Nick Vigil (born August 20, 1993) 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 ...

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

, and 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 third round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. He has also played for 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 ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

Early years

Vigil attended Fremont High School in

Plain City, Utah Plain City is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 5,476 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ogden– Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current mayor is Jon Beesley. History The Salt Lake Va ...

, 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, Vigil committed to play

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

College career

As a redshirt freshman in 2013, Vigil started four of 14 games. He finished the season with 57 tackles and a team-leading 5.5 sacks. During his sophomore year, Vigil started all 13 games and finished the season with a team-leading 6 forced fumbles, 6 quarterback hurries, 123 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 7 sacks. As a junior in 2015, he started all 13 games with 144 tackles: good enough for sixth in the nation. After his junior year, he announced his intentions to enter the

Professional career

Vigil attended 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 ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and completed the majority of combine drills, but chose to skip the bench press due to a pectoral injury. Vigil finished first among all linebackers participating at the NFL Combine in the short shuttle and three-cone drill, while finishing tenth in the 40-yard dash. On April 6, 2016, he participated in Utah State's pro day and opted to stand on the majority of combine numbers. Vigil performed the bench press and improved his times in the 40-yard dash (4.65s), 20-yard dash (2.70s), and 10-yard dash (1.58s). He conducted a private workout with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

and attended pre-draft visits with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Vigil was projected to be a fifth or sixth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.

Cincinnati Bengals

The

selected Vigil in the third round (87th overall) of the

. Vigil was the 11th linebacker drafted in 2016. On May 10, 2016, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Vigil to a four-year, $3.11 million contract that included a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $695,629.

2016

During training camp, Vigil competed for the role of backup linebacker against Paul Dawson and

Marquis Flowers Marquis Flowers (born February 16, 1992) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona. He also played for the New England Patri ...

. Vigil earned praise for his performance during training camp and drew comparisons to the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

' Pro Bowl linebacker

Luke Kuechly Luke August Kuechly (; born April 20, 1991) is an American former professional football middle linebacker who played all eight seasons of his career with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He is generally recognized a ...

. Head coach

Marvin Lewis Marvin Ronald Lewis (born September 23, 1958) is an American football coach who is the special advisor to the head coach at Arizona State. Previously, Lewis was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League (NFL) for 1 ...

named Vigil the backup weakside linebacker, behind

Vincent Rey Vincent Rey (born September 6, 1987) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Duke. He attended Mercersburg Academy and graduated in 200 ...

, to begin the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut in the Cincinnati Bengals' season-opener at the

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

and made one solo tackle in their 23–22 victory. On January 1, 2017, Vigil accrued a season-high six combined tackles and broke up a pass during a 27–10 win 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 ...

. Vigil finished his rookie season in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

with 21 combined tackles (15 solo) and one pass deflection in 16 games and zero starts.

2017

Vigil entered training camp as a candidate to receive the job as the starting strongside linebacker after the Bengals opted not to re-sign

Karlos Dansby Karlos Montez Dansby (born November 3, 1981) is a former American football outside linebacker. He played college football for Auburn University and received All-American recognition. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round ...

. Vigil competed for the role against

and rookie Jordan Evans. Vigil had an impressive preseason and was ultimately named the starting strongside linebacker to begin the regular season. He started alongside weakside linebacker

Vontaze Burfict Vontaze DeLeon Burfict Jr. ( ; born September 24, 1990) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. A first-team All-American at Arizona St ...

and middle linebacker

Kevin Minter Kevin Christopher Minter (born December 3, 1990) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at LSU, where he earned firs ...

. He made his first career start in the Cincinnati Bengals' season-opener against the

and recorded ten combined tackles (six solo), broke up a pass, and made his first career interception during their 20–0 loss. Vigil intercepted a pass attempt by Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, that was originally a screen pass intended for running back

Terrance West Terrance West (born January 28, 1991) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Towson and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. West has also played for the Tennessee Ti ...

, during the third quarter. On October 1, 2017, Vigil collected a season-high 12 combined tackles and made his first career sack during a 31–7 victory at 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 ( ...

in Week 4. Vigil sacked Browns quarterback

DeShone Kizer DeShone Allen Kizer (born January 3, 1996) is an American football quarterback who has played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played college football at Notre Dame and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the secon ...

for a seven-yard loss in the second quarter. In Week 12, Vigil suffered a significant ankle injury during a 30–16 win against the Cleveland Browns and was inactive for three games (Weeks 13–15). On December 22, 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals officially placed Vigil on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. He finished the 2017 NFL season with 79 combined tackles (45 solo), five pass deflections, one interception, and one sack in 11 games and 11 starts.

2018

During training camp, Vigil competed against Carl Lawson to be the starting strongside linebacker after Lawson performed well in Vigil's absence. Head coach

named Vigil the starting strongside linebacker to start the regular season, alongside Jordan Evans and middle linebacker Preston Brown. He started in the Cincinnati Bengals' season-opener at 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 ...

and collected a season-high 11 solo tackles during their 34–23 victory. In Week 3, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (nine solo) during a 31–21 loss at the

. In Week 6, Vigil suffered a knee injury during the first quarter of a 28-21 loss to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

and missed the next two games (Weeks 7–8).

2019

In week 4 against the

, Vigil recorded a team high 11 tackles and forced a fumble off rookie wide receiver Diontae Johnson in the 27–3 loss. In week 5 against 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 ...

, Vigil recorded a team high 13 tackles in the 26–23 loss. In week 6 against the

, Vigil made a team high 13 tackles and recovered a fumble forced on tight end Mark Andrews in the 23–17 loss. In week 11 against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

, Vigil recorded a team high 12 tackles and recovered a fumble forced by teammate

Josh Tupou Joshua Enelangi Tupou (born May 2, 1994) is an American football nose tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Colorado. Professional career Tupou signed with the Cincinnati Ben ...

Josh Jacobs Joshua Jacobs (born February 11, 1998) is an American football running back for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama and was drafted by the Raiders in the first round of the 2019 NFL ...

in the 17–10 loss. In week 14 against the

, Vigil recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by

Baker Mayfield Baker Reagan Mayfield (born April 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Texas Tech, Mayfield played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Hei ...

during the 27–19 loss.

Los Angeles Chargers

On March 30, 2020, the

signed Vigil to a one-year contract. Vigil made his debut with the Chargers in Week 1 against his former team, the

. During the game, Vigil recorded 5 tackles and recovered a fumble lost by Joe Mixon in the 16–13 win. In Week 15 against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

on ''Thursday Night Football'', Vigil led the team with nine tackles and recorded his first sack as a Charger on

Derek Carr Derek Dallas Carr (born March 28, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Fresno State, where he twice received first-team All- MWC honors, and w ...

during the 30–27 overtime win.

Minnesota Vikings

After becoming a free agent again following the 2020 season, Vigil signed a one-year contract worth up to $2.25 million with the

on April 6, 2021. He played in 16 games with 12 starts, finishing fourth on the team with 85 tackles.

Arizona Cardinals

On March 22, 2022, Vigil signed a one-year contract with the

. He was placed on injured reserve on October 8.

Personal life

Vigil is the younger brother of linebacker Zach Vigil.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigil, Nick 1993 births Living people American football linebackers Arizona Cardinals players Cincinnati Bengals players Los Angeles Chargers players Minnesota Vikings players People from Plain City, Utah Players of American football from Utah Utah State Aggies football players