The NFL preseason begins on Thursday, and while no former Kansas players will be taking the field for the Arizona Cardinals or Carolina Panthers at the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, it’ll only be another week before they make their exhibition debuts.
The contingent of KU football players in the NFL now consists almost exclusively of Lance Leipold-era Jayhawks. That’s after the Baltimore Ravens placed offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji on the reserve/retired list on Sunday, just over a week following his signing with what would have been his fifth team in seven NFL seasons.
There is still one holdover from the before times. Dorance Armstrong is still on the Washington Commanders, but he also remains on their physically unable to perform list after tearing his ACL in the early stages of the 2025 season.
The rest of the former KU group in training camp consists exclusively of young players, many still unproven. Three of those are on the Seattle Seahawks, two of whom — offensive linemen Logan Brown and Bryce Cabeldue, the bookends of KU’s 2024 offensive line — won Super Bowl rings with the team last season. The third is the speedster and sixth-round rookie wideout Emmanuel Henderson Jr.
Two more are on the offensive line elsewhere in the NFC West, with the San Francisco 49ers, where fast-rising Enrique Cruz Jr. joins Dominick Puni, who has started every game for the team in each of his first two seasons. Puni’s fellow 2024 draft pick, Chicago Bears defensive end Austin Booker, missed a chunk of last year due to a preseason injury but ended up playing in 10 regular-season games in which he played and tallying 35 tackles with 4.5 sacks. He also started both of the Bears’ playoff games with nine tackles and one more sack.
Several more former Jayhawks will look to stand out as second-year players. Cornerback Cobee Bryant was thrust into action as an undrafted rookie for the Atlanta Falcons and made 10 tackles with one pass deflection in seven games with one start. Wide receiver Luke Grimm was on and off the Los Angeles Chargers’ roster last fall and is back with the team again. Running back Devin Neal of the New Orleans Saints garnered some late-season action as Alvin Kamara was injured, ultimately recording 310 total yards with a pair of rushing touchdowns, although the team’s backfield looks rather crowded this preseason.
Quentin Skinner is now on his second professional team. He made his first NFL catch for the New York Jets and grabbed a two-point conversion against the division rival Buffalo Bills, but now he’ll be a member of the Bills himself after catching on in July.
There are a handful of KU rookies scattered throughout the league beyond the draftees Cruz and Henderson. Tommy Dunn Jr. and D.J. Withers, longtime teammates on the interior of the defensive line, are together again on the Dallas Cowboys. Wide receiver Levi Wentz was originally with the Seahawks but in June was released and added to his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers already have Laith Marjan at kicker, although he might be auditioning for other teams this preseason since Chris Boswell recently signed a lucrative contract extension.
The last two former Jayhawks on rosters at present are Jalon Daniels, who might have to beat out former Missouri, Indiana and Bowling Green quarterback Connor Bazelak for a spot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Bangally Kamara, who caught on with the Minnesota Vikings after a tryout at their minicamp.
Chicago Bears defensive end Austin Booker (94) participates at NFL football training camp Saturday, August 1, 2026, in Lake Forest, Ill.
New Orleans Saints running back Devin Neal (24) catches a ball during an NFL football training camp in Metairie, La., Thursday, July 30, 2026.
AP Photo/David Banks
AP Photo/Ella Hall