 Bayer at the 2025 Senior Bowl | |
| No. 69 – Cincinnati Bengals | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| Roster status | Practice squad |
| Personal information | |
| Born | December 12, 2002 Grandview, Texas, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 306 lb (139 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Grandview (TX) |
| College | Lamar (2021–2022) Arkansas State (2023–2024) |
| NFL draft | 2025: undrafted |
| Career history | |
| |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
Jacob Bayer (born December 12, 2002) is an American professional football center for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Lamar Cardinals and Arkansas State Red Wolves and was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2025.
Early life
[edit]Bayer is from Grandview, Texas.[1] He attended Grandview High School where he played as an offensive lineman and was named first-team all-county and all-state.[2] He helped them win a state championship in 2019 and was also an academic all-district selection.[2] He was also an all-state powerlifter and discus thrower, placing second in the 2022 THSPA state championship. A two-star recruit, he committed to play college football for the Lamar Cardinals.[3]
College career
[edit]Bayer started all 11 games for Lamar as a freshman in 2021, playing center.[2] He then started all 11 games again in 2022 for the Cardinals, before opting to enter the NCAA transfer portal after the season, eventually committing to the Arkansas State Red Wolves.[4] With the Red Wolves in 2023, he started 12 games at center and was named first-team All-Sun Belt Conference (SBC).[5] He became the first All-SBC offensive lineman at Arkansas State since 2018.[6] He suffered a torn ACL during the spring practices in 2024, but was able to return to action by the second game of the season, marking one of the fastest full ACL tear recoveries in college football history.[7][8] He started the final 12 games of the season and was named second-team All-SBC, as well as a finalist for the Rimington Trophy.[9] In his last two years, Bayer helped the Red Wolves to two bowl game appearances.[9] He was invited to the 2025 Senior Bowl at the conclusion of his collegiate career.[10]
Professional career
[edit]| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+3⁄4 in (1.90 m) |
306 lb (139 kg) |
32 in (0.81 m) |
10+3⁄8 in (0.26 m) |
5.21 s | 1.79 s | 2.92 s | 4.83 s | 8.01 s | 28.0 in (0.71 m) |
8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) |
32 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[11] | ||||||||||||
Buffalo Bills
[edit]On May 9, 2025, Bayer signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent after going unselected in the 2025 NFL draft.[12][8] He was released on August 26 as part of final roster cuts.[13]
Cincinnati Bengals
[edit]On November 3, 2025, Bayer was signed to the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ "Jacob Bayer". ESPN.
- ^ a b c "Jacob Bayer". Lamar Cardinals.
- ^ Crisp, A. J. (December 17, 2020). "Grandview's Jentsch, Ferguson, Bayer sign with Lamar University football". Cleburne Times-Review.
- ^ Taylor, Erick (August 9, 2023). "ASU line headache soothed by Bayer". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
- ^ Harley, Michael (September 19, 2024). "Bayer's return key to ASU's line play". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Archived from the original on February 1, 2025. Retrieved February 15, 2025 – via archive.ph.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Turbeville, Kevin (December 19, 2023). "Bayer sets tone on A-State offensive line". Jonesboro Sun. Archived from the original on December 29, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2025 – via archive.ph.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Turbeville, Kevin (September 19, 2024). "A-State's Bayer happy to be back". Jonesboro Sun. Archived from the original on February 1, 2025. Retrieved February 15, 2025 – via archive.ph.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b O'Halloran, Ryan (May 11, 2025). "Bills rookie Jacob Bayer tore his ACL. Just five months later, he's back. Inside a 'very uncommon' return". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on May 11, 2025. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
- ^ a b "Arkansas State OL Jacob Bayer competing in 2025 Senior Bowl". KAIT. January 23, 2025.
- ^ "A-State's Jacob Bayer earns Senior Bowl invite, eyes NFL Draft spotlight". KJNB-LD. January 24, 2025.
- ^ "Jacob Bayer College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
- ^ White, Alex; Glab, Maddy. "Meet the Buffalo Bills 2025 Undrafted Free Agents". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ^ Glab, Maddy. "Bills release 27 players Aug. 26". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ "Bengals Sign C Jacob Bayer to Practice Squad". Bengals.com. November 3, 2025.