Mario Antoine Butler (born October 20, 1988) 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 ...

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 ...

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

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 divisi ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

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 ...

at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Early years

Butler attended

Allen D. Nease High School Allen D. Nease High School is a high school in the St. Johns County School District, located in the Nocatee census-designated place - Compare with school zone maps. (with a Ponte Vedra, Florida postal address), in St. Johns County, Florida. It ...

in Ponte Vedra, FL and was coached by

Craig Howard Craig Howard (January 29, 1952 – January 20, 2017) was an American football coach and former player. At the time of his death he was head football coach at Southern Oregon University, a position he had held since 2011. Howard served as the head ...

, who helped lead his team to the Class 4-A state title game in his final year of high school. Tim Tebow was quarterback of the team. He received a number of accolades in his final year of high school which include: *No. 34 cornerback in the nation by Rivals.com *No. 62 overall prospect in Florida by Scout.com *No. 73 overall prospect in Florida by SuperPrep.com *No. 76 overall prospect in Florida by Rivals.com *Orlando Sentinel's Top 100 in Florida

College career

Butler accepted a football scholarship from the

. He became a starter as a sophomore, registering 41 tackles and one interception. The next year, he posted 45 tackles and 2 interceptions. As a senior, he collected 47 tackles and one interception. He finished his career with 51 games (39 starts), 136 tackles, 4 interceptions and 12 passes defensed.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Butler signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

after the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. He was waived on September 3 and signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

two days later. On January 3,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, he was promoted to the active roster. He was released on September 22,

. He was re-signed to the

on September 26. He was released on October 16.

Denver Broncos

On October 30,

, he was signed by the

to their

. He was released on August 25,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Buffalo Bills

On November 19,

, Butler was signed by the

to their

. On August 29,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

with an ankle injury. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, he made the team, playing on

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 ...

and as a backup

. On January 4,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, the Bills signed him to a contract extension. On September 2,

, Butler was released by the Bills as part of final roster cuts.

Calgary Stampeders

On August 15,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, he was signed by the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

to the practice roster. He was placed on the retired list on September 20.

Personal life

Butler is the son of Lisa Lockwood and Jeffrey Butler.

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Mario 1988 births Living people People from St. Johns County, Florida Players of American football from Florida African-American players of American football American football cornerbacks Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Dallas Cowboys players Denver Broncos players Buffalo Bills players Calgary Stampeders players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people