Eric Swann
{{Short description|American football player (born 1970)}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Eric Swann
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| number = 98
| position = Defensive tackle
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|8|16}}
| birth_place = Pinehurst, North Carolina, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 5
| weight_lb = 317
| high_school = Western Harnett {{avoid wrap| (Lillington, North Carolina)}}
| college = Wake Tech (1989)
| draftyear = 1991
| draftround = 1
| draftpick = 6
| pastteams =
- Bay State Titans (1990)
- Phoenix / Arizona Cardinals ({{NFL Year|1991|1999}})
- Carolina Panthers ({{NFL Year|2000}})
| highlights =
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 463
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 46.5
| statlabel3 = Safeties
| statvalue3 = 3
| statlabel4 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue4 = 6
| statlabel5 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue5 = 8
| statlabel6 = Pass deflections
| statvalue6 = 8
| statlabel7 = Interceptions
| statvalue7 = 2
| statlabel8 = Defensive touchdowns
| statvalue8 = 1
| pfr = S/SwanEr00
}}
Eric Jerrod Swann (born August 16, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Phoenix Cardinals in the first round of the 1991 NFL draft with the sixth overall pick. He never attended college and was selected from the semi-professional Bay State Titans. He played in the NFL for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000 for the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers.
High school
Swann played high-school football at Western Harnett High School in Lillington, North Carolina and graduated in 1989.{{cite web|title=Past Shrine Bowl Players in the Pros |url=http://www.highschoolot.com/football_friday/page/3275390/ |work=HighSchoolOT.com |publisher=WRAL |access-date=June 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722174845/http://www.highschoolot.com/football_friday/page/3275390/ |archive-date=July 22, 2011 }} During his high-school years, he was state runner-up in shot-put and discus throwing, recording distances of 54' 02" and 152' 06" respectively.{{Cite web | url=http://footballtalentadvisors.com/blog/tag/eric-swann/ | title=Juventus Vs Parma en Vivo Por Internet | access-date=September 1, 2011 | archive-date=January 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128135910/http://footballtalentadvisors.com/blog/tag/eric-swann/ | url-status=usurped }}
Semi-pro career
Swann was bound for North Carolina State University but was ruled academically ineligible. Rather than enrolling under Proposition 48,{{cite news|last=Teel|first=David|title=Fierce Area Recruiter Vacates Deacons' Staff|url=https://www.dailypress.com/1989/08/05/fierce-area-recruiter-vacates-deacons-staff/|access-date=June 9, 2011|newspaper=The Daily Press|place=Newport News, Va.|date=August 5, 1989|archive-date=August 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811212252/http://articles.dailypress.com/1989-08-05/sports/8908050003_1_football-recruits-virginia-football-fork-union|url-status=live}} he left Wake Technical in 1990 to join the semi-pro Bay State Titans in Lynn, Massachusetts with a $5-per-hour salary.{{cite news|last=Duckworth|first=Ed|title=Tobin building confidence|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/projo/access/31855042.html?dids=31855042:31855042&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+15%2C+1996&author=ED+DUCKWORTH&pub=The+Providence+Journal&desc=PATRIOTS+JOURNAL+Tobin+building+confidence&pqatl=google|newspaper=The Providence Journal|date=September 15, 1996|pages=C8|quote=Six years ago, the 6-foot-5, 295-pounder dropped out of Wake Technical College in Raleigh, N.C., to play for the Lynn, Mass.-based Bay State Titans of the short-lived Minor League Football System.|access-date=July 6, 2017|archive-date=November 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107005944/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/projo/access/31855042.html?dids=31855042:31855042&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+15,+1996&author=ED+DUCKWORTH&pub=The+Providence+Journal&desc=PATRIOTS+JOURNAL+Tobin+building+confidence&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}}
Professional career
Swann was selected in the first round of the 1991 NFL draft with the sixth overall pick.{{Cite web |title=1991 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1991/draft.htm |access-date=May 7, 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} On April 24, 1991, Swann signed a five-year contract with the Phoenix Cardinals.{{cite news|title=Cardinals Sign No. 1 Choice, A Former Semipro Player|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/25/sports/sports-people-pro-football-cardinals-sign-no-1-choice-a-former-semipro-player.html|access-date=June 9, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 25, 1991|agency=Associated Press}} In 1995 and 1996, Swann was named an NFL All-Pro and selected for the NFC Pro Bowl team.
In 1998, Swann resigned with the Cardinals for a five-year, $25 million contract with a $7.5 million signing bonus,{{cite news|title=Swann Re-signs With Cardinals|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/12/sports/plus-pro-football-arizona-swann-re-signs-with-cardinals.html|access-date=June 9, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 12, 1998|agency=Associated Press}} the richest contract ever signed by a Cardinals player to date.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/keyword/eric-swann | work=The New York Times}} Because he was recovering from knee surgeries, Swann did not practice with the Cardinals in the 1999 training-camp period.{{cite news|title=Swann dives back in|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/news/1999/07/22/swann_rehab_ap/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104110818/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/news/1999/07/22/swann_rehab_ap/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 4, 2012|access-date=June 9, 2011|newspaper=CNNSI.com|date=July 22, 1999|agency=Associated Press}} In 1999, he played nine games and recorded four sacks and a 42-yard interception.{{cite web|title=Eric Swann|url=http://www.nfl.com/players/ericswann/profile?id=SWA320232|publisher=NFL|access-date=June 9, 2011}}
The Cardinals waived Swann on July 11, 2000.{{cite news|title=Transactions|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/12/sports/transactions-177890.html|access-date=June 9, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 12, 2000}} Two weeks later, he signed a one-year, veteran minimum deal with the Carolina Panthers along with Reggie White.{{cite news|title=N.F.L.: TRAINING CAMPS ROUNDUP; Searcy May Miss Year|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/25/sports/nfl-training-camps-roundup-searcy-may-miss-year.html|access-date=June 9, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 25, 2000}}
In 2007, Swann played for the Hudson Valley Saints of the North American Football League.{{cite news|last=Houghtaling|first=Eric|title=Saints marching back in|url=http://www.midhudsoncentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18586459&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=82700&rfi=6|work=The Daily Freeman|place=Kingston, N.Y.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002073045/http://www.midhudsoncentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18586459&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=82700&rfi=6|archive-date=October 2, 2008|date=July 14, 2007}}
Swann was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.{{Cite web |title=2010 Hall of Fame Listing |url=http://www.americanfootballassn.com/forms/2010HallofFameListing.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122083011/http://www.americanfootballassn.com/forms/2010HallofFameListing.pdf |archive-date=January 22, 2016 |access-date=August 28, 2011 |website=American Football Association}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
{{1991 NFL Draft}}
{{Phoenix Cardinals 1991 draft navbox}}
{{CardinalsFirstPick}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swann, Eric}}
Category:American football defensive ends
Category:American football defensive tackles
Category:Arizona Cardinals players
Category:Carolina Panthers players
Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players
Category:Phoenix Cardinals players
Category:People from Pinehurst, North Carolina
Category:Players of American football from North Carolina
Category:Players of American football from Phoenix, Arizona
Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen
Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen
Category:Junior college football players in the United States