Tully Banta-Cain (born August 28, 1980 in Mountain View, California) is an American football defensive end and linebacker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at California.
Banta-Cain earned two Super Bowl rings during his first stint with the Patriots. He has also played for the San Francisco 49ers.
[edit] Early years
Banta-Cain is multiracial of African-American and Scottish/Irish descent. He is the cousin of former NBA forward Rodney Rogers and former MLB outfielder Jeffrey Leonard.
While attending Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, California, Banta-Cain won All-League honors playing outside linebacker as a senior, was the League's Defensive Player of the Year as a junior, and gained more than 1,000 yards as a running back.
[edit] College career
Banta-Cain played college football at the University of California, Berkeley where he finished his career with 112 tackles and 26.5 sacks.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] First stint with Patriots
Banta-Cain was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round (239th overall) in the 2003 NFL Draft. In his rookie season he played in nine games recording 11 tackles and one sack against the Buffalo Bills on December 27. In 2004, he played in all 16 games and finished the season with 28 tackles, 1.5 sacks and his first career interception again against the Buffalo Bills on November 14. He also was part of the Super Bowl XXXVIII winning team. The following season he only managed to record nine tackles and 0.5 sacks but again was part of the team which won Super Bowl XXXIX. In his final year with the Patriots, he played in all 16 games including five starts and finished the season with 43 tackles and a career-high 5.5 sacks.
[edit] San Francisco 49ers
Banta-Cain was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an unrestricted free agent on March 3, 2007. In his debut season, he started in ten games and recorded 41 tackles and 3.5 sacks. In his second season with the 49ers, Banta-Cain did not start a game and finished the season with a half sack. He was released on February 10, 2009.
[edit] Second stint with Patriots
Just eight days after his release from the 49ers, Banta-Cain was re-signed by the New England Patriots on February 18, 2009. Banta-Cain was released on October 19 and re-signed the next day to a new contract through the 2011 season.
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