Eric Swann

Eric Jerrod Swann (born August 16, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 1991 NFL Draft with the sixth overall pick. Standing 6'5", 317 lbs, Swann never attended college and was drafted from a semi-professional football team called the Bay State Titans located in Lynn, Massachusetts. He played in the NFL for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000 for the Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers.

Eric Swann
No. 98
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1970-08-16) August 16, 1970
Sanford, North Carolina, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:317 lb (144 kg)
Career information
High school:Western Harnett (Lillington, North Carolina)
College:Wake Technical CC
NFL Draft:1991 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Tackles:463
Sacks:46.5
Forced fumbles:6
Interceptions:2
Touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

High school

Swann played high school football at Western Harnett High School in Lillington, North Carolina, and graduated in 1989.[1] During his high school years, he was state runner-up in shot-put and discus throwing, recording distances of 54' 02" and 152' 06", respectively.[2]

Semi-pro career

Swann was bound for North Carolina State University, but was ruled academically ineligible. Rather than enrolling as a Proposition 48,[3] he left Wake Technical in 1990 to join the semi-pro Bay State Titans in Lynn, Massachusetts with a $5 an hour salary.[4][5]

Professional career

Swann was drafted in the first round of the 1991 NFL Draft with the sixth overall pick.[6] On April 24, 1991, Swann signed a five-year contract with the Phoenix Cardinals.[5] In 1995 and 1996, Swann was named an NFL All Pro and to those years' Pro Bowl teams.

In 1998, Swann re-signed with the Cardinals for a five-year, $25 million contract with a $7.5 million signing bonus.[7] At that point in time, it was the richest contract ever signed by a Cardinals player in the history of the franchise.[8] Because he was recovering from knee surgeries, Swann did not practice with the Cardinals in the 1999 training camp period.[9] In 1999, he played nine games and had four sacks and a 42-yard interception.[10]

The Cardinals waived Swann on July 11, 2000.[11] Two weeks later, he signed a one-year, veterans' minimum deal with the Carolina Panthers along with Reggie White.[12]

Eric Swann agreed in 2007 to play for the Hudson Valley Saints, who are a member of the North American Football League.[13]

Eric Swann was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.[14]

References
  1. "Past Shrine Bowl Players in the Pros". HighSchoolOT.com. WRAL. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  2. "Juventus Vs Parma en Vivo Por Internet".
  3. Teel, David (August 5, 1989). "Fierce Area Recruiter Vacates Deacons' Staff". The Daily Press. Newport News, Va. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  4. Duckworth, Ed (September 15, 1996). "Tobin building confidence". The Providence Journal. pp. C8. Six years ago, the 6-foot-5, 295-pounder dropped out of Wake Technical College in Raleigh, N.C., to play for the Lynn, Mass.-based Bay State Titans of the short-lived Minor League Football System.
  5. "Cardinals Sign No. 1 Choice, A Former Semipro Player". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 25, 1991. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  6. "1991 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  7. "Swann Re-signs With Cardinals". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 12, 1998. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  8. The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/keyword/eric-swann. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. "Swann dives back in". CNNSI.com. Associated Press. July 22, 1999. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  10. "Eric Swann". NFL. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  11. "Transactions". The New York Times. July 12, 2000. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  12. "N.F.L.: TRAINING CAMPS ROUNDUP; Searcy May Miss Year". The New York Times. July 25, 2000. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  13. Houghtaling, Eric (July 14, 2007). "Saints marching back in". The Daily Freeman. Kingston, N.Y. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008.
  14. "2010 Hall of Fame Listing" (PDF). American Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 22, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
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