Christopher Hubbard (born April 23, 1991) 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 ...

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 gu ...

and

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

for 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 Conferenc ...

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 majo ...

(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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

at UAB.

Early years

Hubbard played

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, partl ...

at George Washington Carver High School in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it o ...

. He started at left tackle his junior and senior years as the team went 26–3 and won the 2007 Georgia High School Association Class AAA state championship. He was named to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer All-City team, the Associated Press Class AAA first-team All-State team and recorded 77

pancake blocks The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

his senior year.

College career

Hubbard played for the

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of Conference USA (C-USA) and participates in Division I of th ...

of the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became a four-year campus in 1966 and a fully autonomous univ ...

from 2009 to 2012. He was named to the

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...

All-Freshman team in 2009. He was an All-Conference USA selection his senior year in 2012.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

On April 27, 2013, 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 ...

signed Hubbard as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

after going undrafted in the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall ...

. He was released by the Steelers on August 31, 2013. He was signed to the Steelers' practice squad on September 3, 2013. Hubbard was signed to a future contract on December 31, 2013. He made his NFL debut on September 21, 2014, against 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. ...

. Hubbard was cut by the

on August 19, 2016. On October 9, 2016, he received his first career start against 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 ...

after right tackle Marcus Gilbert was unable to play due to injury. He played 76 offensive snaps as the Steelers won 31–13. He received a lot of praise for his performance from coaches

Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led the team to ten playoff runs, s ...

Todd Haley Richard Todd Haley (born February 28, 1967) is an American football coach who is the current head coach and general manager for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL). From 1997 to 2006, he had stints as the wide rec ...

, and quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...

. He received his second start on October 23, against 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 ...

. Hubbard began the season as the backup right tackle behind Marcus Gilbert. On September 24, 2017, Hubbard received his first start of the season in place of right tackle Marcus Gilbert, who was out with an injured hamstring. He went on to start the five of the next six games at right tackle.

Cleveland Browns

On March 15, 2018, the

signed Hubbard to a five-year, $37.50 million contract that includes $15.15 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $4 million. He was named the Browns starting right tackle, and started all 16 games. Hubbard retained his starting role as the starting right tackle in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, but was demoted to a backup offensive tackle and guard after the Cleveland Browns signed free agent

Jack Conklin Jonathan Jackson Conklin (born August 17, 1994) is an American football offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State. Early years Conklin was born in Plainwell, ...

to replace Hubbard at right tackle and also drafted

Jedrick Wills Jedrick Wills Jr. (born May 17, 1999) is an American football offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama and was drafted by the Browns in the first round of the 2020 NF ...

in the first round (10th overall) of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

. Hubbard agreed to restructure his contract in order to remain with the team. Hubbard was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

list by the team on November 13, 2020, and activated on November 26. Hubbard was placed on injured reserve on December 22, 2020, as a result of a knee injury he sustained during the Browns' Week 15 matchup. On October 12, 2021, Hubbard was placed on injured reserve. On March 16, 2022, Hubbard re-signed with the Browns on a one-year contract.

Personal life

In 2012, Chris married Tamara Hubbard. The couple had their first child, a son named Creed Eason, in September 2016.

References

External links

UAB bioCleveland Browns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hubbard, Chris Living people 1991 births Players of American football from Columbus, Georgia American football offensive guards African-American players of American football UAB Blazers football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Cleveland Browns players George Washington Carver High School (Columbus, Georgia) alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople