Kelly Butler
Kelly Don Butler is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League and Canadian Football League. He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL draft. He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers.
Butler was also a member of the Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Outside of his involvement with the Blue Bombers, Butler often appears on Winnipeg based radio station CITI-FM, as a guest co-host of Wheeler in the Morning.
Early life
Butler attended Union High School, where he played football as well as basketball. He was a two-time All-City and All-Arena selection as a member of the school's football team. He was named an All-American, All-State and All-Regional selection as a senior, as well as a member of the city championship winning team. He was ranked as the #24 offensive lineman and #209 player overall in the nation by Prep Football Report.College career
Butler then attended Purdue University, where he majored in Law and Society. As a true freshman in 2000, he received medical redshirt after suffering from shoulder tendinitis. In 2001, he received the team's Newcomer Award for Offense for the spring season. He was named to The Sporting News Big Ten All-Freshman team. He started all 12 games at Right Tackle. As a sophomore in 2002, he started all 13 games at Right Tackle. He graded out at 80% or better in five games, 81% against Minnesota and on the road against Iowa. He had a season-high grade of 83% against Indiana. He also helped Purdue lead Big Ten in total offense with 452.2 yards per game. In 2003 he started every game at Right Tackle and graded at least 80% or better for blocking consistency in every game. He recorded 78 knockdowns, with nine of those blocks resulting in touchdowns. He helped the offense average 372.9 yards per game. He ended his career with 10 knockdowns against Georgia in the Capital One Citrus Bowl as he did not allow defensive end Robert Geathers to record any tackles.Professional career
Pre-draft
Butler was invited, and attended the 2004 NFL Scouting Combine.Detroit Lions
Butler was selected in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.Butler played two seasons for the Lions, playing in just 16 regular season games during those two seasons. As a rookie in 2004 he was inactive for all but one game of the season. He was active for the Lions' season finale game against the Tennessee Titans, however he did not play in the game. The following year, he earned the starting role at Right Tackle, and made his NFL debut against the Green Bay Packers, he then started every game of the regular season, recording a recovered fumble to help continue a third quarter scoring drive against the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, his career in Detroit ended when he was waived by the Lions at the end of training camp the next season.