Ben Niemann (born July 27, 1995) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Early life and high school

Niemann was born in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

and moved several times growing up due to his father's job as a football coach. He attended Sycamore High School, in

Sycamore, Illinois Sycamore is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. It has a commercial district based and centered on Illinois Route 64. The population was 18577 at the 2020 census, up from 17,519 at the 2010 census. Sycamore is the county seat of De ...

where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and basketball. In football, he played wide receiver and safety and was named first-team all-state as a junior and senior.

College career

Niemann played four seasons for the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

, making 53 appearances and starting the last 40 games of his career. He played mostly on special teams and as a reserve linebacker as a true freshman, blocking a punt and returning the ball for a touchdown against Northwestern. Niemann became a starter at outside linebacker for Iowa going into his sophomore year and garnered honorable mention All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

honors after making 45 tackles (4.5 for loss), four QB sacks and two pass break-ups. He was named honorable mention All-Big Ten again as a senior after making 80 tackles (six for loss), a sack, five passes broken up and two forced fumbles. Over the course of his career, Niemann accumulated 201 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Niemann signed with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

and made the final 53-man roster out of training camp. He made his NFL debut on September 9, 2018 in the season opener against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, playing on special teams. Niemann made his first career start on November 11 in the Chiefs 26–14 win over the

and led the team with 6 tackles. Niemann finished his rookie season with 10 tackles made in 14 games played, mostly on special teams, and appeared in both the Chiefs postseason games, defending a pass in the endzone against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

in the divisional round and making two tackles on special teams in the AFC Championship game against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. Niemann finished the 2019 regular season with 56 tackles and a pass defended and a fumble recovery in 16 games played (one start). Niemann had six tackles in the postseason, including a tackle and a hit on

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

quarterback

Jimmy Garoppolo James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed Jimmy G, is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Illinois, where he set the school r ...

to force an errant throw on third down in the fourth quarter in the Chiefs

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...

victory. In Week 3 of the 2020 season against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

on ''Monday Night Football'', Niemann recorded his first career sack on

Lamar Jackson Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. (born January 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisville, where he won the Heisman Trophy during his soph ...

and recovered a fumble lost by Jackson during the 34–20 win. Overall, in the 2020 season, Niemann finished with 44 total tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. Niemann re-signed with the Chiefs on March 17, 2021.

Arizona Cardinals

Niemann signed with the

on June 16, 2022.

Personal life

Niemann is the son of Jay and Lou Ann Niemann. His father is currently the Assistant Defensive Line Coach and Defensive Recruiting Coordinator for Iowa and had previously served as the Defensive Coordinator at

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

and

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by th ...

and as the head coach at

Simpson College Simpson College is a private Methodist liberal arts college in Indianola, Iowa. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has about 1,250 full-time and 300 part-time students. In addition to the Indianola residential campus, Simpso ...

. He has a younger brother,

Nick Niemann Nick Niemann (born December 2, 1997) is an American football linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected with the 185th Pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. He played college football at Iowa. College ...

, who currently plays linebacker for the

References

External links

Kansas City Chiefs bioIowa Hawkeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niemann, Ben 1995 births Living people American football linebackers Arizona Cardinals players Iowa Hawkeyes football players Kansas City Chiefs players People from Sycamore, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Sportspeople from the Chicago metropolitan area