Hardy Nickerson

BIOGRAPHY

Hardy Nickerson Jr. was born in Oakland, California on January 5, 1994. He played football at Oakland (CA) Bishop O'Dowd High School. He went on to play college football for 3 years at the University of California Berkley before transferring to the University of Illinois, where he played for his father, Hardy Nickerson, a five time pro bowler in the NFL. Nickerson went undrafted during the 2017 NFL Draft. On April 30, 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Nickerson to a three-year, $1.66 million contract.

He made his professional regular season debut during the Cincinnati Bengals’ season-opening 20-0 loss against the Baltimore Ravens. On September 28, 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals waived Nickerson and was signed him to their practice squad the next day. On October 16, 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals promoted Nickerson to their active roster. On November 14, 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals waived Nickerson, but re-signed him to the practice squad the next day. On November 18, 2017, Nickerson was promoted back to the active roster. On December 17, 2017, Nickerson earned his first career start after Vontaze Burfict and Kevin Minter sustained injuries. Nickerson recorded five combined tackles in his first career start as the Bengals lost at the Minnesota Vikings 34-7 in Week 15. In Week 17, he collected a season-high seven solo tackles and deflected a pass during a 31-27 victory at the Baltimore Ravens. He finished his rookie season in 2017 with 18 combined tackles (12 solo) and one pass deflection in 14 games and two starts. In the 2018 season, He was named the backup middle linebacker to start the regular season, behind Preston Brown. In Week 11, Nickerson collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (eight solo) during a 24-21 loss at the Baltimore Ravens.