Veteran FSU football player no longer with team ahead of Alabama opener

The Florida State Seminoles are on the eve of their highly anticipated 2025 opener against the Alabama Crimson Tide. There's a ton of excitement brewing in Tallahassee as fans prepare to watch their team take on one of the most renowned programs in the sport in a newly renovated Doak Campbell Stadium.

Considering the long offseason, there aren't many better ways to kick off the fall for Florida State.

Going into the matchup against Alabama, the Seminoles are undergoing one final roster change.

Veteran Offensive Lineman No Longer With Florida State

Florida State football players take part in drills during FSU final spring football practice of the 2023 season on Monday, April 17, 2023. Daughtry Richardson Bryson Estes | Ehsan Kassim/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK

Florida State highlighted its roster with a post on social media on Thursday. One veteran was noticeably missing as redshirt senior Bryson Estes wasn't listed with the offensive linemen or tight ends.

Estes was also removed the Seminoles' online roster.

Your 2025 Florida State Seminoles!#NoleFamily | #KeepCLIMBing pic.twitter.com/A2NZH1OrsO
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) August 28, 2025

A redshirt senior, Estes wasn't expected to play a major role for the program this fall. He's primarily been a backup offensive lineman and special teams contributor during his college career.

That's why it was such a surprise to see Estes working with the tight ends early in the preseason. It's clear the Seminoles were trying to see if there was any way he could contribute to the team.

“Bryson's a guy that he's been here for a good while,” Norvell said in July. “He's been a good program guy. We're trying to find a role, if he can be able to define that, maybe as a guy that can go in there and bring that physical presence in some of the multiple tight end sets."

"A guy that is working to make an impact here in his last year," Norvell continued. "Definitely a lot of respect for the work that he's pouring into it and looking forward to seeing when we get pads and what he can do."

Estes originally signed with Florida State as a four-star center in the 2021 class. Over the last three seasons, he appeared in all 39 of the Seminoles' games. Estes was a member of the 2023 ACC Championship and primarily saw action on the field goal unit in 2023-24.

Throughout the spring and summer, Estes dropped down from 285 pounds to 269 pounds, leading to Florida State to try out the position switch.

FSU is deep at tight end with five players who could see legitimate snaps; redshirt senior Markeston Douglas, junior Randy Pittman Jr., sophomore Landen Thomas, sophomore Amaree Williams, and true freshman Chase Loftin.

Along the offensive line, the Seminoles have plenty of experience with a projected starting five of redshirt senior left tackle Gunnar Hansen, redshirt senior left guard Richie Leonard IV, redshirt senior center Luke Petitbon, redshirt senior right guard Adrian Medley, and redshirt senior right tackle Micah Pettus.

Redshirt senior Jacob Rizy is essentially the sixth man for Florida State as he can step in at any of the five spots in the trenches. Redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Lucas Simmons and redshirt sophomore offensive guard Andre' Otto also figure to be in the mix as depth pieces.

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