Aaron Lynch (American football)

Aaron Lynch (born March 8, 1993) is an American football defensive end for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at South Florida and Notre Dame.

Aaron Lynch
Lynch with the Chicago Bears in 2019
No. 59 – Jacksonville Jaguars
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1993-03-08) March 8, 1993
Cleveland, Ohio
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:285 lb (129 kg)
Career information
High school:Island Coast
(Cape Coral, Florida)
College:South Florida
Notre Dame
NFL Draft:2014 / Round: 5 / Pick: 150
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-AAC (2013)
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Total tackles:111
Sacks:21.0
Forced fumbles:0
Fumble recoveries:1
Interceptions:1
Pass deflections:11
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

High school career

Lynch attended Island Coast High School in Cape Coral, Florida.[1] He led the team to 11–2 record and Florida 2B state semifinal playoff appearance as senior in 2010. He also recorded 31 solo stops and 10.5 sacks during senior campaign. He played in the U.S Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas in 2011.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Lynch was listed as the No. 3 defensive end in the nation.[2] After de-committing from Florida State, he re-committed to Notre Dame over offers from Florida and Miami.[3]

College career

In 2011, Lynch enrolled a semester early at Notre Dame and was able to participate in spring practice. He worked his way onto the second team and dominated in the annual Blue-Gold game.[4] In his freshman season, he played in 12 games, starting in 6 of them. He recorded 33 tackles including 7 tackles for loss, a team high 5.5 sacks, and a team high of 14 quarterback hurries. He was awarded a 1st team selection on The 11th annual Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America Team[5]

In April 2012, Lynch decided to transfer from Notre Dame, citing a desire to return closer to his home.[6] After pondering his options, he announced his transfer to USF.[7] He applied for a waiver to play immediately but the NCAA denied his request, forcing him to sit out the 2012 season.[8]

As a junior, Lynch led the Bulls with six sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss, playing in all 12 games. He finished with 30 total tackles and added a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown in a 13–10 win over the Connecticut Huskies.[9] Lynch had a strong finish to the season despite the Bulls' 3–9 record, totaling all six sacks in the last seven games.[10]

Lynch announced in December 2013 that he would declare for the 2014 NFL Draft.[11]

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers
Aaron Lynch with the 49ers (2014)

Lynch was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round with the 150th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft.[12]

Lynch was given an opportunity and assisted on four tackles and made two solo tackles on November 9 against the New Orleans Saints. His six tackles in addition to his pass defended helped the San Francisco 49ers excel in an overtime battle to defeat the Saints and remain in the playoff picture. Lynch finished his rookie season recording 23 tackles, six sacks, and four passes defensed with three starts in 16 appearances.[13] In the 2015 season, he appeared in 14 games and started all but one of them. He had 6.5 sacks, 38 total tackles, and three passes defensed.[14] He was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season for a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy.[15] He appeared in seven games and started three in the 2016 season. He recorded 1.5 sacks and 13 total tackles.[16] In the 2017 season, Lynch did not appear in the season opener with back injury. He played in the next five games before suffering a calf injury against the Washington Redskins in Week 6, which sidelined him until Week 14.[17] He had one sack, nine total tackles, and one fumble recovery.[18]

Chicago Bears

On March 15, 2018, Lynch signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears.[19][20] He played in 13 games with three starts, recording 16 tackles, three sacks, and an interception.[21]

On April 1, 2019, Lynch re-signed with the Bears.[22] In Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, Lynch recorded one tackle and sacked Aaron Rodgers once as the Bears lost 10–3.[23]

Jacksonville Jaguars

On May 5, 2020, Lynch signed a one-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.[24] He retired from football on August 18, 2020, citing personal reasons.[25][26] After two months of retirement, on October 21, 2020, Lynch was reinstated back to the Jaguars' active roster.[27]

In Week 12 against the Cleveland Browns, Lynch recorded his first sack as a Jaguar on Baker Mayfield during the 27–25 loss.[28]

References
  1. "Aaron Lynch's High School Timeline". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  2. Aaron Lynch - Yahoo Sports
  3. Aaron Lynch Commits To Notre Dame Archived February 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Five things we learned: The 82nd Blue-Gold game". Inside the Irish. April 16, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  5. FWAA NAMES 2011 FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM
  6. Aaron Lynch transferring from ND
  7. DE Aaron Lynch to South Florida
  8. "NCAA denies hardship waiver for USF Bulls transfer Aaron Lynch". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  9. "USF slips past UConn, 13-10". Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  10. "2013 South Florida Bulls Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  11. Aaron Lynch heading to NFL
  12. Price, Taylor (May 10, 2014). "San Francisco 49ers Draft USF LB Aaron Lynch". 49ers.com. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  13. "Aaron Lynch". www.nfl.com. NFL. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  14. "Aaron Lynch 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  15. "Aaron Lynch banned 4 games for violating substance abuse policy". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  16. "Aaron Lynch 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  17. "Cousins inconsistent as Redskins hold on to beat 49ers". Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  18. "Aaron Lynch 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  19. "Chicago Bears sign Aaron Lynch". WindyCityGridiron.com. March 15, 2018.
  20. Mayer, Larry (March 15, 2018). "Bears bolster defense by signing Lynch". ChicagoBears.com.
  21. "Aaron Lynch 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  22. Mayer, Larry (April 1, 2019). "Bears ink Aaron Lynch to one-year deal". ChicagoBears.com.
  23. "Packers D, Aaron Rodgers beat Bears 10-3 in opener". www.espn.com. Associated Press. September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  24. "Jaguars Sign Defensive End Aaron Lynch". Jaguars.com. May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  25. Oehser, John (August 17, 2020). "Lynch to be placed on reserve/retired list". Jaguars.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  26. "NFL training camp 2020: Injuries abound, Brady's biggest fan and a sleeping Titan awakens". ESPN.com. August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  27. Oehser, John (October 21, 2020). "Official: Lynch reinstated". Jaguars.com.
  28. "Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars – November 29th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
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