Jon Bostic

Jonathan Earl Bostic II (born May 5, 1991) is an American football linebacker for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida, and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also played for the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Early life
Bostic was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to John Bostic and Jacqueline Bostic. His father was a defensive back for the Detroit Lions from 1985 to 1987. After his father retired from the NFL, he gained his PhD in pharmacy, and eventually relocated his family to Wellington, Florida. Bostic attended Palm Beach Central High School in Wellington, where he played for the Palm Beach Central Broncos high school football team. Bostic has two younger siblings: Jayla Bostic, who is a successful track athlete at the University of Florida, and Justin Bostic.

College career
Bostic accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer and coach Will Muschamp's Florida Gators football teams from 2009 to 2012. During his college career, he started 32 of 51 games in which he played, recording 237 tackles, 7.5 quarterback sacks and five interceptions. Following his senior season in 2012, he was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection.

Bostic graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health, Education and Behavior in 2012.

Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears selected Bostic in the second round (50th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. Bostic was the seventh linebacker drafted in 2013.

2013
On May 9, 2013, the Chicago Bears signed Bostic to a four-year, $3.94 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $1.24 million.

Throughout training camp, Bostic competed to be the starting middle linebacker against veteran D.J. Williams. Head coach Marc Trestman named Bostic the backup middle linebacker to begin the regular season, behind D.J. Williams. He made his professional regular season debut in the Chicago Bears' season-opening 24–21 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. The following week, Bostic recorded his first career regular season tackle on Cordarrelle Patterson during a 22-yard kick return in the second quarter of a 31–30 win against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2. On October 11, 2013, it was reported that starting middle linebacker D.J. Williams was expected to miss the remainder of the season after tearing his pectoral muscle during the Bears' 26–21 victory against the New York Giants the previous day. Head coach Marc Trestman named Bostic the starter for the remainder of the season. On October 20, 2013, Bostic earned his first career start and recorded eight combined tackles in the Bears' 45–41 loss to the Washington Redskins in Week 7. In Week 11, he recorded five solo tackles, a pass deflection, and made his first career interception during a 23–20 overtime win against the Baltimore Ravens. He intercepted a pass by quarterback Joe Flacco that was intended for Dallas Clark in the second quarter. In Week 13, Bostic recorded a season-high ten combined tackles (six solo) and two sacks during a 23–20 overtime loss at the Minnesota Vikings. He made his first career sack on quarterback Matt Cassel for a three-yard loss in overtime. He finished his rookie season with a total of 57 combined tackles (45 solo), two sacks, a pass deflection, and an interception in 16 games and nine starts.

2014
During training camp, Bostic and D.J. Williams competed against each other for the job as the starting middle linebacker. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker named Bostic the backup middle linebacker to begin the regular season, behind D.J. Williams.

On September 22, 2014, Bostic earned his first start of the season in place of outside linebacker Shea McClellin. He recorded a season-high 13 combined tackles (six solo) during a 27–19 win at the New York Jets in Week 3. He started in place of McClellin in the next two games (Weeks 4–5). Bostic sustained a back injury and missed three consecutive games (Weeks 6–8). On November 27, 2014, Bostic started at middle linebacker in placed of D.J. Williams who sustained a neck injury the previous week. He made 11 combined tackles (seven solo) in the Bears' 34–17 loss at the Detroit Lions in Week 13. He remained the starting middle linebacker for the last five games of the regular season after D.J. Williams was placed on injured reserve. Bostic finished the 2014 season with 84 combined tackles (58 solo) and three pass deflections in 13 games and eight starts. On December 29, 2014, the Chicago Bears fired head coach Mark Trestman and general manager Phil Emery after they finished with a 5–11 record.

2015
Bostic missed organized team activities due to a back injury, but recovered in time to attend training camp. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio held a competition between Bostic, Christian Jones, and Mason Foster for a job as a starting inside linebacker. Head coach John Fox named Bostic the backup inside linebacker to start the regular season, behind Christian Jones, Shea McClellin, and Mason Foster. Bostic was a healthy scratch for the first three regular season games.

New England Patriots
On September 28, 2015, the Chicago Bears traded Bostic to the New England Patriots in exchange for a sixth-round pick (204th overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft. Upon arriving to the New England Patriots, head coach Bill Belichick named Bostic the backup strongside linebacker behind Jamie Collins. On December 7, 2015, Bostic earned his first start as a member of the Patriots in place of Dont'a Hightower after Hightower sustained a shoulder injury. He recorded one tackle during a 27–6 victory at the Houston Texans in Week 14. He finished the 2015 season with two combined tackles (one solo) in 11 games and one start.

Detroit Lions
On May 9, 2016, the New England Patriots traded Bostic to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a conditional seventh-round draft pick. Throughout training camp, he competed against Stephen Tulloch for the job as the starting middle linebacker. On August 2, 2016, Bostic sustained a leg injury during a joint practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On September 6, 2016, the Detroit Lions placed Bostic on injured reserve with a foot injury. The Detroit Lions opted to keep him on injured reserve for the entire 2016 season.

Indianapolis Colts
On April 20, 2017, the Indianapolis Colts signed Bostic to a one-year, $690,000 contract. Throughout training camp, he competed for a job as a starting inside linebacker against Edwin Jackson and Sean Spence. Head coach Chuck Pagano named Bostic the starting inside linebacker to begin the 2017 regular season, along with rookie Antonio Morrison.

On October 1, 2017, Bostic recorded a season-high 12 combined tackles (five solo) during a 46–18 loss at the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4. In Week 8, he collected eight combined tackles and sacked quarterback Andy Dalton during the Colts' 24–23 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals. On December 18, 2017, the Indianapolis Colts placed Bostic on injured reserve after he suffered a knee injury in Week 15. He finished the 2017 season with a career-high 97 tackles (57 solo), three pass deflections, and a sack in 14 games and 14 starts. His 97 tackles finished third on the team and 25th among all players in the league. Pro Football Focus gave Bostic an overall grade of 74.9, ranking 38th among all qualified linebackers in 2017.

Pittsburgh Steelers
On March 18, 2018, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Bostic to a two-year, $4 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $2.4 million. He was released from the team on April 27, 2019 following the 2019 NFL Draft, in which the Steelers used the 10th overall pick on linebacker Devin Bush Jr..

Washington Redskins
Bostic signed with the Washington Redskins on May 22, 2019, after linebacker Reuben Foster was placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL.