Christian C. Sam (born June 7, 1996) 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 ...

who is a free agent. 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 ...

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, in 2017 leading the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

with 127 tackles, while also leading the Pac-12 with 87 solo tackles (4th-most in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

). He has been a member of 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 ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

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 ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal o ...

, and New Orleans Breakers.

Early years

Sam is a native of

Allen, Texas Allen is a city in Collin County in the U.S. state of Texas, and a northern suburb of Dallas. According to the 2020 U.S. census its population was 104,627, up from 84,246 in 2010. Allen is located approximately twenty miles (32.2 km) north ...

, a northern suburb of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, and is of Nigerian descent. His father is Prince Christian Sam and his mother is Veronica, and he is the youngest of four children. His brother Prince played

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the Bulldogs football team at Louisiana Tech.

High school

Sam attended Allen High School ('14) in Allen, Texas, where he played opposite high school quarterback

Kyler Murray Kyler Cole Murray (born August 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M, Murray played college football at University of Okl ...

, and led the Allen Eagles football team to the Texas 5A Division I State Championships in 2012 and 2013. He was named the Defensive MVP of the 2013 Texas state championship game after tallying 5.5 tackles, a sack, and a forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

. That season he was also named 10-5A First Team All-District.

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

rated him the No. 27

recruit in the nation, and almost every major recruiting service considered him a three-star recruit.

College career

Sam committed to play football for the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member o ...

in August 2013. He chose the Sun Devils over nearly 20 other schools, including

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, Baylor, and

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. The Sun Devils primarily used him as an inside linebacker, though he did also play snaps as an off-the-line outside linebacker and as an edge rusher. As a true freshman in 2014, Sam played in all 13 of Arizona State's games. He tallied 16 tackles, one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

, one sack, and one pass deflection. In 2015, as a sophomore, Sam became a full-time starter and once again appeared in all 13 of the team's games, posting 98 tackles (7th in the

; 6.5 for loss), including 68 solo tackles (5th in the Pac-12), one interception, three sacks, two pass deflections, and two forced fumbles (6th in the Pac-12). Sam suffered a season-ending high right ankle injury in Arizona State's first game of the 2016 season. He elected to take a medical redshirt. As a redshirt junior in 2017, Sam played in 12 games. He led the Pac-12 with 127 tackles, while also leading the Pac-12 with 87 solo tackles (4th-most in the

). He also tallied one interception, 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, one pass deflection, and one forced fumble. He was named First Team All-League by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, and Honorable Mention All-Pac-12. After the season, he declared for the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

Professional career

At the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

, he had 28 reps in the 225-pound (102-kg)

bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

, the most of anyone at the position. Sports analyst

Lance Zierlein Lance Zierlein is a sports analyst and commentator. He has hosted sports talk shows on KILT 610, KBME 790, KGOW 1560 AM, and KFNC 97.5 FM in Houston, Texas Career Zierlein graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School in 1988. Following high sc ...

wrote: "he has enough talent to become a solid NFL backup who can step into starting reps if needed." Scouts remarked on his "active athleticism." Coach and ASU defensive coordinator Phil Benett said: "He’s definitely an NFL guy ... he’s playing with speed, he’s playing with physicality. He does multiple skills; he stops the run, he tackles well, he blitzes, and he covers.”

New England Patriots

The

selected Sam in the sixth round (178th overall) of the

on April 28, 2018. He left ASU with a year of eligibility remaining, though he had graduated early and already earned his diploma. On September 1, 2018, after playing three preseason games in which he had 12 tackles and an interception, Sam was placed on the team's

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

at the end of preseason during the team's

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

season. A year later he was released during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.

Miami Dolphins

On September 2, 2019, Sam was signed to the

practice squad. He was released on September 11.

San Francisco 49ers

On November 5, 2019, Sam was signed to the

practice squad. He was released on December 10, 2019.

Detroit Lions

On December 17, 2019, Sam was signed to the

practice squad. On December 30, 2019, Sam was signed to a reserve/future contract. He was waived on August 9, 2020.

Tampa Bay Bandits

Sam was selected in the 21st round of the

2022 USFL Draft The 2022 USFL Draft, also known as the 2022 USFL Player Selection Meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released throug ...

by the

. He was released on June 7, 2022.

New Orleans Breakers

Sam was claimed off waivers by the New Orleans Breakers on the same day, June 7, 2022. He played in nine games for the Breakers, and had 54 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, and an interception.

Dallas Cowboys

On July 8, 2022, Sam signed with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He was waived/injured reserve on August 23, 2022 and placed on injured reserve. He was released on August 25.

References

External links

Instagram pageArizona State Sun Devils football bioNew England Patriots bio
* Justin Melo (April 18, 2018)
"Meet Christian Sam, the relentless gem of the 2018 LB class,"
''USA Today'' (interview). {{DEFAULTSORT:Sam, Christian 1996 births Living people American football linebackers American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Arizona State Sun Devils football players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players Miami Dolphins players New England Patriots players New Orleans Breakers (2022) players Players of American football from Allen, Texas San Francisco 49ers players Tampa Bay Bandits (2022) players