Niko Koutouvides

Niko Koutouvides

No. 90     New England Patriots
Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: March 25, 1981 (1981-03-25) (age 30)
Place of birth: Plainville, Connecticut
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Weight: 244 lb (111 kg)
Career information
College: Purdue
NFL Draft: 2004 / Round: 4 / Pick: 116
Debuted in 2004 for the Seattle Seahawks
Career history
Seattle Seahawks (2004–2007) Denver Broncos (2008) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009–2010) New England Patriots (2011-present)
Roster status: Free Agent
Career highlights and awards
N/A
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2010
Tackles	146
Sacks	1.0
INTs	0
Stats at NFL.com

Niko Stelios Koutouvides (born March 25, 1981) is an American football linebacker, currently with the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue.

He has also played for the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Early years

Koutouvides was born in Plainville, Connecticut and attended Plainville High School, where he was a letterman in football. In football, he was named the team's Most Valuable Player, was an All-Conference selection, and an All-State Honorable Mention selection.

Koutouvides attended Milford Academy, a postgraduate school in 1999 and was a student and a letterman in football. In football, he led team in sacks and finished second on team in tackles.

College career

At Purdue, he started in 32 of 50 games from 2000-2003. His career stats include 296 tackles (180 solo), 21½ tackles for a loss, five interceptions, four sacks, four fumble recoveries, and four forced fumbles. He majored in Organizational Leadership and Supervision.

As a junior, he started all 13 games and notched career-high 121 tackles (80 solo) to lead the team to their 6th straigh bowl game appearance. He had team-high 11.5 tackles for loss, including four sacks. Knocked down three passes and intercepted three, posted at least 11 tackles in six games, and saw action in every game his first two seasons in a reserve role with 74 tackles, four fumble recoveries, and three forced fumbles.

His senior year began with him winning the Hammer Award as Purdue's best tackler. After anchoring a great Boilermaker defense that played in the 2004 Captital One Bowl, Koutouvides was named first team All-Big Ten by the media and second team by the coaches after starting every game at middle linebacker. Niko finished second on the team with 101 tackles (57 solo), including 5.5 stops for losses, intercepted two passes and knocked down four, and caused and recovered a fumble.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Koutouvides was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played four seasons for the team from 2004 to 2007.

Denver Broncos

On March 3, 2008, Koutouvides signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract with the Denver Broncos. He was released on February 16, 2009 after just one season with the team.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Koutouvides signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on March 2, 2009

New England Patriots

Koutouvides signed with the New England Patriots on August 14, 2011. Koutouvides was cut by the Patriots on September 3 2011. Koutouvides was resigned on November 9, 2011.

External links

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
• Purdue Boilermakers bio