Deon Butler

Vincent Deon Butler (born January 4, 1986) is an American football wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State.

College career
Coming out of Beville Middle & C. D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Virginia, Butler was offered scholarships to several smaller schools, but decided to follow his mother's advice of "shooting for the moon", and enrolled at Penn State without an athletic scholarship as a defensive back.

After redshirting as a freshman, Butler rose to the top of the depth chart alongside Derrick Williams to provide a solid deep threat for quarterbacks Michael Robinson and Anthony Morelli. During his freshmen season, Butler broke four school freshmen records: season receptions (37), receiving yards in a game (125, versus Wisconsin), season yards (691), and touchdown catches (9). Butler also holds the single game receiving yards record with 216 yards on 11 receptions against Northwestern on September 30, 2006. He finished 2007 with 47 receptions for 633 yards and 4 touchdowns. He had a season high 7 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown in Penn State's 38-7 blowout win over Wisconsin. In the 2008 season, Butler caught 47 passes for 810 yards and seven touchdowns. He caught eight passes for 105 yards against Michigan.

Butler was a record-setting receiver for Coach Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Butler passed Bobby Engram to become Penn State's all-time receptions leader in November of his senior season against the Indiana Hoosiers.

Pre-draft
Butler was invited to the 2009 NFL Combine where he ran 4.38 in the 40-yard dash (fourth among wide receivers at the combine) and 11.32 in the 60-yard shuttle (third among wide receivers at the combine).

Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks traded up to select Butler in the 3rd round (91st overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. They traded the Philadelphia Eagles a 5th- and 7th-round pick plus a 3rd-round pick in 2010 in order to position themselves to select Butler. The team's interest in Butler reportedly stemmed, in part, from conversations with Butler's college teammate, Aaron Maybin, during a pre-draft interview in Seattle. He signed a four-year, $3.2 million contract with the team on July 24, 2009. He received a $680,750 signing bonus.

2010 season
He got his first receiving touchdown on September 12, 2010 against the San Francisco 49ers. It was his only catch of the game and it was for 13 yards. His second touchdown came against the Chicago Bears. After Deion Branch was traded to the New England Patriots Butler was named a starter, only to be replaced in the starting line-up several weeks later by teammate Ben Obomanu. He was put on injured reserve after breaking his leg during a touchdown catch against the 49ers in week 14.

2011 season
Butler started the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He played in the final four games of the season.

2012 season
Butler played in all four preseason games with the Seahawks, but was waived on August 31, 2012 as part of the final roster cuts from 75 to 53 players. On December 15, 2012, the Seahawks signed Butler after clearing a physical.

Personal
Butler earned a Bachelor of Arts in Crime, Law & Justice from Penn State in 2008. He has mentioned being interested in a career in forensic science after football. Butler spent the summer of 2008 as an intern with the Philadelphia Police Department's Crime Scene Unit, observing several homicide crime scenes, and augmenting his degree with valuable field experience. He currently resides in Bellevue, WA.