Eric Saubert (born May 9, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

Professional career

On December 5, 2016, it was announced that Saubert had accepted an invitation to play in the

2017 East–West Shrine Game The 2017 East–West Shrine Game was the 92nd staging of the all–star college football exhibition to benefit Shriners Hospital for Children. The game was held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on January 21, 2017, with a 3:00 ...

. He impressed scouts and analysts throughout practices for the Shrine Game, displaying his athleticism, receiving ability, and received praises from multiple media members, including NFL analyst

Mike Mayock Michael Francis Mayock (born August 14, 1958) is a former American football executive and former player who served as the General manager (American football), general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) from 20 ...

. On January 21, 2017, Saubert played in the

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salma ...

and was part of an East team that lost 10–3 to the West. Unfortunately, he was unable to record a reception although he was targeted twice. On January 26, 2017, it was announced that Saubert would be a late addition to play in the

2017 Senior Bowl The 2017 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and prospects for the 2017 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game concluded th ...

. He Attended two days later and was a part of Cleveland Browns' head coach Hue Jackson's South team that defeated the North 16–15. He was unable to record a reception with top draft prospects

O. J. Howard O'Terrius Jabari "O. J." Howard (born November 18, 1994) is an American football tight end for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the ...

David Njoku David Njoku ( ; born July 10, 1996) is an American football tight end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Miami (FL). He was drafted by the Browns in the first round of the 2017 NFL Dra ...

, and

Gerald Everett Skarino Gerald Rashard Everett (born June 25, 1994) is an American football tight end for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Alabama, and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in th ...

on his team and only having a day of practice. Saubert was one of 19 collegiate tight ends to receive an invitation to the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

. He tied for second amongst his position group in the bench press, fifth in the broad jump, and eighth in the vertical jump and opted to only perform those drills. On March 28, 2017, Saubert attended Iowa State's pro day and performed all of the combine drills and positional drills. He ran receiving drills with Cincinnati Bengals' tight ends coach

Jonathan Hayes Jonathan Michael Hayes (born August 11, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end who is currently offensive coordinator of the Arlington Renegades of the XFL. He previously served as the head coach of St. Louis Battlehawks as we ...

for the 33 team representatives and scouts who attended from 22 NFL teams. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Saubert was projected to be a fifth or sixth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the 12th best tight end prospect in the draft by

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street (Manhattan), 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS ...

and was ranked the 13th best tight end by NFLDraftScout.com.

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons selected Saubert in the fifth round (174th overall) of the

. He was the first player selected from Drake since

Pat Dunsmore Patrick Neil "Pat" Dunsmore (born October 2, 1959) is a former professional American football player who played tight end for three seasons for the Chicago Bears. He is a graduate of Ankeny High School in Ankeny, Iowa and Drake University. He sw ...

was selected in the fourth round (183rd overall) of the

1983 NFL Draft The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York ...

. Saubert was the 20th player drafted in Drake University history. He was the 12th tight end drafted in 2017. On May 11, 2017, the Atlanta Falcons signed Saubert to a four-year, $2.62 million contract that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $227,388. With the departure of

Jacob Tamme Jacob Francis Tamme ( ; born March 15, 1985) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Kentucky and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Tamme also played for the Denv ...

in free agency, Saubert competed for the starting tight end job throughout training camp, against

Austin Hooper Austin Manuel Hooper (born October 29, 1994) is an American football tight end for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of ...

and

Levine Toilolo Levine Joseph Toilolo (born July 30, 1991) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at Stanford, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Early years Toilolo wa ...

. Head coach Dan Quinn named him the third string tight end to begin the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut in the Atlanta Falcons' season-opening 23–17 victory at the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

. He played in 14 games his rookie year but did not record any statistics. Saubert had five catches for 48 yards (9.6 yards per catch) in 2018 as he saw action in all 16 games, including one start.

New England Patriots

On August 12, 2019, Saubert was traded to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

. He was released during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Oakland Raiders

Saubert signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

' practice squad on September 1, 2019.

Chicago Bears

On November 30, 2019, Saubert was signed by the

off the Raiders practice squad. He caught two passes for 21 yards during the 2019 season. Saubert was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

list by the Bears on July 29, 2020, and activated from the list five days later. He was waived by the team on September 16, 2020.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On September 19, 2020, Saubert was signed to the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on October 24 for the team's week 7 game against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was signed to the active roster on November 21, 2020.

Denver Broncos

Saubert signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

on May 3, 2021. He made the active roster as the third TE on the depth chart and recorded one catch for 7 yards in Week 1 against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

. After posting just a single catch in Week 2 and no stats in Weeks 3-5, Saubert had a career best day in the Week 6 loss to the

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

with 3 catches for 27 yards and an onside kick recovery. He caught the first

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

pass of his career in the week 12 win against the Chargers. On May 4, 2022, Saubert re-signed with the Broncos.

Miami Dolphins

On March 17, 2023, Saubert signed a one-year contract with the

References

External links

Drake Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saubert, Eric 1994 births Living people American football tight ends Atlanta Falcons players Chicago Bears players Denver Broncos players Drake Bulldogs football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Miami Dolphins players New England Patriots players Oakland Raiders players People from Hoffman Estates, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Sportspeople from Kane County, Illinois