In 2023, the Cincinnati Bengals had numerous injuries, one of which was Sam Hubbard.
Hubbard did suffer a major ankle injury that kept him out of the Bengals’ games against the Houston Texans (Week 10) and Baltimore Ravens (Week 11), albeit it wasn’t a season-ending injury. The Bengals were perhaps the hottest team in the NFL at the time of their two-game losing streak. They had won four straight games, including a 31-17 away victory over the 49ers, who were headed to the Super Bowl.
The Bengals were 4-3 without Joe Burrow in their last seven games after Hubbard battled his way back from the injury. All three of those losses came against playoff opponents, and the team wasn’t eliminated from player contention until the end of Week 17. Later on
Tobin gave Hubbard high marks for his tenacity in playing despite injury in order to keep the Bengals in the postseason during an interview with Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“I view Sam as one of the best run-stopping defensive ends in the league,” said Tobin. “I think late in the season, he was just a warrior and played through things that most human beings wouldn’t play through and provided us the opportunity to go out there and have a chance to win. That’s what Sam Hubbard is all about.
“Sam Hubbard was never close to 100% late in the season, he was working through things for the team. After he’s had the offseason surgery, I think he’ll feel a lot better and more stable and will revert back to the old Sam Hubbard where you can count on him down in and out to be that. He was a real warrior this year.”
In his sixth NFL season, Hubbard had 58 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, six sacks, 17 QB hits, and two fumble recoveries in 15 games, though it was really only 14 since he logged just 11 snaps in the regular-season finale. He played at least 40 snaps in every other game.
Here’s to hoping for a full recovery and a healthier 2024 for the Bengals captain.
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