Sam Hubbard (born June 29, 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 wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

for the Cincinnati Bengals 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 at

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, and was drafted by the Bengals in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Early years

Hubbard attended

Archbishop Moeller High School Moeller High School ( ), known as Moeller, is a private, all-male, college-preparatory high school in the suburbs of Cincinnati, in Hamilton County, Ohio. It is currently one of four all-male Catholic high schools in the Cincinnati area. Hist ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. Hubbard played the position of

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in high school, and as a senior, had 109 tackles and five interceptions. He was rated as a five-star recruit by

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and committed to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

to play college football. Hubbard also played lacrosse in high school, and was at one time committed to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

to play college lacrosse.

College career

Hubbard redshirted his first year at Ohio State in 2014. As a redshirt freshman in 2015, he played in all 13 games and had 28 tackles and 6.5 sacks. As a redshirt sophomore in 2016, he started all 13 games and had 46 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Hubbard played in 14 games in 2017 as a redshirt junior and had 42 tackles along with a career high seven sacks. Hubbard declared for the 2018 NFL Draft on December 30, 2017.

Professional career

On December 30, 2017, Hubbard released a statement on

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announcing his decision to enter the 2018 NFL Draft. He 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 Foo ...

in Indianapolis and completed the majority of combine drills, but opted to skip the 40-yard dash and bench press. Hubbard participated in linebacker and defensive end drills at the combine. On March 22, 2018, he participated at Ohio State's pro day and performed positional drills, the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Hubbard was projected to be a first or second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the third best defensive end in the draft by DraftScout.com, was ranked the fourth best defensive end by Scouts Inc., and was also ranked the fifth best edge rusher in the draft by

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

2018

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Hubbard in the third round with the 77th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Hubbard was the seventh defensive end drafted in 2018. On June 21, 2018, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Hubbard to a four-year, $3.61 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

that includes a signing bonus of $929,200. On September 13, Hubbard recorded his first-career sack 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 it ...

, bringing down Joe Flacco for a loss of 11 yards in the 34–23 victory. In a Week 5 victory over 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 p ...

, he recorded a 19-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. As a rookie, he totaled 39 total tackles, nine quarterback hits, seven tackles-for-loss, two passes defensed, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

2019

In the Bengals' 2019 regular season opener, Hubbard recorded two sacks and a career-best 10 tackles in the 21–20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. In Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, Hubbard sacked rookie 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, Murray played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Heisman Trop ...

once in the 26–23 loss. In Week 17 against 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 (A ...

, Hubbard recorded a team high six tackles and sacked Baker Mayfield 1.5 times during the 33–23 win.

2020

In Week 3 against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

, Hubbard recorded his first sack of the season on

Carson Wentz Carson James Wentz (born December 30, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Wentz played college football at North Dakota State, where he won two consecutive NCAA FCS ...

during the 23–23 tie game. He suffered an elbow injury in Week 5 and was placed on injured reserve on October 15, 2020. He was activated on November 14, 2020.

2021

On July 25, 2021, Hubbard signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension with the Bengals. Hubbard had a 2.5-sack game against the

in Week 7, a 41–17 victory. In the 4th Quarter of the 2021 AFC Championship game against 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 ...

, Hubbard strip sacked

Patrick Mahomes Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played c ...

in the red zone which forced the Chiefs to kick a field goal to tie the game and send the Bengals into overtime in the eventual 27–24 win.

2022

On January 15, 2023, in the Wild Card Game against the

, Hubbard scored a 98-yard touchdown in the 4th quarter off of a fumble by

Tyler Huntley Tyler Isaiah Huntley (born February 3, 1998), nicknamed "Snoop", is an American football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Utah Utes, leading them to two South Div ...

. This was the longest fumble return in NFL postseason history. The play proved to be the deciding factor in the game, as the Bengals went on to win 24–17.

Personal life

In 2021, Hubbard incorporated the Sam Hubbard Foundation. In recognition of his support for his community the Bengals selected him as their nominee for the

Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award is presented annually by the National Football League (NFL) honoring a player's commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as his excellence on the field. Prior to 1999, it was called s ...

in 2021 and 2022.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bioSam Hubbard Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hubbard, Sam 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Cincinnati American football defensive ends Ohio State Buckeyes football players Cincinnati Bengals players