Another NFL season is officially here. Cutdown day came Saturday, with rosters being required to go from 80 down to 53, but with the added bonus of having practice squads go from 10 players to 16 - and there's no longer an age/service time limit. From a local standpoint there are 10 former UConn players who made either of the two rosters, highlighted by a newly crowned Super Bowl champion, a Pro Bowler who found a new home and a new draft pick looking to standout.
As you turn on RedZone this Sunday, here are the ex-Husky stars for whom you should be watching:
Andrew Adams: Undrafted out of UConn in 2016, Adams has found his role at the NFL level. A starting safety as a rookie for the Giants in 2016, he played largely as a reserve in 2017, then did the same when moving on to Tampa Bay in 2018. However last season he again found himself thrust into a starting role with the Bucs, where he made 41 tackles with an interception. He made the team out of camp, but he'll again be fighting for a starting spot with 2020 second-round draft pick Antoine Winfield, Jr.
Tyler Davis: A four-year player in Connecticut from 2015-18, Davis moved around a lot position-wise. He came in as a quarterback, moved to wide receiver and, eventually tight end, catching 47 passes for 500 yards and seven touchdowns with the Huskies. He used his grad transfer year to play at Georgia Tech, and though his stats were similar to his days at UConn, it earned him a sixth-round selection by the Jaguars in this year's draft. At 6-4, 252 lbs. he has the ideal size of an impossible-to-defend tight end, and the Jags have high hopes on a team that should offer plenty of playing time to young players as they undergo a rebuild (though he's third on the depth chart).
Foley Fatukasi: After appearing in just one game with the Jets as a rookie in 2018, the defensive lineman saw his playing time skyrocket last year, when he played in 14 games and was on the field for over a third of the defensive snaps. In that span, he was highly graded by Pro Football Focus in the run game, racking up seven tackles for loss and a sack, and is due to take on an even larger role for New York in 2020 as one of the pieces of a young, but exciting defensive line.
Ryan Griffin: Griffin joins Fatukasi in New York, as the tight end starts his second season with the Jets. After six years with the Texans, Griffin came to Gang Green last year as a free agent pickup and impressed, catching 34 passes with five touchdowns in 13 games. It was enough to earn himself a three-year contract extension in November, but his season ended shortly thereafter, as he was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. That same injury delayed his start to camp, where he started on the physically unable to perform list, but he has since been removed and is expected to be worked back into the rotation.
Byron Jones: The New Britain native and former UConn star is no longer a Dallas Cowboy. After five seasons he hit free agency and signed what was (for about a week) the richest deal ever signed by a cornerback: five years, $82.5 million, including $57 million guaranteed. So now he's in Miami, who spent big money in the open market to improve on a team that only won five games in 2019, yet still managed to overachieve. The 2018 Pro Bowler has finally found a home at corner, after spending his first few pro seasons bouncing between corner and safety. Now he'll be one of the playmakers on what should be a much-improved Dolphins defense.
Matt Peart: The newest Husky in the league, the offensive lineman begins his professional career with the Giants. New York's third-round draft pick in May, Peart is in the same situation as every other rookie in the league in that he lost all of rookie camp, OTAs and the preseason to COVID-19, putting him behind the proverbial eight-ball in terms of development. Still, he's been taking reps at both tackle spots in camp, and although he's not expected to start right away (maybe not even this season) he's certainly in the Giants' long-term plans.
Anthony Sherman: The oldest ex-Husky still in the league, the 31-year-old Sherman enters his 10th pro season, including his eighth in Kansas City. A small part of the most explosive offense in the league, Sherman is one of the few fullbacks in the NFL. While he's not on the field a whole lot with Pat Mahomes and company - he's played nine percent of offensive snaps each of the last two seasons - he's a special teams ace (he was at UConn, too). Not to mention, he was on the field late in the Super Bowl, and threw the block that let running back Damien Williams scamper 38 yards to the house to secure KC's championship.
Shamar Stephen: A mainstay on the Vikings' defensive line, the 2014 UConn graduate heads into his seventh NFL season, including his sixth with Minnesota (he spent 2018 in Seattle before returning to the Twin Cities). Last year Stephen started 15 games as a defensive tackle, racking up 21 tackles and a sack while playing in about half of the defensive snaps. He has two years left on a three-year deal he signed before last season.
Blidi Wreh-Wilson: The former All-Big East performer continues to hang around in Atlanta, where he enters his fifth season (eighth NFL season overall) after making the team. After playing in 12 games total from 2016-18, Wreh-Wilson saw a boost last season, when he appeared in 14 games and started two, playing about a third of defensive and special teams' snaps. Head coach Dan Quinn told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week that the team values the cornerback's versatility, as they are able to slide him into the role of nickelback or, in a pinch, safety.
Tim Boyle: His time in Connecticut was unremarkable - in 19 games over three years he completed less than half his passes with one touchdown to 13 interceptions - which makes his NFL career all the more impressive. Undrafted after spending his final collegiate season at Eastern Kentucky (stats: 11 TDs, 13 INTs), Boyle will enter his second season in the Packers' quarterback room. Last year he backed up Aaron Rodgers and appeared in three games without throwing a pass. Now he's third on the depth chart, with Green Bay drafting Jordan Love in the first round this season. Still, the fact that Boyle has had any NFL career at all is amazing.
