Robert Geathers Robert Lee Geathers , Jr . ( born August 11 , 1983 ) is an American football defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football at the Georgia . He was selected by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft . Geathers has played his entire professional career for the Bengals and became a regular starter a defensive end in 2005 , his second season in the NFL . With the Bengals , Geathers has been known for making sacks and returning recovered fumbles . Geathers has many family members who played football at the college or professional level ; his uncle Jumpy Geathers played in the NFL from 1984 to 1996 , and his father Robert Geathers Sr . was a 1981 draft pick . A younger brother Clifton Geathers has played in the NFL since 2010 , and another brother Kwame Geathers is a candidate for the 2013 NFL Draft after a collegiate career at Georgia . Early years . Geathers played at Carvers Bay High School and graduated in 2001 . As a senior , he recorded 100 tackles and nine sacks on defense and played quarterback on offense . This helped him garner several scholarship offers , and decided to attend the University of Georgia . College career . At the University of Georgia , Geathers majored in sports studies and began playing on the Georgia Bulldogs football team in 2001 as a true freshman . During his three - year career with Georgia , Geathers started 16 of 39 games and in 2001 was the only true freshman to play all games . Geathers made 81 tackles with five sacks , 10 stops for losses , 22 quarterback pressures , six pass deflections , a fumble recovery , a forced fumble and two interceptions . Declaring for the NFL Draft after his junior year , Geathers was drafted in the fourth round ( 117th overall ) of the 2004 NFL Draft by Cincinnati . Professional career . Cincinnati Bengals ( 2004 – present ) . 2004 season . On April 25 , 2004 , the Cincinnati Bengals used the team ' s second fourth - round pick ( 117th overalll ) to select Geathers . Geathers debuted with the Bengals on September 26 after sitting out the first two games due to an ankle injury . As a rookie , Geathers primarily played on special teams . He had a career game resulting in a victory on Nov . 7 against the Dallas Cowboys with a sack , forced fumble , pass defended , and QB pressure that led to an intentional grounding penalty . Geathers made his first NFL start on November 14 , 2004 versus the Washington Redskins . On January 2 , 2005 against the Philadelphia Eagles , he intercepted a pass by Jeff Blake and returned it 36 yards for his first career NFL touchdown ; that score and extra point put the Bengals up 24 - 3 . Geathers finished the 2004 season with 16 tackles , 4 passes deflected , and 1 interception . 2005 season . The following season in 2005 , Geathers started all sixteen games and the Bengals ' Wild Card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers . Geathers had 33 tackles , 3 . 0 sacks , and 1 forced fumble in 2005 . In the November 6 win over the Baltimore Ravens , Geathers , Anthony Mitchell , and John Thornton combined for 3 sacks . On December 10 , Geathers and rookie Odell Thurman combined for a sack of Charlie Frye in the Bengals ' 23 - 20 win over in - state rival Cleveland Browns . 2006 season . On September 10 , 2006 , Geathers made a tackle on a scrambling Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green on Green ' s chest and shoulder , and Green had a concussion . There was no penalty on the play . Coach Marvin Lewis maintained that Eddie Kennison might have tried to block Geathers forcing him into Green . Green was on the injured list for almost two months . Geathers was not fined by the NFL for his hit . Geathers finished the 2006 season with 42 tackles and 10 . 5 sacks . On December 10 , Geathers reached 10 . 5 sacks after making two sacks of Oakland Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks and became the first Bengals player to make 10 sacks in a season since Alfred Williams in 1992 . On January 11 , 2007 , the Bengals extended Geathers ' contract by six years with a maximum value of $ 33 . 7 million . 2007 season . Geathers was the Bengals ' top sacker with 3 . 5 sacks in 2007 and also had 47 tackles , 3 passes deflected , 1 interception , and 1 forced fumble . In the September 10 season opener against the Baltimore Ravens , Geathers returned an interception for 30 yards , forced a fumble , and made a sack for 8 yards . In the season , Geathers started all 16 games : 12 as left defensive end and 4 as strongside linebacker . 2008 season . In 2008 , Geathers started the first 11 games of the year before injuring his knee on the November 20 game and sat out the rest of the season . He finished the season with 38 tackles , 2 . 5 sacks , 1 pass deflected , and 1 forced fumble . On November 16 , in a tied game against the Philadelphia Eagles , Geathers sacked Donovan McNabb and forced a fumble recovered by Cincinnati ; the ensuing drive led to a Shayne Graham field goal . 2009 season . In 2009 , Geathers led the Bengals in tackles with 36 and made 3 . 5 sacks , 3 passes deflected , and 1 forced fumble . He started 15 regular season games and the . On September 27 , Geathers made an assisted sack of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on third down late in the fourth quarter , forcing a Steelers punt . The Bengals made the game - winning drive afterwards . On October 3 against the Cleveland Browns , Geathers returned a fumble recovery 75 yards for a touchdown . On November 15 against against the Steelers , Geathers ' s sack of Roethlisberger on first - and - goal from the Bengals ' 8 held the Steelers to a field goal . Geathers had another fumble recovery on November 21 against the Oakland Raiders and returned the ball 38 yards ; the ensuing Bengals drive led to a field goal . 2010 season . On September 26 , 2010 , Geathers ' s recovery of a Jonathan Stewart fumble and return to the Carolina Panthers ' 37 - yard line set up a game - clinching touchdown drive for the Bengals . Geathers finished 2010 playing and starting in all 16 games , with 33 tackles , 1 sack , 2 passes deflected , and 1 forced fumble . 2011 season . In 2011 , Geathers started 13 of 14 games played and made 29 tackles , 2 . 5 sacks , and 1 pass deflected . 2012 season . In 2012 , Geathers became the longest - tenured player on the Bengals roster . That season , he started all 16 games and had 30 tackles . Family . Geathers comes from a line of football athletes . He is the son of Robert and Debra Geathers . Robert Sr . was a standout defensive lineman at South Carolina State and was a third round draft choice in the 1981 NFL Draft , but an injury ended his career . His uncle James " Jumpy " Geathers played at Wichita State University and then in the NFL , recording 62 sacks and two Super Bowl wins in a 13 - year career ( 1984 - 96 with New Orleans , Washington ( Super Bowl XXVI ) , Atlanta , and Denver ( Super Bowl XXXIII ) . His brother Clifton Geathers played for the University of South Carolina and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft . He currently plays for the Philadelphia Eagles . His other brother Kwame Geathers is a nose tackle for the Georgia Bulldogs football team . His cousin Clayton Geathers plays defensive back for the University of Central Florida . His other cousin , Carlton Geathers , is a center on the University of South Carolina basketball team .