James Butler

Career

He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Georgia Technology He was Class 5A honorable mention All-State selection as well as First-team All-Region and All-South Georgia.

He had 69 tackles and two interceptions as a senior, following 54 tackles and four interceptions as a junior.

Butler was an American football free safety at Georgia Technical from 2001 to 2004. He was undrafted despite his highly decorated collegiate career.

While at Georgia Technical, he majored in Building Construction. The most notable performance of Butler"s career was in 2004 when Georgia Technical"s defense held Maryland to only 81 yards of total offense.

Pre-draft

(* represents NFL Combine.

**represents Georgia Technical Pro Day)

New York Giants

Butler saw action in 16 games during his rookie season in which he accumulated one start, plus the NFC Wild Card Game, tied for second on the team with 21 special teams tackles (19 solo). He recorded 18 tackles (14 solo), two interceptions, five passes defensed and one fumble recovery in play in dime packages. In 2006, Butler played in 14 regular season games with most of his action coming on special teams but he did see action in dime packages on defense and finished the season with 11 tackles (9 solo), 4 passes defensed and 12 special teams tackles.

In Butler"s third season (2007), the Giants defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Butler led the Giants with ten total tackles in the game.

In all Butler played in 13 regular season games with 12 starts and started all 4 postseason games at strong safety and finished with 69 tackles (38 solo), 1 interception, 6 passes defensed, and 1 fumble recovery. Butler, played in 15 games with a career-high 14 starts in 2008 and he had 76 tackles (45 solo) and three interceptions and six passes defensed.

Saint Louis Rams

An unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason, Butler agreed to terms on a four-year $14 million contract, which could be worth almost $17 million if all incentives are met, with the Saint Louis Rams on March 9. Butler who was good all-around safety for the Giants was particularly noted for his run support, "Butler is far stronger against the run than the pass and will be used as an "in the box" safety" for the Rams.

The move reunited him with former Giants defensive coordinator and now former head coach of the Rams, Steve Spagnuolo.

Achievements

• Butler earned a Super Bowl ring with the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. Butler was a four-year letterman at Bainbridge High School in Bainbridge, Georgia, where he was the state champion in the triple jump as a sophomore. Butler, in four years, totaled 204 tackles, seven interceptions, ten pass breakups, four forced fumbles and blocked two field goals in his final two years as a starter at Georgia Technical, recorded 240 tackles in his career with the Yellow Jackets, was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back as a senior in 2004, when he was named First-team All-Administrative Committee on Company-ordination for the second straight season, was second on the team with 85 tackles along with two interceptions, four pass breakups, a forced fumble and a blocked field goal, was also named to the Administrative Committee on Company-ordination All-Academic team for the second straight year.