Justin Hilliard (born March 25, 1997) 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 ...

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and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

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 ...

after the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

Education and college career

Hilliard graduated from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati in 2015. Hilliard was ranked as a fivestar recruit and one of the best

s in the 2015 class by

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coming out of high school. He committed to

on July 2, 2014. He requested and was approved for a sixth year of eligibility before the 2020 season.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Hilliard was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

on May 13, 2021. He was waived on August 31, 2021.

New York Giants

On September 1, 2021, Hilliard was claimed off waivers by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on October 15, 2021. On June 17, 2022, Hilliard was suspended for the first two games of the 2022 regular season for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. On July 28, 2022, Hilliard was waived.

Kansas City Chiefs

On December 28, 2022, Hilliard was signed to 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 ...

practice squad. Hilliard was waived by the Chiefs on January 6, 2023, after

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was signed to the practice squad.

References

1997 births Living people Players of American football from Cincinnati American football linebackers St. Xavier High School (Ohio) alumni Ohio State Buckeyes football players San Francisco 49ers players New York Giants players Kansas City Chiefs players {{linebacker-1990s-stub