Throughout the summer leading up to the regular season, we will go through the entire 2024 Cincinnati Bengals roster. Every single day until the season opener against the New England Patriots , we will break down a player on the roster including his background, contract status, and path towards making the team.
Today, we pay respect to the "Cincinnati kid," as Mike Tirico labeled him during a now iconic moment in franchise history. Edge defender and Cincinnati native Sam Hubbard has been a centripetal face of Bengals football since he was drafted six years ago. He's one of a few remaining players who witnessed the lowest of the lows before the resurgence in the 2020s. He's seen it all, but there's still more to accomplish.
Sam Hubbard
- Age: 29
- Year: 7th
- Position: Left edge defender
- College: Ohio State
- Previous Teams: None
- Jersey Number: 94
Hubbard was drafted by the Bengals with the 77th overall pick in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent four years at Ohio State and played in three of them after a redshirt season in 2014 when the program won the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship. Hubbard played in 40 games and started 22 of them to close out his Buckeye career, with his best season being his last in 2017. He recorded 42 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and seven sacks as the bookend edge to Nick Bosa.
Before his college days, Hubbard attended and played at Archbishop Moeller, one of Cincinnati's premier high school football programs. It was only fitting he returned to the Queen City to play professionally. He came off the bench plenty behind Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson (he eventually out-snapped Johnson by season's end). He earned the starting left edge spot in 2019 amid an entire coaching change.
The first two years of Lou Anarumo as coordinator were rough for the entire Bengals' defense, but Hubbard showed enough to earn a contract extension heading into his fourth year in 2021. It would be the first year Hubbard started the entire regular season, and he tacked on four postseason starts to boot. From his clutch fumble recovery in a pivotal regular season victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, to sacking Patrick Mahomes on back-to-back plays in the AFC Championship game, Hubbard put together the best overall season of his career. He followed it up with a similar 2022 campaign that was highlighted by the signature play of his career. His mid-air fumble recovery for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round is now known as the "Fumble in the Jungle" and is already etched in Bengals lore.
2023 was a down year for Hubbard, as it was for most players on the roster. It was especially unfortunate for Hubbard as an ankle injury sustained in training camp ended up tanking the second half of the season. He gutted out the remainder of the year after missing two games. He may've wanted to burn the film he put out there , but props are in order for his toughness. It's nothing new with him.
Contract details
Hubbard is in the third year of the four-year, $40 million contract extension he signed in 2021. He will earn a base salary of $7.8 million for the 2024 season. He's already earned $100,000 from a workout bonus. He can also earn up to $250,000 in per game roster bonuses.
Due to $2 million of his signing bonus being prorated on the books for this year, Hubbard's cap number for the season will be $10,120,588.
Roster outlook
When healthy, Hubbard is one of the best edge-setting run defenders in the NFL. The Bengals want that continue, but last year is all the proof the Bengals need to not overplay him. A training camp injury for Hubbard only amplified the problem, and just when Hubbard was on his way back, a knee injury for Myles Murphy put a damper on things. Murphy was practicing in Hubbard's place for all of camp. A more equitable rotation between those two was in store to begin the season. Now it'll have to wait, unless Cedric Johnson or KJ Henry can take those snaps.
If Hubbard is pushing 1,000 snaps like he did three years ago, we may not see the same caliber of player in the most important part of the season. Ensuring Hubbard is fresh for December and January is imperative for one of the defense's foundational players.
Projected role: Starting left edge defender
Previous player breakdowns
Related: Bengals Roster Breakdown: Joseph Ossai has one last chance to breakout in Cincinnati
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