Eric Steinbach (born April 4, 1980) is a former

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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

who played for nine seasons in 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 ...

for the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, and earned consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

in the second round of the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. He played for the Bengals from 2003 to 2006 and the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

from 2007 to 2011.

Early years

Steinbach was born in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...

. He attended

Providence Catholic High School Providence Catholic High School (often referred to as Providence, Provi, or abbreviated PCHS) is a Roman Catholic secondary school located in New Lenox, Illinois. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet, Providence Catholic is a private ...

in New Lenox, and played for the Providence Catholic Celtics

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team. He helped his team to a 50-game winning streak and four consecutive state championships. As a senior, he had 46 tackles, 55 assists, and a school record 26 quarterback sacks on his way to being named conference most valuable player and first-team all-state. One of the top high school players in the country, he was named Super Prep and PrepStar all-American.

College career

While attending the

, Steinbach played for coach

Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the current head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the ...

Iowa Hawkeyes football The Iowa Hawkeyes football program represents the University of Iowa in college football. The Hawkeyes compete in the West division of the Big Ten Conference. Iowa joined the Conference (then known as the Western Conference or Big Nine) in 1899 ...

team from 1999 to 2002. He received first-team All-

Big Ten 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 twice (2001, 2002), was the

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 ...

Offensive Lineman of the Year (2002), and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American (2002). Steinbach majored in education.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

In the

, Steinbach was selected by the

in the second round (33rd overall) and was immediately named a starter. Through the 2006 season, Steinbach has appeared in 63 regular-season games, 62 as a starter, missing only one game. Steinbach's relentless work-ethic makes him a standout at the guard position. Yahoo! Sports called him one of the Top 10 Free Agents to watch for a few months prior to the end of the 2006 season. The versatile and durable Steinbach was able to play at the guard, tackle, and center positions on the offensive line, and his speed and athleticism helped to make him one of the league's premier pulling lineman.

Cleveland Browns

On March 2, 2007, (the first day of the year's NFL free agency period) the Browns signed Steinbach to a seven-year, $49.5 million contract (of which $17 million was guaranteed), making him at the time one of the highest paid offensive lineman in the league. He had consistently been rated as a top five free agent (and widely considered number one among offensive lineman) following the 2006 season by every major sports authority. On December 18, 2007, Steinbach was named as a first alternate for the

2008 Pro Bowl The 2008 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2007 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 10, 2008. The game was televised in the United States by Fox and began shortly after 11:40am l ...

at offensive guard. The Browns released Steinbach on March 14, 2012.

Miami Dolphins

Steinbach was signed by the

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 ...

on July 26, 2012. He retired from professional football on August 22, 2012.

References

External links

Miami Dolphins bioCleveland Browns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinbach, Eric 1980 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive guards Cincinnati Bengals players Cleveland Browns players Miami Dolphins players Iowa Hawkeyes football players Sportspeople from Joliet, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois