Vernon Butler Jr. (born June 14, 1994) is an American professional football nose tackle. He played college football for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, and was selected in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers.
 Butler with the Buffalo Bills in 2021 | |||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | June 14, 1994 Pike County, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 325 lb (147 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | North Pike (Summit, Mississippi) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Louisiana Tech (2012–2015) | ||||||||||||
| Position: | Nose tackle | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2016 / round: 1 / pick: 30 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Early life
editButler attended North Pike High School in Summit, Mississippi. He played football, basketball and ran track. As a senior, he had 121 tackles and 13 sacks. Butler committed to Louisiana Tech University to play college football.[1]
College career
editAs a true freshman at Louisiana Tech in 2012, Butler had 21 tackles. As a sophomore in 2013, he had 43 tackles with one sack and as a junior in 2014, he had 54 tackles and a sack.[2] As a senior in 2015, Butler had 50 tackles with three sacks and was named first team All-Conference USA.[3][4][5]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+5⁄8 in (1.92 m) |
323 lb (147 kg) |
35+1⁄8 in (0.89 m) |
10+3⁄4 in (0.27 m) |
5.33 s | 1.87 s | 3.07 s | 4.76 s | 7.82 s | 29+1⁄2 in (0.75 m) |
8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) |
26 reps | |
| All values from 2016 NFL Scouting Combine.[6][7] | ||||||||||||
Carolina Panthers
editButler was selected in the first round with the 30th overall pick by the Carolina Panthers.[8] He became the highest Louisiana Tech Bulldog selected since Troy Edwards in 1999.
On May 13, 2016, the Panthers signed Butler to a four-year, $8.39 million contract that includes $7.94 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $4.30 million.[9][10]
On May 2, 2019, the Panthers declined the fifth-year option on Butler's contract, making him a free agent in 2020.[11]
On December 22, 2019, Butler was ejected after punching Jack Doyle of the Indianapolis Colts in a 38–6 loss.[12]
Buffalo Bills
editOn March 27, 2020, Butler signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.[13]
Las Vegas Raiders
editButler signed with the Las Vegas Raiders on March 23, 2022.[14] Butler was released on August 16, 2022.[15]
New York Giants
editOn November 15, 2022, the New York Giants signed Butler to their practice squad.[16] On December 3, 2022, Butler was elevated from the practice squad for the Week 13 game against the Washington Commanders.[17] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 22, 2023.[18] He was released on August 30, 2023.
References
edit- ^ "Louisiana Tech lands two from North Pike". enterprise-journal.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
- ^ "Tech's Butler nearly unblockable during fall camp". thenewsstar.com. August 19, 2015.
- ^ "Butler wants to prove he's top-ranked DT prospect in NFL Draft". thenewsstar.com. January 25, 2016.
- ^ "La. Tech's Butler has plenty to prove at Senior Bowl". shreveporttimes.com. January 25, 2016.
- ^ "Louisiana Tech defensive tackle Vernon Butler lives up to billing at Senior Bowl practice".
- ^ "Vernon Butler - DT - Louisiana Tech - 2016 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ "Vernon Butler - DT - Louisiana Tech - 2016 NFL Combine Results". NFL Combine Results. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ "DT Butler signs contract". Panthers.com. May 13, 2016.
- ^ "Spotrac.com: Vernon Butler contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
- ^ "Panthers pass on Vernon Butler's fifth-year option". Panthers.com. May 2, 2019.
- ^ "Panthers DT Vernon Butler ejected for punching Colts TE Jack Doyle". espn.com. December 22, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
- ^ Williams, Charean (March 17, 2020). "Bills agree to terms with Vernon Butler, Quinton Jefferson". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
- ^ Raiders Public Relations (March 23, 2022). "Raiders sign DT Vernon Butler". Raiders.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
- ^ "Raiders make moves to bring roster to 85-player limit". Raiders.com. August 16, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
- ^ Citak, Matt (November 15, 2022). "Giants sign DL Vernon Butler to practice squad". Giants.com.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (December 3, 2022). "OLB Azeez Ojulari activated among series of moves". Giants.com.
- ^ "Giants sign 10 to reserve/future contracts". Giants.com. January 22, 2023.