Melvin Thaddeus Fowler Jr. (born March 31, 1979) 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

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

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). He was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in the third round of the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

. Fowler has been a member of the

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 ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

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) NFC West, West division. 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 ...

and

Florida Tuskers Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Early life

Fowler was an All-county and All-Long Island selection as a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

Half Hollow Hills High School West Half Hollow Hills Central School District (#5) is located in Dix Hills, New York, on Long Island, and primarily serves the hamlets of Dix Hills and part of Melville, while also serving small areas of East Farmingdale, Deer Park, West Hills, ...

Dix Hills, New York Dix Hills is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP), in the Huntington, New York, Town of Huntington, on Long Island, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 26,180 at the time of the 2020 census. Hi ...

, where he was chosen

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

’s top lineman in a poll of area coaches. He was also a finalist for the 1996 Bob Zellner Award. He was a three-sport standout who also excelled in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

College career

Fowler did not allow a quarterback sack in the four years as a starter at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. He took over center duties in his

redshirt freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

year, despite having practiced at that position for only 10 days before earning the starting job. He was a model of consistency, as he started every game (44) he played in for Maryland.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Fowler was drafted in the

by the

. In his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season with the Browns he was the backup center behind

Dave Wohlabaugh David Vincent Wohlabaugh (born April 13, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a center for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Syracuse Orange. Wohlabaugh was selec ...

and made his first career start at center against

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

, filling in for an injured Wohlabaugh. He dressed but did not play in three contests and was inactive for the remaining 12 regular season games and the AFC wild card game at Pittsburgh. In

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, his second season with the Browns, he provided depth at both the

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

and

positions and ended up appearing in 14 games, including 10 starts. He started three games at left guard and started seven games at center. He began the season as the starting LG for the first three games. Fowler played in 15 games for the Browns in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Minnesota Vikings

Fowler was traded to the

for the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

season where he played in 10 games.

Buffalo Bills

Fowler was signed by the

on March 21, 2006. He started his first 32 games with the team as their center, replacing Trey Teague, before starting 5 of 16 games in 2008, sharing time with Duke Preston He became a free agent in the 2009 offseason.

Arizona Cardinals

Fowler was signed by the

on August 4, 2009, after the team waived center

Donovan Raiola Donovan Raiola ( ; born December 13, 1982) is an American football coach and former player who is the offensive line coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He played professionally in as a center in the National Football League (NFL). Raiola was ...

. He was waived on September 4, 2009.

Detroit Lions

Fowler was signed by the

on November 17, 2009. He was waived on December 23.

Current career

VIP at TAO - Las Vegas

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bioBuffalo Bills bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Melvin 1979 births Living people Players of American football from Brooklyn American football offensive guards American football centers Maryland Terrapins football players Cleveland Browns players Minnesota Vikings players Buffalo Bills players Arizona Cardinals players Detroit Lions players Florida Tuskers players