Bryce Paup

Paup grew up on a farm in Scranton, Iowa, where he played football at Scranton High School, a small school that saw Paup as one of just 19 senior graduates in 1986.

He played collegiately at the University of Northern Iowa and was selected by the Packers in the sixth round of the 1990 NFL draft.^[1]

Paup played five games in his rookie 1990 season, recording no sacks. In the first game of the 1991 season, Paup was involved in a tackle below the waist on quarterback Randall Cunningham of Philadelphia Eagles that saw contact on the knee for what was soon diagnosed as a torn ACL for the quarterback that sidelined him the rest of the season (Cunningham was quoted as curious about why his knee was hit like that when Paup was already down around the waist but did not wish to put a burden on him).^[2] Paup recorded a career-high 4.5 sacks in his second year on September 15 against Tampa Bay, which also included him recording a safety in the 15–13 victory.^[3] Paup was utilized in four defensive positions during his Green Bay years, which would see him record 11 sacks in 1993 but somehow was not a Pro Bowl selection. It was 1994 when he managed to earn a Pro Bowl selection when he recorded three interceptions and 7.5 sacks.^[4] Despite being named to the Pro Bowl that year, he was not offered a contract by the Packers (who were paying him less than $600,000 that year) after the season ended, as they initially cited the salary cap as a reason before team GM Ron Wolf admitted his error in letting Paup go loose. His aggressive physical style led Packers fans to refer to his tackle as “Paup Smear”, with Paup recording 32.5 sacks in his time with Green Bay.^[5]

On March 8, 1995, the Bills signed Paup to a three-year contract worth $7.6 million with a $3.3 million signing bonus that would pair him with Bruce Smith in a 3-4 defense that had Paup assigned to "line up over the tight end and rush the quarterback all game."^[6] In 1995, his first season with the Buffalo Bills, Paup was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. Paup led the NFL with 17.5 sacks, the fourth-highest single-season total of the 1990s.^[7] Paup has been considered one of the top 50 players in Bills history.^[8] NFL Total Access listed him as one of the Top 10 free agents of all time.^[9]

On February 15, 1998, Paup signed a five-year contract worth $22 million with the Jacksonville Jaguars, making him the second highest-paid linebacker in the league next to Junior Seau.^[10] Troubles with being asked to drop into coverage and a decline in sacks (having just 7.5 in 31 games) led to his unhappiness in Jacksonville; he was released after the 1999 season ended.^[11] Paup signed a one-year contract just above the league minimum on February 6, 2000.^[12] He made no starts in ten games played that year while recording two sacks.

In his career, Paup was a four-time Pro Bowl selection.