Hakeem Butler (born May 16, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the

St. Louis BattleHawks The St. Louis BattleHawks are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha A ...

of the XFL. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, and was drafted by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

in the fourth round of the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

. He has also been a member of the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles.

Early years

Butler was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

on May 16, 1996. His mother, Sheryl, died from breast cancer when Butler was 16. He then moved to

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, to live with his aunt and uncle, and his cousins

Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

and Andrew Harrison, former

Kentucky basketball The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team is an American college basketball team that represents the University of Kentucky. Kentucky is the most successful NCAA Division I basketball program in history in terms of all-time winning percentage ...

stars. Butler attended Travis High School in Fort Bend, Texas. He committed to Iowa State University to play college football, choosing it over schools such as New Mexico and Houston.

College career

After redshirting his first year at Iowa State in 2015, Butler played in 11 games in 2016 and had nine receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2017, he had 41 receptions for 697 yards and seven touchdowns. As a junior in 2018, he had 60 receptions for 1,318 yards and nine touchdowns, breaking a school record for single season receiving yards. After the season, Butler decided to forgo his senior year and enter the

College statistics

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Butler was drafted by the

in the fourth round (103rd overall) in the

. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on August 25, 2019, after suffering a broken hand, causing him to miss his entire rookie season. On September 4, 2020, Butler was waived by the Cardinals.

Carolina Panthers

On September 18, 2020, Butler was signed to the Carolina Panthers practice squad.

Philadelphia Eagles

On September 29, 2020, Butler was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles active roster off the Panthers practice squad and converted to tight end. He was waived on October 31, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad two days later. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on January 4, 2021. He was waived on August 23, 2021.

BC Lions

On February 22, 2022 Hakeem Butler signed with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was released on May 23, 2022.

Edmonton Elks

Butler was signed by the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on July 5, 2022, and placed on the team's practice roster. He was released on August 16, 2022.

St. Louis BattleHawks

On January 1, 2023, Butler was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

2023 XFL Supplemental Draft The 2023 XFL Draft, is the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL, and the second draft in that league's history following the 2020 draft. The draft was held on November 15–17, 2022, with ...

References

External links

Iowa State Cyclones bioArizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Hakeem 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Baltimore American football wide receivers Iowa State Cyclones football players Arizona Cardinals players Carolina Panthers players Philadelphia Eagles players BC Lions players Edmonton Elks players St. Louis BattleHawks players