of the XFL. After another season in Hamilton (2002), Butler found a home with the Montreal Alouettes, where he has played for the past 4 seasons (to 2006). In 2003, he tied the Alouettes records for most sacks in a game, with 5 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

References