Ben Jacobs

Benjamin Jacobs (born April 17, 1988) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the assistant special teams coach for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2011. Jacobs played college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs, tying an NCAA record by forcing three fumbles in a single game.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns Jacobs signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent on July 30, 2011. He was released during final roster cuts and on September 5, was re-signed to the Browns' practice squad. Jacobs was promoted to the active roster on November 29. He played in five games as a rookie but didn't register any stats. In 2012, Jacobs was once again waived by the Browns during roster cuts and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was released by the Browns on October 9, 2012.

Cincinnati Bengals Jacobs was signed to the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad on November 12, 2012. However, he was released by the Bengals on November 27.

Carolina Panthers On May 13, 2013, Jacobs was signed by the Carolina Panthers. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, and was re-signed to the Panthers' practice squad. Jacobs was promoted to the active roster on October 5, but was released two days later and re-signed back to the practice squad, where he spent the rest of the season. In the 2014 season, Jacobs played in all 16 regular season games leading the team with nine special teams tackles and one on defense.

In the 2015 season, Jacobs played in 16 games recording seven tackles on defense and eight on special teams. He played in all three postseason games. On February 7, 2016, Jacobs was part of the Panthers team that played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, he recorded two special teams tackles, but the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10.

On September 3, 2016, Jacobs was placed on injured reserve after suffering a quad injury in the preseason, but was released the following day. He was re-signed by the team on December 9.

On February 8, 2017, Jacobs signed a two-year contract with the Panthers.

Statistics Year Team Games Tackles GP GS Comb Total Ast Sck SFTY TFL 2011 CLE 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2013 CAR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2014 CAR 16 0 9 5 4 0 0 0 2015 CAR 16 0 15 9 6 0 0 0 2016 CAR 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2017 CAR 16 0 6 4 2 0 0 0 2018 CAR 16 0 6 3 3 0 0 0 Career 73 0 36 21 15 0 0 1

Coaching career Having been a member of the Panthers for six seasons as a core special teamer, head coach Ron Rivera personally asked Jacobs if he would consider making the transition to coaching for the team, to which he agreed. He joined the Washington Football Team as an assistant special teams coach on January 15, 2020. Jacobs was named as the assistant special teams coach by the Cincinnati Bengals on February 27, 2024.