Jaylen Samuels (born July 20, 1996) 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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He was most recently a member of the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). 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 ...

for the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

Early life

Samuels attended and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

Mallard Creek High School Mallard Creek High School is a comprehensive public high school located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was the 21st high school in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district. The school opened to 1,200 students on August 27, 2007. Campus and ...

. While there, he played at the

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

position.

College career

Throughout his college career at North Carolina State, Samuels changed positions, being listed as a

, fullback,

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. Best described as a more traditional

slotback Slotback (SB), also called slot receiver, is an offensive position in gridiron football responsible for covering a ''slot,'' the playing area between the⁣⁣ offensive tackle and the wide receiver. A player who lines up between those two pl ...

or H-back. He scored a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

in the 2014 St. Petersburg Bowl. After his junior season, Samuels was able to participate in the

2016 Independence Bowl The 2016 Independence Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2016 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The 41st annual Independence Bowl featured the NC State Wolfpack of the ACC against the Vanderbilt Commodo ...

against Vanderbilt, where he caught three touchdown passes, the most in Independence Bowl history. Due to his contribution, he was named the MVP of the Independence Bowl. During his senior season, Samuels set the NC State record for career receptions with 201 during his four years. After this season, Samuels was invited to the

2018 Senior Bowl The 2018 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and prospects for the 2018 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game was the last ...

. Following his senior season, he was honored as First Team All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

as an "All-Purpose" player as well as Third Team

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as a tight end. He finished his college career with 1,851 receiving yards, 1,107 rushing yards, and 47 total touchdowns.

College statistics

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

2018

The

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

selected Samuels in the fifth round with the 165th overall pick in the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

. Samuels was the 14th running back drafted in 2018. On May 9, 2018, the Steelers signed Samuels to a four-year, $2.71 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 $258,066. Due to a Week 13 injury to starter James Conner, Samuels earned his first career NFL start in Week 14 against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. In the game, Samuels rushed for 28 yards on 11 attempts and caught seven passes for 64 yards in a 24–21 loss. The following week against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, Samuels rushed 19 times for 142 yards and caught two passes for 30 yards in a 17–10 win. His 142 rushing yards marked the second most by a rookie in Steelers history, behind only

Bam Morris Byron ''Bam'' Morris (born January 13, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, and the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL ...

, who rushed for 146 yards 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in 1994. He finished the 2018 season with 56 carries for 256 rushing yards to go along with 26 receptions for 199 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns in 14 games.

2019

In Week 4 against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, Samuels completed three passes for 31 yards, rushed 10 times for 26 yards and a touchdown, and caught eight passes for 57 yards in the 27–3 win. After missing two games due to a knee injury, Samuels returned to action in Week 9 against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. In the game, Samuels rushed eight times for 10 yards and recorded 13 catches for 73 yards in the 26–24 win. Samuels's 13 catches in the game was a franchise record for catches by a running back in a game, surpassing LeVeon Bell's 12 catches in a game in 2017. Overall, Samuels finished the 2019 season with 175 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go along with 47 receptions for 305 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

2020

Samuels was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the Steelers on August 2, 2020. He was activated from the list on August 13. He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list again on November 10, and activated again four days later. He appeared in 14 games and started one in the 2020 season.

2021

On August 31, 2021, Samuels was waived by the Steelers as part of final roster cuts and re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. He was released on October 27.

Houston Texans

On October 29, 2021, Samuels 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. Samuels finished the 2021 season with appearances in three games.

Arizona Cardinals

On January 19, 2022, Samuels signed a reserve/future contract with 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 ...

. He was released on May 31, 2022.

Houston Roughnecks

On December 8, 2023, Samuels signed with the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. The Roughnecks brand was transferred to 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 introducin ...

when the XFL and

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

San Antonio Brahmas

On January 5, 2024, Samuels was drafted by the

San Antonio Brahmas The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha ...

during the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

. He was released on March 10, 2024.

Ottawa Redblacks

On May 1, 2025, it was announced that Samuels had been signed by the

. However, he was part of the final training camp cuts on May 31, 2025.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bioNC State Wolfpack bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Jaylen 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina American football running backs NC State Wolfpack football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Arizona Cardinals players Mallard Creek High School alumni Houston Roughnecks players San Antonio Brahmas players American football tight ends Ottawa Redblacks players