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Husky NFL Tracker: 27 Ex-UW Players Came Away with Jobs, 13 Pegged to Start

Just three rookies from the University of Washington survived cutdown day at 32 training camps.
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After all of the unpleasantness of NFL cutdown day, with people turning in their playbooks and packing up their stuff, 27 former University of Washington football players emerged with pro-football jobs, including 13 prospective starters as of Sunday.

Another three ex-Huskies are on either the injured, COVID or suspended lists.

Three rookies from Washington made it through in quarterback Jacob Eason, center Nick Harris and tight end Hunter Bryant. 

Eason earned a roster spot as the third quarterback for an Indianapolis Colts coaching staff that generally uses only two. The fourth-round draft pick beat out veteran Chad Kelly, nephew of legendary Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, 

Harris, the only other UW draft pick and taken in the fifth round, is expected to open at center for the Cleveland Browns next weekend, replacing injured veteran JC Tretter. 

Bryant, while gimpy from a hamstring pull, earned a roster spot as a rookie with the Detroit Lions as a third tight end — the only one of eight undrafted free agents to make it in the pros from coach Chris Petersen's final Husky football team. 

Bryant was one of four ex-Huskies who made the 53-man roster in Detroit alone, joined by starting defensive tackle Danny Shelton and starting left cornerback Desmond Trufant, plus reserve wide receiver Marvin Hall. 

Four more former UW players landed on the Arizona Cardinals' final roster, among them starting safety Budda Baker, the highest-paid player at his position in NFL history, and starting right cornerback Byron Murphy, plus reserve tight end Darrell Daniels and reserve linebacker Ezekiel Turner.

Jaydon Mickens earned a spot with Tampa Bay as a reserve wide receiver who no doubt will catch a few passes from Buccaneers new quarterback Tom Brady.

The 13 former Huskies slated to start in Week 1: Houston Texans offensive guard Senio Kelemente, Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle Kaleb McGary, Green Bay Packers right cornerback Kevin King, Los Angeles Rams free safety Taylor Rapp, Tampa Bay Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea, weak side linebacker Shaq Thompson, Las Vegas Raiders middle linebacker Shaq Thompson, Baltimore Ravens right cornerback Marcus Peters, plus Baker, Murphy, Shelton, Trufant and Harris.

The 14 ex-UW players slated for reserve duty are Los Angeles Rams nose tackle Greg Gaines and center Coleman Shelton; San Francisco wide receiver Dante Pettis; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross III and tight end Drew Sample; Seattle Seahawks tight end Will Dissly and linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven; Miami Dolphins running back Myles Gaskin; and Eason, Bryant, Hall, Daniels, Turner and Mickens. 

Three from the UW who are in some kind of roster limbo are Philadelphia Eagles tight end Joshua Perkins, who's on the injured list; New Orleans Saints running back Dwayne Washington, who's on a COVID reserve list; and Atlanta Falcons cornerback Jordan Miller, who's been suspended for four games for PED infractions. 

Of the 10 Huskies released over the weekend, eight of them received a reprieve in by being assigned to practice squads, seven by the teams that cut them.

In this capacity, the Buffalo Bills retained offensive tackle Trey Adams, the Minnesota Vikings kept quarterback Jake Browning, the Miami Dolphins picked up running back Salvon Ahmed, the Seattle Seahawks called back wide receiver Aaron Fuller, the New England Patriots added cornerback Myles Bryant, the Indianapolis Colts reigned in offensive guard Jake Eldrenkamp and the Tampa Bay Bucs kept defensive end Benning Potoa'e.

Cornerback Sidney Jones resurfaced on the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad after getting cut loose by the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Only wide receiver Andre Baccellia and offensive tackle Jared Hilbers, dropped by New England and the New York Jets, didn't have practice-squad options. 

HUSKY NFL TRACKER:

Trey Adams, OT, Buffalo Bills — undrafted free agent; released by Bills on Sept. 5.

Salvon Ahmed, RB, Miami Dolphins — undrafted free agent; released by San Francisco 49ers; signed by Miami; released by Dolpins on Sept. 5; signed to Dolphins practice squad.

Andre Baccellia, WR, New England Patriots — undrafted free agent; released by Kansas City Chiefs; signed by New England; released by Patriots on Sept. 5.

Budda Baker, S, Arizona Cardinals — 3-year veteran, starter in 36 of 46 games; made 53-man roster, starter.

Jake Browning, QB, Minnesota Vikings — practice squad player; released by Vikings on Sept. 5; signed to Vikings practice squad.

