Donnie Spragan Jr. (born July 12, 1976) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 1999. Spragan has also been a member of 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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. 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 ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

and Pacific.

Early life

Spragan attended James Logan High School in Union City, California, where he lettered in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, he won All-League honors at both quarterback and linebacker. Spragan attended University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA, and played football there for Chuck Shelton. When Pacific dropped their program after the 1995 season, Spragan transferred to Stanford University.

Professional career

Early career

Spragan signed as undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints but was released after he injured his knee during pre-season. He spent the 1999 and 2000 seasons recovering from injury. He signed as free agent with the Amsterdam Admirals of

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

, where he started all ten games and posted 44 tackles, 3,5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 5 special teams tackles. He was then picked up by the

on July 19, but was released on September 2 at the end of the preseason. He was added to the Cleveland Browns' practice squad on October, 2, but was released from the practice squad on October 31.

Denver Broncos

Spragan was signed to the Denver Broncos' practice squad on December 11, 2001. He remained there through the end of the season, and was then re-signed by the Denver Broncos in the offseason He was active for the entire 2002 season, posting 12 tackles in total of which 2 were assisted. He also forced a fumble.
NFL Player page Spragan appeared in all 16 games for the Denver Broncos in 2003. He was moved to Safety (American football position), strong safety for a game against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. He posted 54 tackles in total of which 10 were assisted, 3 passes defended, 1 forced fumble and 3 fumbles recovered for a total of 9 yards. Spragan appeared in all 16 games for the Denver Broncos yet again in 2004, starting 14 at outside linebacker. He recorded a total of 67 tackles of which 22 were assisted, one sack, 5 passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovered.

Miami Dolphins

Signed a two-year deal worth $2 million with the Miami Dolphins. Dolphins signing Posted 53 tackles (38 solo), one sack, one interception, two passes defended and one forced fumble. Appeared in all 16 games for the Miami Dolphins posting 50 tackles of which 22 were assisted, 1.5 sack, 3 passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovered. On April 25, 2007, he re-signed with the Dolphins.

Buffalo Bills

A free agent in the 2008 offseason, Spragan signed with the

on August 2 after rookie linebacker Alvin Bowen suffered what appears to be a serious knee injury. He was released on August 30, 2008.

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bio

Denver Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spragan, Donnie 1976 births Living people Players of American football from Oakland, California American football linebackers Stanford Cardinal football players New Orleans Saints players Amsterdam Admirals players Green Bay Packers players Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players Miami Dolphins players Buffalo Bills players James Logan High School alumni Players of American football from Union City, California