Eric Kush (born September 9, 1989) is an American former 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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

. 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 ...

California University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, California (abbreviated as PennWest California) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in California, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus had an enrollment of 2,717 as of fall 2024. Founded in 1852 ...

. Kush was selected by 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 ...

in the sixth round of the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Kush was selected in the sixth round with the 170th overall pick in the

by the

. On September 5, 2015, he was waived by the Chiefs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On September 6, 2015, Kush was claimed off waivers by the

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 ...

. On September 14, 2015, he was waived by the Buccaneers.

Carolina Panthers

On September 16, 2015, 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 ...

signed Kush to their practice squad. He was released by the Panthers on October 27, 2015.

Houston Texans

On November 5, 2015, 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 ...

signed Kush to a two-year contract. On November 15, 2015, Kush was released by the Texans.

St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams

On November 17, 2015, Kush was claimed off top shelf waivers by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

. On September 3, 2016, Kush was waived by the Rams as part of their final roster cuts.

Chicago Bears (first stint)

On September 4, 2016, Kush was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Bears. He appeared in eight games with four starts for the Bears in 2016. On February 15, 2017, Kush signed a two-year contract extension with the Bears. Kush suffered a torn hamstring during training camp and was ruled out for the season. Kush started the first seven weeks of the 2018 season at left guard, eventually sharing time with rookie James Daniels. Daniels took over the position when Kush suffered a neck injury. In November, with right guard

Kyle Long Kyle Howard Long (born December 5, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for seven seasons with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). The son of Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Howi ...

on injured reserve, Kush began splitting the role with

Bryan Witzmann Bryan Witzmann (born June 16, 1990) is an American former professional American football, football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits footba ...

Cleveland Browns

On March 14, 2019, Kush signed a two-year contract with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. Kush was released by the Browns on February 17, 2020.

Las Vegas Raiders

On March 30, 2020, Kush signed a one-year contract with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on September 5, 2020, and released with an injury settlement the next day.

Chicago Bears (second stint)

On November 10, 2020, Kush was signed to the Chicago Bears practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 16 for the team's week 10 game against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 18, 2021.

References

External links

California Vulcans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kush, Eric 1989 births Living people People from Bridgeville, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania American football centers American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles California Vulcans football players Carolina Panthers players Chicago Bears players Cleveland Browns players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Kansas City Chiefs players Las Vegas Raiders players Los Angeles Rams players St. Louis Rams players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players