Bruce Hector (born October 7, 1994) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

and signed with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2018.

Early life

Hector was born and grew up in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. He initially attended Gulf High School for two years before transferring to

Thomas Richard Robinson High School Thomas R. Robinson High School (known as Robinson High School) is a public Hillsborough County high school in Tampa, Florida. It is one of the five high schools in the county that offers the International Baccalaureate diploma program. The school ...

where he played both offensive and defensive line for the Knights. As a senior, Hector made 55 tackles (9.5 for a loss) and was named first-team Class 5A all-state.

College career

Over the course of his career at South Florida, Hector recorded 90 total tackles (60 solo), 28 tackles for loss and 18 sacks (5th in school history). As a senior, Hector made 38 tackles, 13 for loss, seven sacks with a forced fumble and one pass defensed and was named second-team All-

AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Airborne aircraft carrier, a type of aircraft * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New ...

. Following the end of his senior season, Hector was invited to play in the

NFLPA Collegiate Bowl The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl was a postseason college football all-star game for National Football League Draft-eligible players, held annually in January. The event was founded in 2012 by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). In ...

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles (first stint)

Hector signed with the

as an undrafted free agent in May 2018. He made his NFL debut on September 6, 2018, in the season opener against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. He was waived by the Eagles on October 2, 2018, and subsequently signed to their practice squad two days later. He was promoted to the active roster on October 19, 2018. Hector recorded his first career tackle, a combined sack of

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He is the NFL le ...

along with

Brandon Graham Brandon Lee Graham (born April 3, 1988) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 15-year career as a defensive end with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football fo ...

, on October 21, 2018, in a 21–17 loss to the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. Hector was waived by the Eagles again on October 30, 2018, and re-signed to the practice squad on November 2. He was promoted back to the active roster on December 8, 2018. In his rookie season Hector played in eight games, recording two tackles and a half of a sack.

Arizona Cardinals

On August 22, 2019, Hector was traded to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

for safety

Rudy Ford Johnathan "Rudy" Ford (born November 1, 1994) is an American professional football safety. He played college football at Auburn, and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL draft. He has also played for the Phila ...

. Hector was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Philadelphia Eagles (second stint)

Hector was re-signed to the Eagles' practice squad on September 1, 2019. He was promoted to the active roster on October 25, 2019. He was waived on October 28, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 18, 2019. Hector was waived on August 7, 2020.

Carolina Panthers

Hector was claimed off waivers by the Panthers on August 9, 2020. He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on November 7 and November 14 for the team's weeks 9 and 10 games against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was placed on the practice squad/

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list by the team on December 4, 2020, and restored to the practice squad on December 15. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 11, 2021.

Tennessee Titans

Hector signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

on April 23, 2021. He was waived on July 26, 2021.

Detroit Lions

On July 27, 2021, Hector was claimed off waivers by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He was waived on August 31, 2021, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Lions on January 10, 2022. On August 30, 2022, Hector was waived by the Lions and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on October 25.

Arlington Renegades

Hector was selected by the

Arlington Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The Renegades compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMah ...

in the 2023 XFL Draft. He was released from his contract on August 7, 2023.

New York Jets (first stint)

On August 8, 2023, Hector signed with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. He was released on August 29, 2023.

Houston Texans (first stint)

On September 13, 2023, Hector was signed to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

practice squad. He was released on September 27.

New York Jets (second stint)

On November 1, 2023, Hector was signed to the Jets practice squad. He was released on November 7.

Houston Texans (second stint)

On November 23, 2023, Hector was signed to the practice squad. He was released on November 30.

New York Jets (third stint)

On December 4, 2023, Hector was signed to the Jets practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on January 6, 2024. On August 27, 2024, Hector was released by the Jets and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 8.

References

External links

New York Jets bioSouth Florida Bulls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hector, Bruce 1994 births Living people American football defensive tackles Players of American football from Tampa, Florida South Florida Bulls football players Philadelphia Eagles players Arizona Cardinals players Carolina Panthers players Tennessee Titans players Detroit Lions players Arlington Renegades players New York Jets players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen