Former Indiana linebacker Aaron Casey didn’t get drafted, but he has signed a free agent deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The All-Big Ten performer met with the AFC North franchise earlier in the week.
Now he’ll try to follow in the footsteps of several recent IU linebackers who have seen the field in the NFL.
Casey was among the nation’s best at the linebacker position with 109 tackles on the 2023 season, which included a Big Ten-best 20.0 tackles for loss – a total that ranked No. 2 in the FBS at the end of the regular season. The only FBS defender with multiple games of 4.0 tackles for loss or more, his 19 solo tackles for loss led the nation.
In 2023, Casey led the Big Ten and ranked No. 2 nationally in solo tackles (78). His 109 total tackles sit No. 4 in the Big Ten and No. 23 in the FBS and mark the first 100-tackle season by an IU defender since Tegray Scales (126) in 2016. He led the Power 5 with 22 tackles for loss or no gain per Pro Football Focus.
His 20.0 tackles for loss are tied for No. 4 on the IU single season charts with Nathan Davis (1995) and were the most by an IU defender since Scales’ 23.5 in 2016. His career total of 36.0 tackles for loss finished No. 8 all-time at IU, just one behind Micah McFadden’s career total (37.0).
Casey is the 12th linebacker in Indiana history to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors and the third since 2017. He joins Scales (2017) and Micah McFadden (2020) as the most recent to win the award. In 2023, Casey was the first IU defender to earn multiple Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week awards in a career and gave IU two defensive weekly award winners for just the second time in a single season.
Over the last few years, former Indiana linebackers Tegray Scales, Chris Covington, Micah McFadden, Marcelino McCrary-Ball and Cam Jones have all seen snaps in the NFL.
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