Germane L. Crowell (born September 13, 1976) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). In the

1998 NFL draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

, Crowell was selected in the second round (50th overall) by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He played five seasons for the Lions from

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

until

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. He is the older brother of NFL

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

Angelo Crowell Angelo Delvonne Crowell (born August 16, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the third round of the 2003 NFL draft. He playe ...

Early years

Crowell was born in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, the son of Patricia and Napoleon Crowell. He was one of six children and all five of his siblings, four brothers and one sister, played sports on the collegiate level. During Crowell's years at North Forsyth High School, his head coach was former NFL wide receiver Drew Buie.

College career

In 1994, Crowell decided to attend the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, where he would go on to play football for four years (1994–1997). While playing Crowell lead the Cavaliers in both receiving yards and receptions during the 1996 and 1997 seasons. The 969 receiving yards gained during the 1997 season is the third best total all-time for a Cavalier, behind only

Herman Moore Herman Joseph Moore (born October 20, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers and was selected by ...

and

Billy McMullen Wilbur Anthony McMullen Jr. (born March 8, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2003 NFL draf ...

. After Crowell's senior season his name rose high into the university's record book as he became 2nd in career receptions and 4th in career receiving yards. However, as of today he is 6th in both categories.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

In 1998, Crowell was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round, 50th overall. In March 2002, the Lions re-signed Crowell to a 3-year, $7.5 million contract with a $1 million signing bonus. In February 2003, the Lions released Crowell prior to a roster bonus which was due in March, however did not ruling out re-signing him at a later date. His once promising Lions career ended following a wide assortment of injuries, leading him to play a full 16 games just once in his career, missing a total of 26 games over his five seasons in Detroit. He finished his Lions career having played in 54 games with 33 starts. He caught 184 passes for 2,722 yards and 16 touchdowns.

2003 Free Agency

Following his release by the Lions in February 2003, Crowell had visits with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, as well as rumored interest by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, however he did not sign with any team for the 2003 season.

New Orleans Saints

In February 2004, Crowell signed a one-year contract with the Saints, where he was expected to battle for the third or fourth receiver position. Unfortunately, an injury to his right knee led to his being placed on the waived-injured list in August, thus effectively ending his pro career.

Professional statistics

Personal life

Today, Crowell is still active in his hometown.

References

External links

*http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CrowGe00.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowell, Germane 1976 births Living people Players of American football from Winston-Salem, North Carolina American football wide receivers Virginia Cavaliers football players Detroit Lions players