UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A total of 44 Penn State football lettermen are populating rosters of 25 National Football League teams as the 2022 season kicks off on Thursday. Thirty-four made 53-man rosters, while eight are on practice squads, one is on injured reserve and one is on the physically unable to perform list.
Three Nittany Lions enter the season as team captains, including linebacker Cam Brown and running back Saquon Barkley on the New York Giants and safety Adrian Amos on the Green Bay Packers.
The Washington Commanders lead the NFL with four Penn Staters, while the Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers each have three. The Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers each have two.
Robbie Gould is the elder statesmen of the Nittany Lion group, entering his 19th season. Gould, kicking for the San Francisco 49ers, has the longest NFL career of any Nittany Lion in school history. DaQuan Jones (Buffalo Bills) enters his 11th season in the NFL, while Allen Robinson, a member of the Los Angeles Rams, is set to begin his 10th season.
Nine players from Penn State's 2021 squad are on NFL rosters. Jaquan Brisker (Chicago Bears), Jahan Dotson (Washington Commanders), Arnold Ebiketie (Atlanta Falcons), Brandon Smith (Carolina Panthers), Jordan Stout (Baltimore Ravens) and Rasheed Walker (Green Bay Packers) are on active rosters. Tariq Castro-Fields (Washington Commanders), Jesse Luketa (Arizona Cardinals) and Derrick Tangelo (Atlanta Falcons) are on practice squads.
Additionally, five former Nittany Lions are on NFL coaching staffs, led by third-year Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule. Also among the coaching ranks are D'Anton Lynn (Baltimore, defensive backs); Jeff Nixon (Carolina, assistant head coach/offense),; DeOn'tae Pannell (Detroit, WCF minority coaching assistant) and Paul Pasqualoni (Carolina, defensive line).
Former Penn State Players on 2022 NFL opening day rosters (Pro experience in parantheses):
Atlanta Falcons (2): Arnold Ebiketie (R), Derrick Tangelo (R)
Arizona Cardinals (2): Jesse Luketa (R), Trace McSorley (4)
Baltimore Ravens (2): Odafe Oweh (2), Jordan Stout (R)
Buffalo Bills (2): Ryan Bates (4), DaQuan Jones (10)
Carolina Panthers (3): Yetur Gross-Matos (3), John Lovett (R), Brandon Smith (R)
Chicago Bears (1): Jaquan Brisker (R)
Cleveland Browns (1): Jesse James (7)
Cincinnati Bengals (1): Nick Bowers (2)
Dallas Cowboys (2): Connor McGovern (4), Micah Parsons (2)
Denver Broncos (1): KJ Hamler (3)
Detroit Lions (2): Jason Cabinda (5), Amani Oruwariye (4)
Green Bay Packers (2): Adrian Amos C (8), Rasheed Walker (R)
Indianapolis Colts (1): Will Fries (2)
Los Angeles Chargers (1): Austin Johnson (7)
Los Angeles Rams (3): Grant Haley (4), Allen Robinson II (9), Nick Scott (4)
Miami Dolphins (1): Mike Gesicki (5)
Minnesota Vikings (1): Dan Chisena (3)
New Orleans Saints (1): Blake Gillikin (3)
New York Giants (2): Saquon Barkley (5) C, Cam Brown (3) C
Philadelphia Eagles (1): Miles Sanders (4)
Pittsburgh Steelers (2): Marcus Allen (5), Pat Freiermuth (2)
San Francisco 49ers (2): Kevin Givens (3), Robbie Gould (18)
Seattle Seahawks (1): John Reid IR (3)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3): Chris Godwin (6), Carl Nassib (7), Donovan Smith (8)
Washington Commanders (4): Troy Apke (5), Tariq Castro-Fields (R), Jahan Dotson (R), Shaka Toney (2)
Italics indicates practice squad | C Team Captain | IR Injured Reserve |
PUP Physically Unable To Perform
The Nittany Lions make their return to Beaver Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 10 vs. Ohio, a noon ET start on ABC.
The 2022 Penn State football season is presented by PSECU.
Chris Godwin