Where Are Penn Staters In The NFL Ahead Of The 2021 Season?
Are you ready for some football?
Believe it or not, the 2021 NFL season kicks off at 8:20 p.m. on Thursday, September 9, when the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers face off at Raymond James Stadium.
This year, there are plenty of Penn Staters on NFL rosters as we embark on the league’s 102nd season. You have veterans like Donovan Smith and Adrian Amos, stars like Saquon Barkley and Allen Robinson, and rookies like Micah Parsons and Pat Freiermuth. Those are just six of the 42 former Penn State football players a part of NFL organizations heading into the 2021 season.
As of September 7, 2021, here’s where Nittany Lions in the NFL are playing football this season:
Penn Staters On 53-Man Rosters
- RB Saquon Barkley — New York Giants
- LB Cam Brown — New York Giants
- DL Austin Johnson — New York Giants
- RB Miles Sanders — Philadelphia Eagles
- CB Zech McPhearson — Philadelphia Eagles
- LB Micah Parsons — Dallas Cowboys
- OL Connor McGovern — Dallas Cowboys
- DB Troy Apke — Washington Football Team
- DE Shaka Toney — Washington Football Team
- WR Chris Godwin — Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- OT Donovan Smith — Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- DE Yetur Gross-Matos — Carolina Panthers
- DT DaQuan Jones — Carolina Panthers
- P Blake Gillikin — New Orleans Saints
- WR Chris Hogan (Penn State lacrosse!) — New Orleans Saints
- TE Juwan Johnson — New Orleans Saints
- CB Amani Oruwariye — Detroit Lions
- FB Jason Cabinda — Detroit Lions
- WR Allen Robinson — Chicago Bears
- TE Jesse James — Chicago Bears
- S Adrian Amos — Green Bay Packers
- DL Kevin Givens — San Francisco 49ers
- K Robbie Gould — San Francisco 49ers
- S Nick Scott — Los Angeles Rams
- CB John Reid — Seattle Seahawks
- OL Ryan Bates — Buffalo Bills
- TE Mike Gesicki — Miami Dolphins
- LB Marcus Allen — Pittsburgh Steelers
- TE Pat Freiermuth — Pittsburgh Steelers
- OLB Odafe Oweh — Baltimore Ravens
- K Sam Ficken — Tennessee Titans
- OL Will Fries — Indianapolis Colts
- WR KJ Hamler — Denver Broncos
- TE Nick Bowers — Las Vegas Raiders
- DE Carl Nassib — Las Vegas Raiders
Penn Staters On Practice Squads
- TE Ross Travis (Penn State hoops!) — Arizona Cardinals
- QB Trace McSorley — Baltimore Ravens
- LB Jan Johnson — Tennessee Titans
Penn Staters On Injured Reserve
- WR Dan Chisena — Minnesota Vikings
- DE Jack Crawford — Arizona Cardinals
- DT Rob Windsor — Indianapolis Colts
- WR DaeSean Hamilton — Denver Broncos
Hamilton tore his ACL back in May and will likely be out for the entire NFL season. Windsor suffered a hip injury over the summer and will also miss the 2021 NFL season. Chisena and Crawford are presumably eligible to return after spending three weeks on injured reserve.
Head Coaches
Penn State football letterman Matt Rhule is entering his second season as the Carolina Panthers’ head coach after getting the job in January 2020. Rhule, who played football at State College Area High School, walked ran on to Penn State football in 1994. He has prior head coaching experience on the college level with Temple (2013-16) and Baylor (2017-19).
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