Bengals sign UFL Offensive Player of the Year, Battlehawks WR Hakeem Butler

The Cincinnati Bengals signed 2024 UFL Offensive Player of the Year and former St. Louis Battlehawks standout receiver Hakeem Butler on Friday, the team announced.

Butler, who played two seasons with the Battlehawks, led the UFL in receiving yards (652) and yards per catch (14.5) during the 2024 regular season. He also finished with the fourth-most receptions (45), tied for the second-most receiving scores (five) and the seventh-most all-purpose yards.

Butler, who was one of only two receivers to have multiple 100-yard receiving games, was responsible for two of the league’s top three receiving performances (147 and 134 yards) this season. What’s more, his two touchdown receptions in each of those games also tied him for most receiving scores in a regular-season game, and his 80-yard touchdown vs. the DC Defenders was the second-longest play from scrimmage during the regular season.

Butler, 28, was also an All-XFL player during the 2023 season.

Butler, a fourth-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 out of Iowa State, caught 101 passes for 2,015 yards and 16 touchdowns across his final two seasons as a starter with the Cyclones. He had a brief stint on the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad before signing with the Philadelphia Eagles as a tight end in 2020. He made two appearances for Philly but never caught a pass. 

Butler signed with the Canadian Football League in 2022 before joining the XFL in 2023 and most recently spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers last summer before his second stint with the Battlehawks.

The move comes in the wake of superstar wideout Ja’Marr Chase sitting out of practice for the second consecutive day.

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