Hunter Bryant, TE, Detroit Lions — undrafted free agent; made 53-man roster.

Myles Bryant, CB, New England Patriots — undrafted free agent; released by Patriots on Sept. 5; signed to Patriots practice squad. 

Ben Burr-Kirven, LB, Seattle Seahawks — 1-year veteran, appeared in 16 games; made 53-man roster.

Darrell Daniels, TE, Arizona Cardinals — 3-year veteran, starter in 6 of 34 games; made 53-man roster.

Will Dissly, TE, Seattle Seahawks — 2-year veteran, starter in 10 of 10 games; made 53-man roster.

Jacob Eason, QB, Indianapolis Colts — 4th-round draft pick; made 53-man roster.

Jake Eldrenkamp, OG, Indianapolis Colts — undrafted free agent; released by Colts on Sept. 5; signed to Colts practice squad. 

Aaron Fuller, WR, Seattle Seahawks — undrafted free agent; released by Seahawks on Sept. 5; signed to Seahawks practice squad.

Greg Gaines, DT, Los Angeles Rams — 1-year veteran, appeared in 10 games; made 53-man roster.

Myles Gaskin, RB, Miami Dolphins — 1-year veteran, appeared in 7 games; made 53-man roster.

Marvin Hall, WR, Detroit Lions — 3-year veteran, appeared in 33 games; made 53-man roster.

Nick Harris, C, Cleveland Browns — 5th-round draft pick; made 53-man roster, starter.

Jared Hilbers, OT, New York Jets — undrafted free agent; released by Jets on Sept. 5.

Sidney Jones, CB, Philadelphia Eagles — 3-year veteran, started 8 of 22 games; released by Eagles on Sept. 5; signed to Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad.

Senio Kelemente, OG, Houston Texans — 7-year veteran, started 37 of 74 games; made 53-man roster, starter.

Kevin King, CB, Green Bay Packers — 3-year veteran, started 25 of 30 games; made 53-man roster, starter.

Cory Littleton, LB, Las Vegas Raiders — 4-year veteran, started 37 of 64 games; made 53-man roster, starter.

Kaleb McGary, OT, Atlanta Falcons — 1-year veteran, started 16 of 16 games; made 53-man roster, starter.

Jaydon Mickens, WR, Tampa Bay Bucs — 3-year veteran, appeared in 17 games; made 53-man roster.

Jordan Miller, CB, Atlanta Falcons — 1-year veteran, appeared in 10 games; suspended by league for 4 games for violating PED policy.

Byron Murphy, CB, Arizona Cardinals — 1-year veteran, started 16 of 16 games; made 53-man roster, starter

Joshua Perkins, TE, Philadelphia Eagles — 3-year veteran, started 2 of 22 games; placed on injured reserve. 

Marcus Peters, CB, Baltimore Ravens — 5-year veteran, started 76 of 77 games; made 53-man roster, starter.

Dante Pettis, WR, San Francisco 49ers — 2-year veteran, started 11 of 23 games; made 53-man roster.

Benning Potoa'e, DE, Tampa Bay Bucs — undrafted free agent; released by Bucs on Sept. 4; signed to Bucs practice squad. 

Taylor Rapp, S, Los Angeles Rams — 1-year veteran, started 10 of 15 games; made 53-man roster, starter.

John Ross, WR, Cincinnati Bengals — 3-year veteran, started 19 of 24 games; made 53-man roster.

Drew Sample, TE, Cincinnati Bengals — 1-year veteran, started 2 of 9 games; made 53-man roster.

Coleman Shelton, C, Los Angeles Rams — 1-year veteran, appeared in 11 games; made 53-man roster.

Danny Shelton, DT, Detroit Lions — 5 year veteran, started 60 of 75 games; made 53-man roster, starter.

Shaq Thompson, LB, Carolina Panthers — 5-year veteran, started 61 of 70 games; made 53-man roster, starter

Desmond Trufant, CB, Detroit Lions — 7-year veteran, starter in 97 of 97 games; made 53-man roster, starter.

Ezekiel Turner, S, Arizona Cardinals — 2-year veteran, starter in 1 of 28 games; made 53-man roster.

Vita Vea, DT, Tampa Bay Bucs — 2-year veteran, starter in 9 of 29 games; made 53-man roster, starter.

Dwayne Washington, RB, New Orleans Saints — 4-year veteran, starter in 2 of 46 games; placed on COVID-19 reserve list.

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