David Howard (born December 8, 1961) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

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

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

and New England Patriots. He also was a member of the Los Angeles Express in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. He played college football at

Long Beach State University California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

Early years

Howard attended

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

, where he was the city co-player of the year in 1978. He accepted a football scholarship from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

and was a starter as a freshman at

, but decided to transfer to Long Beach State at the end of the season. He was named the starter at

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

as a sophomore. As a senior, he registered 89 tackles (51 solo), 6 tackles for loss and 2 fumble recoveries. He finished his career with 242 tackles, 17 sacks, 6 interceptions and 16 passes defensed. In 1998, he was inducted into the Long Beach State Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Los Angeles Express (USFL)

Howard was selected in the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

USFL Territorial Draft The United States Football League had two types of drafts as their main sources for player recruitment: the Collegiate Draft and the Territorial Draft. The Collegiate Draft resembled its NFL counterpart (the NFL Draft), in which teams were given a p ...

by the Los Angeles Express. He was a starter the two years he played for the team.

Minnesota Vikings

He was selected by the

in the third round of the

1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players The 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players was a one-time draft of United States Football League and Canadian Football League players, held in the spring of 1984. Reason for the draft In New York City on Tuesday, June 5, startin ...

. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, he replaced an injured

Scott Studwell John Scott Studwell (born August 27, 1954) is a former professional American football player. He was nicknamed "Stud". College Studwell graduated from the University of Illinois, where he starred as a linebacker. He left Illinois ranked second ...

and received 4 starts after the twelfth game of the season. He registered 80 tackles, 5 passes defensed and 3 forced fumbles. The next year, he was named the starter at right outside linebacker, posting 88 tackles (sixth on the team), 55 solo tackles, 2 passes defensed and 3 forced fumbles (tied for the team lead), despite missing three games with a hyper-extended right elbow. In

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, he played in 10 games (7 starts) after missing four games with a sprained ankle, recording 33 tackles (24 solo), 2 passes defensed and one interception. The next year, he started in all the games, finishing with 46 tackles (31 solo), 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. Against the

, he had 2 solo tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. On October 12,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, he was sent to the

as part of the

Herschel Walker trade The Herschel Walker trade was the largest player trade in the history of the National Football League (NFL). This deal on October 12, 1989, centered on sending running back Herschel Walker from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings. Includin ...

. At the time he started 3 games and had 15 tackles.

Dallas Cowboys

, his playing time was limited because there were conditional draft picks attached to the Vikings traded players and the

wanted the selections instead of keeping Howard and the others. Head coach Jimmy Johnson eventually had second thoughts on the February 1 deadline and traded three future draft choices (third-round and tenth-round in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

and a third-round in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

) to the Vikings for the right to retain the original full package of draft choices, plus Howard,

Issiac Holt Issiac Holt III (born October 4, 1962) is a former professional American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Alcorn State University. With the Cowboys, he ...

and

Jesse Solomon Jesse William Solomon (born November 4, 1963) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, and Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...

. He shared the

strongside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

position with

Jack Del Rio Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. (born April 4, 1963) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a linebacker at the University of South ...

in the final eight games, playing in the second and fourth quarters. He finished the season with 18 tackles (9 solo) and one quarterback pressure in 11 games. In

, he appeared in 16 games as a backup and made 11 tackles (3 solo). On April 19,

, after not having any starts during his time with the Cowboys, he was traded to the New England Patriots along with

Eugene Lockhart,

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

Ron Francis, a 1991 first round pick (#11

Pat Harlow Patrick Christopher Harlow (born March 16, 1969) is an American retired football (gridiron) player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). His son, Sean Harlow, was also designated as Atlanta Falcons by the fourth ro ...

), and a 1991 second round pick (#41

Jerome Henderson Jerome Virgil Henderson (born August 8, 1969) is the current defensive backs coach for the New York Giants, and a former American football cornerback for the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets of the ...

), in exchange for the first overall draft pick of the

1991 NFL Draft The 1991 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 21–22, 1991, at the Marriott Mar ...

(

Russell Maryland Russell James Maryland (born March 22, 1969) is a former professional American football player. He played defensive tackle for ten seasons for the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He w ...

New England Patriots

, he played in all 16 games (5 starts) at right outside linebacker, registering 60 tackles (40 solo), 3 passes defensed and one sack. The next year, he played in 16 games (10 starts), finishing with 78 tackles (59 solo), 3 forced fumbles (tied team lead), 2

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles and one interception. He was released on July 24,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, after having a difference of opinion about his sprained toe with new head coach

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 ...

. David is CEO of Empower Me Inc. David is also founder of Urban Village Family Services and Stop Six Realty LLC.

References

External links

New England Patriots bioVideo Interview on Pain Resource
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, David 1961 births Living people Players of American football from Long Beach, California American football linebackers Oregon State Beavers football players California State University, Long Beach alumni Long Beach State 49ers football players Los Angeles Express players Minnesota Vikings players Dallas Cowboys players New England Patriots players Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni