JS #57

Jack Sanborn

Linebacker · Wisconsin

A Lake Zurich native and Wisconsin standout who fought his way from undrafted free agent to Bears starting linebacker.

Jack Sanborn is a hometown story, a Chicago-area kid who went undrafted out of Wisconsin and still became the Bears' starting middle linebacker as a rookie. After a detour to Dallas, he's back in Chicago chasing the form that made him one of the league's most productive young off-ball defenders.

★ First-team All-Big Ten at Wisconsin (2021)

★ ESPN All-Youngster Team honoree (2023)

★ Career totals of 198 tackles, 4.5 sacks and an interception through 2025

Path to the league

Sanborn starred at Wisconsin from 2018 to 2021, leading the Badgers in tackles as both a sophomore and junior and earning first-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior with 91 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and five sacks. Despite that production, he went unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft and signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent.

Career highlights

Sanborn stepped into the starting middle linebacker role as a rookie after Roquan Smith's trade, highlighted by a two-sack, 12-tackle game against Detroit. In 2023 he started all 17 games, posting 65 tackles and an interception, and was recognized on ESPN's All-Youngster Team for players 24 and under.

2025 season recap

Sanborn signed with the Dallas Cowboys in March 2025, reuniting with former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, who had become Dallas's defensive coordinator. He appeared in six games before a groin injury landed him on injured reserve in early November, ending his lone season with the Cowboys.