Craig Sauer
No. 52, 59
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1972-12-13) December 13, 1972
Sartell, Minnesota
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school:Sartell High School
College:Minnesota
NFL Draft:1996 / Round: 6 / Pick: 188
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Games played:73
Games started:11
Tackles:63
Sacks:1.0
Interceptions:1
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Craig Curtis Sauer (born December 13, 1972) is a former professional American football linebacker who played in the National Football League. He played for the Atlanta Falcons (1996–1999) and Minnesota Vikings (2000).[1] His father was a professional minor league baseball player and he has three brothers who have played professional ice hockey.

Football career

Sauer played college football at the University of Minnesota.[1] He was selected in the sixth round (188th overall pick) of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons.[2] He ended up playing more NFL games than all but 12 of the 87 players taken in the last two rounds of that year's draft. As a rookie in 1996, Sauer played in all 16 games for the Falcons, but only started one. He had seven tackles, four assists and one forced fumble that season.[1] In 1997, he once again played in all 16 games and started one. He had eight tackles, one assist and one fumble recovery for the season.[1]

In 1998, he played all 16 games again, and started six, primarily at right linebacker, as the Falcons went on to win the National Football Conference championship and play in the Super Bowl.[1][3] He set a career high with 29 tackles, and also had five assists and his only career interception, and got to play in Super Bowl XXXIII.[1][4] In 1999, he again played all 16 games for the Falcons, starting three. He had 18 tackles, six assists and his only career sack.[1]

Sauer joined the Minnesota Vikings for the 2000 season. In what would be his final NFL season, he played in nine games for the Vikings. He did not start any games, and had only one tackle for the season.[1]

Family

Sauer's father, Curt Sauer was a minor league baseball player in the Minnesota Twins system.[4][5] Three of his brothers, Kent, Kurt and Michael have played professional ice hockey.[4][5] Kent Sauer was a 4th round draft pick by the Nashville Predators in 1998, but his professional career was derailed by a knee injury.[5][6][7] Kurt was a defenseman who played for three different National Hockey League franchises.,[4][5][8] while Michael was a defenseman for the National Hockey League's New York Rangers.[5][9][10] Both brothers had their careers end prematurely as a result of concussions.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Craig Sauer". Pro-Football-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  2. ↑ "1996 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  3. ↑ "1998 Atlanta Falcons". Pro-Football-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Youngest Sauer skates past siblings". The Portland Tribune. December 10, 2004. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "SAUER FEELING RIGHT AT HOME". National Hockey League. November 3, 2008. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Kent Sauer". HockeyDB.com. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Kent Sauer Announces Retirement". OurSportsCentral. October 8, 2004. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Kurt Sauer". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Michael Sauer". HockeyDB.com. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Rangers recall Sauer from Hartford". New York Rangers. Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
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