By Anthony Rizzuti
The Carolina Panthers may be giving an interesting name a second look.
As first reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport on Monday, the team is expected to work out wide receiver Hakeem Butler before the summer break. Butler, who spent part of the 2020 campaign in Carolina, was just named the United Football League’s Offensive Player of the Year as a member of the St. Louis Battlehawks.
A fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft, Butler was waived by the Arizona Cardinals at the beginning of his second pro campaign. The Panthers came calling shortly after, inking the Iowa State University standout to their practice squad on Sept. 18, 2020.
Just 11 days later, the Philadelphia Eagles swooped in—signing Butler away from the group and onto their active roster. He’d appear in just two games before being waived by the Eagles on Oct. 31.
Following a brief stint in the Canadian Football League, Butler was taken in the fifth round of the 2023 XFL Supplemental draft by the St. Louis Battlehawks. He went on to record 51 catches for 599 yards and eight touchdowns that season.
The 6-foot-5, 227-pounder returned to the Battlehawks in late 2023, when the organization had moved into the UFL. Butler’s award-winning season saw him amass a league-leading 652 receiving yards on 45 receptions.
Players from the UFL can be signed starting on June 18.