NFL: Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard underwent ankle reconstruction surgery in the offseason after playing through discomfort during the 2023 season. Hubbard told reporters Monday that the ankle bothered him during 2023 training camp, but he missed just two games during the regular season. However, a fluoroscopy at the end of the season revealed "a lot of instability" that resulted in complete deltoid reconstruction and a TightRope procedure. "There was a lot of instability (in the ankle) that we found out later," Hubbard said. "Probably should have been fixed earlier, but you didn't know until we went in there." Hubbard said he'll be ready for training camp. "I'm thankful that I made it out with no cartilage damage and stuff like that, but it's all fixed," Hubbard said. Hubbard, 28, recorded six sacks and 58 tackles in those 15 starts, missing games in Weeks 10 and 11. "This is actually the first surgery I've had in my long football career," Hubbard said. "I've been very blessed. I just didn't want to leave my guys without me with a playoff push in front of us. We got to a tough point with Joe (Burrow) going down. It was all hands on deck. I wanted to be a part of it." Hubbard has 36.5 sacks in 90 career games (74 starts) all with the Bengals, who selected him in the third round of the 2018 draft. --Field Level Media