Jonathan Bullard

BIOGRAPHY

Jonathan Bullard was born on October 22nd, 1993, in Shelby, North Carolina. He is a defensive end in the National Football League.

He attended Crest Senior High School; he played football for Coach Mark Barnes. As a senior he recorded 82 tackles and 16 sacks, and helped lead Crest to a 12-4 record; he was selected to the AP All-State First Team and participated in the prestigious U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Bullard played college football for Seminoles at Florida State University; as a freshman in 2012 he appeared in all 13 games and started in 2 of them, he finished the season with 27 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks and had a pass breakup and was named First-Team SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman.

In 2013 as a sophomore he played in 11 games and started eight as a defensive end, he recorded 2.5 tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks and added four quarterback hurries and ranked second among defensive lineman with 33 tackles.

During his junior season on 2014, he started in all 12 games on the defensive line; he recorded Totaled 52 tackles on the season, second-most among defensive linemen and sixth overall on the team and had 8.5 tackles-for-loss, third-most on the squad. He achieved 13 stops on third down that prevented the opponent from gaining a first down, becoming the third most on the team.

As a senior in 2015, he was voted team captain by his teammates and started in all 14 games of the season. He recorded 66 tackles and tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks and led the team with 17.5 tackles-for-loss, the most by a Gator since Alex Brown had 18 in 1999.

He was named a First Team All-American by CBSSports.com, First Team All-American by Pro Football Focus, second-team by Sporting News and Unanimous First-Team All-SEC selection.

Bullard was drafted in the third round 72nd overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2016 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut on September 11 against the Houston Texans; he finished his rookie season with one start in fourteen games, recording 24 tackles, one sack, 3 TFLs and was one of three Bears rookies to record a sack.

In the 2017 season, Bullard appeared in 16 games starting in 3 of them recording 26 tackles, one sack, 2 TFLs, one forced fumble, and two passes defensed. During the 2018 season, he appeared in 16 games and started in one; he recorded 18 tackles, three tackles for loss and two passes defensed and appeared in one playoff game as a reserve.

On October 7, 2020, Bullard was signed to the active roster of the Seattle Seahawks off the Cardinals' practice squad. He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Seahawks on January 9, 2021 and activated on January 21.

Bullard joined the Minnesota Vikings in 2023.