No. 55 | |||
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Position: | Linebacker | ||
Personal information | |||
Born: | Maryville, Tennessee, U.S. | March 3, 1959||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
Weight: | 235 lb (107 kg) | ||
Career information | |||
High school: | Maryville (TN) | ||
College: | Tennessee | ||
NFL draft: | 1981 / Round: 5 / Pick: 137 | ||
Career history | |||
Career NFL statistics | |||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Daniel Ray Spradlin (born March 3, 1959) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Cardinals. He was selected by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the 1981 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Tennessee.
Spraldin attended Maryville High School in Maryville, Tennessee. [1] [2] He was a three-year starter at linebacker. He received All-State, All-South and Blount County Player of the Year honors as a junior and senior.
He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Tennessee. [3] As a sophomore, he earned a starting outside linebacker spot late in the season. As a junior, he finished second on the team with 102 tackles. As a senior, he led the team with 125 tackles, including a 12 tackle performance against Vanderbilt University.
Spradlin was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round (137th overall) of the 1981 NFL Draft. [4] His hard hitting allowed him to make the team over fellow rookie Scott Pelluer and the team also traded Bruce Huther to make room for him on the roster. He was a backup at middle linebacker for Bob Breunig.
In 2 seasons, he played in 25 games mostly on special teams, as he struggled learning the Cowboys flex defense. [1] In 1983, he was converted into an offensive lineman, [5] before being traded on August 24 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in exchange for a fifth round selection (#113-Steve Pelluer) in the 1984 NFL Draft. [6]
Spraldin was acquired for depth purposes and to play on the special teams units. In 2 seasons, he played in 31 games, starting two in 1983 because of injuries. [1] He was released on August 26, 1985. [7]
On September 17, 1985, he was signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals. [8] He played in seven games during the season. [1]
Derrick Dewan Brooks is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for his entire 14-year career in the National Football League (NFL) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brooks played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, earning consensus All-American honors twice. He was selected by the Buccaneers in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft. An 11-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time first-team All-Pro, Brooks was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 en route to winning the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVII. Following his retirement, Brooks served as co-owner and president of the Tampa Bay Storm in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2011 to 2017. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
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