Isaiah Zuber (born April 15, 1997) 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 with ...

wide receiver and

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

for the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

and

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

College career

Zuber began his collegiate career at Kansas State, redshirting as a freshman. He had 141 receptions, 1,532 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns over the next three seasons. After his redshirt junior year, he transferred to Mississippi State for his final season of eligibility. Zuber had 14 receptions for 211 yards and two touchdowns in his lone season at Mississippi State.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Zuber was signed by 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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

following 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 d ...

on April 25, 2020. He was waived by the team on July 26, 2020. but was re-signed by the Patriots on August 5, 2020. Zuber was waived on September 5, 2020, during final roster cuts, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on September 26 for the team's week 3 game against 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 divis ...

, and made his NFL debut in the game. He reverted to the practice squad after the game on September 28, 2020. He was elevated again on October 5, October 17, 2020, and October 31, 2020, for the weeks 4, 6, and 8 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

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 headquart ...

, and

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

, and reverted to the practice squad again following each game. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. Zuber's first touchdown reception came on August 29, 2021, in the preseason game against the Giants. On August 31, 2021, Zuber was waived by the Patriots.

San Francisco 49ers

On September 3, 2021, Zuber was signed to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

practice squad. He was released on September 14, 2021.

Cleveland Browns

Zuber was signed to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

' practice squad on November 9, 2021. He was released on November 16, 2021.

New York Jets

On December 22, 2021, Zuber was signed to 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

practice squad. He was released on December 30.

Houston Gamblers

Zuber was selected in the 13th round of the

2022 USFL draft The 2022 USFL Draft, also known as the 2022 USFL Player Selection Meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released throug ...

by the

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducing ...

Las Vegas Raiders

On July 19, 2022, Zuber was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders. He was waived on August 30, 2022, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023, and was released on April 13.

Houston Gamblers (second stint)

Zuber re-signed with the Houston Gamblers on April 19, 2023. He was released from his contract on August 14, 2023, to sign with an NFL team.

Las Vegas Raiders (second stint)

On August 15, 2023, Zuber signed with the

. He was placed on injured reserve on August 27. He was released on September 5.

Houston Gamblers / Roughnecks

Zuber re-signed with the Houston Gamblers on December 16, 2023. Zuber and all other Houston Gamblers players and coaches were all transferred to the Houston Roughnecks after it was announced that the Gamblers took on the identity of their XFL counterpart, the Roughnecks.

References

External links

Kansas State Wildcats bioMississippi State Bulldogs bioNew England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuber, Isaiah 1997 births Living people American football wide receivers Kansas State Wildcats football players Las Vegas Raiders players Mississippi State Bulldogs football players New England Patriots players New York Jets players Sportspeople from Stone Mountain, Georgia Players of American football from DeKalb County, Georgia San Francisco 49ers players Houston Gamblers (2022) players Houston Roughnecks (2024) players