Former Tulane Green Wave Football Star Re-Signs with Cincinnati Bengals

This Tulane Green Wave football star, now on the mend, will be back with the Cincinnati Bengals next season.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Cameron Sample (96) wraps up Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) in the first quarter of the NFL Week 3 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021. | Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former Tulane Green Wave football star Cam Sample will continue his NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals after he signed a one-year contract on Thursday.

Sample was an unrestricted free agent after four seasons in the NFL. But he missed all of last season with a torn Achilles tendon, which was his last season under rookie contract. By re-signing with Cincinnati, he stays with the team that gave him a shot at consistent playing time in his first three seasons.

Sample, a defensive end, was a consistent rotational player for the Bengals in his first three seasons, as he played in 14 games as a rookie in 2021, 16 in 2022 and all 17 in 2023. He started three contests.

He has 68 combined tackles, including 44 solo shots, with six tackles for loss and 20 quarterback hits. He also has five career sacks.

While he didn’t play much his rookie season, he had a memorable campaign, as he went with the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI, where they lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 23-20.

His senior year, he was an All-American Athletic Conference performer as he finished his senior year with 52 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. He helped lay the groundwork for the teams that would win the AAC title in 2022 and reach the ACC title game in 2023 and 2024.

Sample was a constant contributor as a sophomore and junior for Tulane, as well. The Green Wave originally recruited him out of Snellville, Ga., as a two-star player for Shiloh High School.

The Green Wave have gone 32-10 over the last three seasons, including three straight trips to the AAC title game, one AAC title and a victory over the USC Trojans in the Cotton Bowl at the end of the 2022 season. That win total is the fourth-most nationally.

Jon Sumrall took over the program last offseason after the departure of Willie Fritz to Houston. Sumrall picked up right where Fritz left off, leading the Green Wave to a 9-5 season in his first campaign, finishing second in the league standings and earning the AAC title game berth against the Army West Point Black Knights. Army won the title game.

Tulane is preparing for a 2025 season schedule that starts on Aug. 30 when it hosts Northwestern at Yulman Stadium.