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Veteran defensive end Sam Hubbard is already immortalized in not just Cincinnati Bengals franchise history but in the entire sport’s lore of the city that just so happens to be his hometown.
The fondly and aptly nicknamed “Cincinnati Kid” endeared himself to the team’s fanbase forever when he returned a fumble 98 yards following an ill-advised and poorly executed quarterback sneak against the Baltimore Ravens in the wildcard round of the 2022 AFC playoffs in January 2023.
Heading into his sixth season in the league, the 2018 third-rounder has his sights set on crossing another threshold and joining the double-digit sack club, which is synonymous with elite pass-rush productivity.
“I got double-digits in ’21 including playoffs, but I want regular-season double-digits,” Hubbard said via the team website. “I’ve been close. Last year I was on pace before I tore my calf … with (four) games to go and slowed me up.”
The closest he has gotten to reaching 10 or more sacks was just his second year in the league when he recorded a career-high 8.5 in 15 games during the 2019 season, according to Pro Football Reference.
His next closest to reaching the mark came during the 2021 season he referenced, when he recorded his second-highest total with 7.5 in 16 games and then added another three in the postseason.
Last year he was indeed on pace to finally reach that mark before suffering his calf injury with 6.5 in the first 13.5 games before he missed the second half of the Bengals’ Week 15 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as their Week 16 matchup with the New England Patriots.
If he can reach and surpass that mark, it would give the Bengals arguably the most well-rounded and productive edge tandem in the league with Hubbard and two-time Pro Bowler Trey Hendrickson.
Both players have complete skillsets that they use to stuff the run as well as rush the passer at a high level. Hendrickson has reached the double-digit sack threshold twice in his career in 2020 and 2021 before coming up just short with eight in 15 regular season games last year per PFR.
Getting a Ring Is Still Priority No. 1
While recording a new career milestone is his personal goal for the regular season, the primary objective that will be on his mind all year — and especially come January when the Bengals are expected to make another deep playoff run — is winning the first Super Bowl title in franchise history.
“My main goal and only goal is to win the Super Bowl,” Hubbard told Bengals.com. “This is the best I’ve felt in my whole career by a landslide physically.”
He got so close to bringing a championship back to his hometown during the team’s unprecedented run in 2021, but they came up just short 23-20 to the Los Angeles Rams. The Bengals nearly made it back for the second year in a row and were one stop away from punching their ticket to the big game but came up just shy in the 2022 AFC title game to the eventual 2023 Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs by the same score.
The two-time reigning AFC North champions are widely favored to win the division again and Pro Football Focus recently ran a simulation of the 2023 season and projected the Bengals to finish with the most wins in the league and picking 32nd overall in the 2024 NFL draft. Per PFF projections, they finish with 11.36 wins, just ahead of the defending champion Chiefs at 11.22, and host the AFC championship game after clinching home-field advantage.
Bengals Free Agent Addition Labeled ‘Overvalued’
The defense lost both of its starting safeties this offseason via free agency, and while the departure of free safety Jessie Bates was to be expected, CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan was among those in the media that didn’t foresee the Bengals losing strong safety Vonn Bell as well.
They let him walk and sign a three-year deal worth $22.5 million with the Carolina Panthers and brought in veteran Nick Scott formerly of the Rams to take his place on a three-year deal worth $12 million with a difference in average annual salary of $3.5 million.
The former seventh-rounder in 2019 got his first crack at being a full-time starter last year for the former reigning Super Bowl champions and recorded career-highs in total tackles (86), forced fumbles (2), pass deflections (5), and tied his career high for interceptions (2) per PFR.
Scott wasn’t able to participate much during the offseason program because he is coming off a torn bicep and torn labrum and in his absence, third-round rookie Jordan Battle got to run with the first-team defense.
Sullivan is skeptical about how the new pairing of Scott and 2022 first-rounder Dax Hill, who is slated to replace Bates, will hold up after three years of solid to elite play from the previous duo and went as far as to label the Scott signing overvalued in a recent article.
“It still stands to wonder how this safety unit will deal with the loss of two central figures,” he wrote. “If Scott — who allowed a 118.5 passer rating in pass coverage last season for L.A. — isn’t able to stay healthy or can’t fill Bell’s shoes, that could thrust Battle into a larger role and make Cincinnati’s safety room very inexperienced.”
In a loaded AFC conference that features numerous veteran and ascending young quarterbacks that are both cerebral and athletically gifted, having an inexperienced tandem in the back end that could be more easily manipulated could lead to lapses in coverage that allow big plays through the air. Sullivan believes that the Bengals will need “high-end play” from their new pairing to prevent their defense from getting consistently gashed over top.
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