St. Louis Battlehawks All-UFL Receiver Turns Heads at Cincinnati Bengals Training Camp
If someone would have told UFL fans that Hakeem Butler would be catching the attention of reporters at Cincinnati Bengals training camp, not many would be surprised to hear that.
Butler was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals after playing for the St. Louis Battlehawks in the UFL last season. Bengals reporter James Rapien posted on social media a video of Butler hauling in a nice deep ball completion from quarterback Jake Browning.
Hakeem Butler making a BIG play in his second practice with the #Bengals🏈 pic.twitter.com/rqJiuHFif0
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) July 28, 2024
Butler led the UFL in receiving yards with 652 yards while also making 45 receptions and five touchdowns. He was an All-UFL selection and Offensive Player of the Year winner for St. Louis.
The Battlehawks also had Butler in 2023, when he was the team’s leading receiver with 51 catches for 599 yards and eight touchdowns. Butler locked up an All-XFL selection that year.
From 2019 through last year, Butler has played for three NFL teams, seeing the field for two games with the Philadelphia Eagles. Last year, his play with St. Louis got him a training camp invite with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He has also played in the CFL with the Edmonton Elks in 2022, making one catch for five yards in one game.
It’s no surprise Butler is getting another shot at the NFL after San Antonio Brahmas head coach Wade Phillips told him after the XFL Conference Championship game, “I’m going to tell everybody in the NFL that I talk to that you need to be playing.”
Many are hoping that Butler can land on an NFL roster as he has proven to be a deep threat, tall receiver in spring football the last two seasons.
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ANTHONY MILLER