Bears defensive tackle Andrew Billings will experience a full circle moment Sunday when he returns to Cincinnati to play in his 100th career NFL game.
Billings was selected by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2016 draft out of Baylor and spent his first three professional seasons in Cincinnati.
The road to 100 games has not been a smooth one for Billings, however. His career was temporarily derailed before he had even played in his first regular-season contest as a rookie. During a joint training camp practice with the Vikings, he sustained a season-ending knee injury while competing in a 1-on-1 drill.
Having impressed in camp, it was a devastating turn of events for Billings.
"I don't think I dealt with it great," he told ChicagoBears.com. "I thought I did at the time. But I didn't even go back into the building until I was walking again. I didn't go to the meetings. I was kind of embarrassed, I guess."
The suddenness of being lost for the season in an instant taught Billings a valuable lesson that has helped fuel his longevity in the league.
"The biggest positive was learning to deal with adversity," he said. "That was a rough time. I didn't have my degree at the time, so I was like, 'I could be gone next year, back on the street.' It taught me a lot. I went back and got my degree and dealt with it."
After being named Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year as a junior, Billings had entered the draft, foregoing his senior season. Following the injury, he spent his first two offseasons with the Bengals completing his degree in communications with a minor in business.
Despite the knee injury, Billings never doubted that he would reach 100 games played in the NFL. Every summer he has arrived at training camp with a chip on his shoulder, motivated to "prove myself, prove I could start, prove I could play."
Billings has done that for many teams. He rebounded from his injury with the Bengals to play in 15 games with seven starts in 2017, start all 16 contests in 2018 and open 14 of 16 games played in 2019.
He signed with the Browns in 2020 but opted out of the season due to COVID-19. The 6-1, 340-pounder returned to play in six games, all as a reserve, in 2021 before being waived in mid-November and later spending time on the practice squad with the Dolphins and Chiefs.
Billings joined the Raiders in 2022 and started all 14 games he played, compiling a career-high 39 tackles with one sack and three tackles-for-loss.
Billings signed a one-year contract with the Bears as a free agent in March 2023 before inking a two-year extension that November. He has been a key contributor since coming to Chicago, registering 51 tackles, six tackles for loss and 1.0 sack. He started all 17 games in 2023 and all eight contests he played before suffering a season-ending pectoral muscle injury in 2024.
This year Billings has appeared in all seven games with four starts, recording 11 tackles and one tackle-for-loss.
As he prepares to play in his 100th game against his former team Sunday, Billings acknowledges that it's a special accomplishment but views the Bengals like any other opponent, especially because most of the individuals he played with are no longer with the team.
"It's significant that I've made it that far and it wasn't that easy for me," Billings said. "Hard work paid off. I've stayed in the league for a good amount of time, 100 games. At the same point, for us it's just another game, it's another game we've got to win. When I go home after the game, I'll reflect on it. But coming to the game I don't want that to affect my emotions."
