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PACKERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH WR/KR DESMOND HOWARD, MVP OF SB XXXI, AS A FREE AGENT
posted 06/23/99
Wide receiver/kick returner Desmond Howard, who played a major role in Green Bay's victory over New England In Super Bowl XXXI, has agreed to terms on a multiyear contract with the Packers as a free agent, Executive Vice President/General Manager Ron Wolf announced today.
The 29-year-old Howard had been with Oakland for the past two seasons, having joined the Raiders in March of 1997 as an unrestricted free agent after capturing Most Valuable Player honors two months earlier in Green Bay's Super Bowl triumph by setting a record for return yardage.
Howard, released by the Raiders June 9, closed out the 1998 season as the fifth-ranking punt returner in the American Football Conference, gaining 541 yards via 45 runbacks, a 12.0-yard average, and returning two of them for touchdowns.
He also ranked 15th in the AFC in kickoff returns, posting 1,040 yards on 49 runbacks, a 21.2-yard average.
The former Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Michigan (1991) enjoyed a career year with the Packers in 1996, preceding his Super Bowl heroics by setting a single-season record for punt returns, amassing 875 yards to shatter the previous standard by former Raider Fulton Walker in 1985.
In the process, he led the NFL in punt-return average (15.1 yards) and in punts returned for touchdowns with three - becoming the first player in 15 years and only the sixth in NFL history to return three punts for scores in the same season (65 yards vs. San Diego Sept. 15, 75 yards vs. Chicago Dec. 1 and 92 yards vs. Detroit Dec. 15).
Howard also returned 22 kickoffs for 460 yards (a 20.9-yard average) and added 13 pass receptions for 95 yards (a 7.3-yard average).
The Cleveland, Ohio, native subsequently staged the most productive performance of his seven-year NFL career in Super Bowl XXXI, amassing 244 return yards against the Patriots, including a record, 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the third quarter that gave the Packers a permanent, 35-21 lead and sealed their first Super Bowl victory in 29 years.
Along the way, the ex-Wolverine also established a Super Bowl single-game record with his 90 punt return yards, including a 32-yard first quarter effort which set up the Packers' first touchdown (a 54-yard pass-run collaboration between quarterback Brett Favre and wide receiver Andre Rison on the Packers' opening series) and a 34-yard return in the second quarter which triggered a 31-yard Chris Jacke field goal.
Wolf, in announcing Howard's return, said, "I hope Desmond can re-create the magic he created when he was with us in 1996."
Head Coach Ray Rhodes, also welcoming his addition, said, "Having the opportunity to get Desmond is tremendous for our football team. His accomplishments when he was here earlier are still in everybody's mind. He's an outstanding returner and also an excellent receiver."
Howard, originally a first-round selection by Washington in the 1992 NFL draft (the fourth player chosen), set an NCAA record by catching at least one touchdown pass in 10 consecutive games for Michigan en route to winning the Heisman Trophy and being named "College Football Player of the Year" by The Sporting News. He spent his first three seasons with the Redskins before being acquired by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 1995 expansion draft, then joining the Packers as an unrestricted free agent July 11, 1996.
Over his seven NFL seasons, he has rolled up 7,329 all-purpose yards - 3,863 on kickoff returns, 1,981 via punt returns, 1,450 receiving and 35 rushing - and averaged 15.7 yards for every time he has touched the football.
Howard will formally join the Packers when they open training camp in late July.
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