From Undrafted to NFL Starter

Former Duke linebacker Vincent Rey is becoming a defensive star for the Cincinnati Bengals in his fifth NFL season.

Vincent Rey has become one of the better defensive players for a team known to be extremely strong defensively. Rey, just like fellow Blue Devil Juwan Thompson, has taken an unusual path to the NFL.

Rey played football at Duke University from 2006-2009 where he emerged as their best defensive player. He played in 48 games and started 35 of them. Rey was a two-year captain and when his Duke career was over he finished ninth in program history with 330 tackles. At Duke he recorded two seasons with over 100 tackles and in his senior season he fell just two tackles short. As a sophomore in 2007 Rey recorded 111 tackles and as a junior he recorded 109 tackles.

Nov 30, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Cincinnati Bengals outside linebacker Vincent Rey (57) tackles Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The productive college career ended after his senior season. Rey finished his Duke career with 330 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, three interceptions, three fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles, and three fumbles returned for touchdowns. Even though he was productive in college not a single NFL team was willing to draft him in one of the later rounds.

After going undrafted in the 2010 NFL draft, Rey was searching for a way to continue his football career. That is where the Cincinnati Bengals come into play. The Bengals signed Rey on April 30, 2010 and he participated in training camp and the preseason but was waived on September 4. This was just the beginning of his NFL career.

One day after being cut from the team the Bengals signed him to their practice squad. In December, after four months of being a practice squad player, the Bengals promoted Rey to the active roster. Just a few weeks later Rey made his NFL debut in weeks 15 and 16.

Rey spent three the following three seasons as a back-up linebacker and a member of special teams. In his first NFL start on October 31, 2013 Rey led the team in tackles. He finished the game versus the Miami Dolphins with 10 tackles. The following week versus Baltimore, Rey recorded 13 tackles and three sacks. He continued to see his playing time increase and the Bengals were reaping the benefits.

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The 2014 season is when Rey began to make his name known around the league. Rey has started 12 games and has appeared in 15 games total. He is the starting Weakside Linebacker and is leading the team in tackles with 114. The next closest guy on the team has 91 tackles. Rey is continuing to get better and is making a difference. He has become an impact player who has a noise for the ball and just makes plays. You can’t watch a Bengals game without hearing the announcers call his name multiple games and praise his performance.

Rey has arrived in the league and is only going to get better. Coming from a Duke football program that isn’t known for producing NFL talent, Rey is defying the odds. When he played at Duke the team was awful. He was part of the turn around. He went from playing for a losing team in college to making the playoffs in four consecutive seasons. This year he is a major contributor to one of the NFL’s top defenses. He is 12th in the league in total tackles.

Vincent Rey is proving he deserves every second he is on the field. He is only going to get better as his career continues and is making Duke proud. #DukeInTheNFL.