B. J. Finney

Benjamin J. Isaac Finney II (born October 26, 1991) is a former American football guard. He played college football at Kansas State University, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015.

B. J. Finney
refer to caption
Finney with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019
No. 67, 61
Position:Guard
Personal information
Born: (1991-10-26) October 26, 1991
Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:318 lb (144 kg)
Career information
High school:Andale (Andale, Kansas)
College:Kansas State
Undrafted:2015
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • 3× Second-team All-American (2011, 2013, 2014)
  • 3× First-team All-Big 12 (2012, 2013, 2014)
  • Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year (2014)
Career NFL statistics
Games played:73
Games started:15
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Finney also played for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Seattle Seahawks.

Early life

Finney was born in Wichita, Kansas. He attended high school at Andale High School in the Wichita suburb of Andale. He was an unranked two-star recruit for the class of 2010. He committed to Kansas State University.[1] He was a state wrestling champ his senior year.[2]

College career

Finney redshirted his freshman year at Kansas State. His redshirt freshman year he started in 12 games, only missing the first game. He was named All-Big 12 twice, honorable mention as a sophomore[3] and first-team as a senior.[4]

Professional career

Coming out of Kansas State, Finney was projected to be selected in the fourth or fifth round by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts.[5] He received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed nearly all the required combine drills, only missing the three-cone drill due to a back injury. On March 10, 2015, he participated at Kansas State's pro day and opted to stand on his combine numbers and only perform positional drills for the team representatives and scouts from 15 NFL teams. Along with Finney, Tyler Lockett, Curry Sexton, and seven other draft prospects attended Kansas State's pro day.[6] He was ranked as the third best center available on the draft by NFLDraftScout.com. NFL Draft analysts and scouts referred to him as a "plug and play" starter.[5]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 3+3⁄4 in
(1.92 m)		 318 lb
(144 kg)		 32 in
(0.81 m)		 10 in
(0.25 m)		5.25 s1.91 s3.14 s4.76 s24 in
(0.61 m)		8 ft 3 in
(2.51 m)		20 reps
All values from NFL Combine[7]

2015

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Finney as an undrafted rookie free agent immediately following the 2015 NFL Draft.[8] Even though he was a highly sought after undrafted free agent, he opted to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers as they were his favorite NFL team as a child. Finney's surprising fall in the draft was said to be in part due to teams' fearing his arms were too short and that he lacked technique and athleticism.[9][10]

Finney competed with fellow rookie Reese Dismukes and veteran Cody Wallace to be the Steelers' backup center behind Maurkice Pouncey. On September 3, 2015, he left the Steelers final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers with an injury.

As a result, Finney was waived with an injury designation and subsequently reverted to the Steelers' injured reserve list before being released with an injury settlement on September 5, 2015. On September 29, 2015, the Steelers signed Finney to their practice squad after releasing Barrett Jones.[11][12]

2016

Finney entered his training camp in 2016 competing with Cody Wallace, Cole Manhart, and Chris Hubbard for the job to be backup offensive guard or center. He was named the third string offensive guard behind Ramon Foster and Chris Hubbard to begin his second season and the third string center behind Maurkice Pouncey and Cody Wallace.[13] On January 18, 2016, the Steelers signed him to a reserve/future contract.

On October 2, 2016, Finney received his first career start against the Kansas City Chiefs after left guard Ramon Foster was unable to play due to injury.[14] He finished the season with three starts in 13 games.

2017

He competed with Ethan Cooper and Lucas Crowley for the backup offensive guard position and competed with Mike Matthews and Kyle Friend.[15] Head coach Mike Tomlin named Finney the backup center to Maurkice Pouncey and the backup left guard to Ramon Foster to begin the regular season.

On October 15, 2017, Finney earned his first start of the 2017 season, helping the Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 19–13. He started at left guard in place of Ramon Foster, who was out with a back injury.[16]

2018

Finney entered the 2018 season as a backup guard. He played in all 16 games, starting two at right guard in place of an injured David DeCastro.

2019

On March 6, 2019, the Steelers placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Finney.[17] He played in all 16 games, making 4 starts.

Seattle Seahawks

On March 23, 2020, Finney signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks.[18] He played in 6 games for the Seahawks before being traded.

Cincinnati Bengals

On October 28, 2020, Finney and a seventh-round draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft were traded to the Cincinnati Bengals for defensive end Carlos Dunlap.[19] Finney was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Bengals on November 25, 2020,[20] and activated on November 28.[21] He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on December 31, 2020.[22] Finney was released on March 5, 2021.[23] Finney's only appearance with the Bengals was on November 15, 2020 against the Steelers.

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

Finney signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on March 12, 2021.[24] He suffered a back injury in Week 13 and was placed on injured reserve on December 15. He retired on June 7, 2022.

References
  1. "BJ Finney recruiting profile". 247sports.com.
  2. Mueller, Chris B. (September 1, 2016). "B.J. Finney, a former state champion wrestler, hoping strides will lead him to 53-man roster". The Times. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  3. "2012 Football All-Big 12 Awards Announcement". Big12Sports.com.
  4. "All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced". Big12Sports.com.
  5. "NFL Draft Profile: B.J. Finney". NFL.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  6. Gil Brandt (March 15, 2015). "Bengals coach watches Tyler Lockett at Kansas State pro day". NFL.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  7. "B.J. Finney, DS #3 C, Kansas State". ourlads.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  8. "Steelers agree to terms with 12 rookie free agents". Steelers.com. May 2, 2015. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  9. "VIDEO: Undrafted Free Agent Makes Emotional Announcement, Signs With Steelers". Pittsburgh.Cbslocal.com. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  10. Jack Tolman (October 3, 2015). "Steelers Player Spotlight: BJ Finney". stillcurtain.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  11. "Steelers reduce roster to 53 players; sign cornerback Ross Cockrell". Steelers.com. September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  12. Ben Anderson (September 29, 2015). "B.J. Finney A Pittsburgh Steeler Once Again. This Time On The Practice Squad". steelcityblitz.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  13. "Ourlads.com: Pittsburgh Steelers depth chart: 10/01/2016". Ourlads.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  14. "Finney, Dangerfield, improbable starters for Pittsburgh Steelers". Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  15. "Ourlads.com: Pittsburgh Steelers depth chart: 08/01/2017". ourlads.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  16. "Steelers C/G B.J. Finney Carted Off Practice Field Thursday".
  17. Williams, Charean (March 6, 2019). "Steelers place second-round tender on B.J. Finney". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  18. Boyle, John (March 23, 2020). "Seahawks Sign Offensive Lineman B.J. Finney". Seahawks.com. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  19. Patra, Kevin (October 28, 2020). "Cincinnati Bengals trade DE Carlos Dunlap to Seattle Seahawks". NFL.com.
  20. "Tate, Finney & Rose Among Midweek Moves". Bengals.com. November 25, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  21. "Bengals Player Moves Ahead Of Week 12". Bengals.com. November 28, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  22. "B.J. Finney Placed On Reserve/Non-Football Injury List". Bengals.com. December 31, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  23. Simmons, Myles (March 5, 2021). "Bengals release B.J. Finney". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  24. Varley, Teresa (March 12, 2021). "Finney signed to a one-year contract". Steelers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.


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