Ben VanSumeren

Ben VanSumeren (born May 5, 2000) is an American professional football fullback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans.

VanSumeren began his NFL career as a linebacker and was officially designated as a linebacker for his first two seasons, although he only saw playing time on defense during his rookie season. After the Eagles began playing him at fullback in his second season VanSumeren officially moved to fullback during the offseason of his third season. VanSumeren had originally played fullback for the first two seasons of his collegiate career and moved to linebacker during his final two.

Early life VanSumeren was born on May 5, 2000, and grew up in Bay City, Michigan. By age six, he declared that he was going to be a professional football player. He attended Garber High School in Essexville, playing at different points linebacker, defensive lineman, quarterback, running back and wide receiver when needed.

College career Recruited to play fullback, VanSumeren appeared in four games for Michigan as a true freshman in 2018, preserving his redshirt status. He moved to running back in 2019, playing five games with five rushes for 20 yards and one touchdown. Due to his limited playing time, he transferred to the rival Michigan State Spartans. In his final year, he saw his first significant playing time, starting 10 of 11 games and making 81 tackles with two sacks and two pass breakups.

Philadelphia Eagles Despite being projected by several sources as a pick in the 2023 NFL draft, VanSumeren went unselected; afterwards, he was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent, He was waived on August 29, and re-signed to the practice squad. Beginning on November 5, 2023, VanSumeren was called up from the practice squad for 3 consecutive weeks with his first game being against the Dallas Cowboys. Following this three-game stretch, VanSumeren was signed to the active roster on November 30. On December 25, VanSumeren recorded six tackles in a 33-25 victory over the New York Giants.

2024 In his second season, VanSumeren began playing his original college position of fullback on offense. On November 29, 2024, VanSumeren suffered a season–ending knee injury during practice. At the conclusion of the 2024 season, VanSumeren and the Eagles won the Super Bowl.

In 2024, VanSumeren played in 11 games and started 1 game.

2025 VanSumeren signed a one-year contract extension with the Eagles on March 12, 2025. After his re-signing, the Eagles changed VanSumeren's position from linebacker to fullback. In the team's season-opening game against the Dallas Cowboys, VanSumeren suffered a season-ending patellar tendon tear on the opening kickoff. He was placed on injured reserve on September 5.

Buffalo Bills On April 29, 2026, VanSumeren signed a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.