Germane L. Crowell (born September 13, 1976) 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 with ...

wide receiver 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). In the

1998 NFL draft The 1998 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 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

, Crowell was selected in the second round (50th overall) by 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) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. He played five seasons for the Lions from

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

until

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. He is the older brother of NFL

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 ...

Angelo Crowell Angelo Delvonne Crowell (born August 16, 1981) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia Cavaliers football, Virginia. He is the ...

Early years

Crowell was born in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

, the son of Patricia and Napoleon Crowell. He was one of six children and all five of his siblings, four brothers and one sister, played sports on the collegiate level. During Crowell's years at North Forsyth High School, his head coach was former NFL wide receiver Drew Buie.

College career

In 1994, Crowell decided to attend the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, where he would go on to play football for four years (1994-1997). While playing Crowell lead the Cavaliers in both receiving yards and receptions during the 1996 and 1997 seasons. The 969 receiving yards gained during the 1997 season is the third best total all-time for a Cavalier, behind only

Herman Moore Herman Joseph Moore (born October 20, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers. He was drafted b ...

and

Billy McMullen Wilbur Anthony McMullen, Jr. (born March 8, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2003 NFL draft. He played college football at Virginia Cavaliers football, Virginia ...

. After Crowell's senior season his name rose high into the University's record book as he became 2nd in career receptions and 4th in career receiving yards. However, as of today he is 6th in both categories.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

In 1998, Crowell was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round, 50th overall. In March 2002, the Lions re-signed Crowell to a 3-year, $7.5 million dollar contract with a $1 million signing bonus. In February 2003, the Lions released Crowell prior to a roster bonus which was due in March, however did not ruling out re-signing him at a later date. His once promising Lions career ended following a wide assortment of injuries, leading him to play a full 16 games just once in his career, missing a total of 26 games over his five seasons in Detroit. He finished his Lions career having played in 54 games with 33 starts. He caught 184 passes for 2,722 yards and 16 touchdowns.

2003 Free Agency

Following his release by the Lions in February 2003, Crowell had visits with the

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

, as well as rumored interest by 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 ...

and

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 expansion ...

, however he did not sign with any team for the 2003 season.

New Orleans Saints

In February 2004, Crowell signed a one-year contract with the Saints, where he was expected to battle for the third or fourth receiver position. Unfortunately, an injury to his right knee led to his being placed on the waived-injured list in August, thus effectively ending his pro career.

Professional statistics

Personal life

Today, Crowell is still active in his hometown.

References

External links

*http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CrowGe00.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowell, Germane 1976 births Living people Players of American football from Winston-Salem, North Carolina American football wide receivers Virginia Cavaliers football players Detroit Lions players