Kansas continues to put more than just wins on the board. This fall, six former Jayhawks earned NFL opening-week roster spots, a sign that the program is sending more talent to the league. Devin Neal, Kansas’ all-time leading rusher, did not join that group after landing on the New Orleans Saints’ season-ending Injured Reserve list.
The most established name on the list is Dorance Armstrong, who is heading into his ninth NFL season and his third with the Washington Commanders after spending six years with the Cowboys. He has built a career as a steady edge rotational player, piling up 137 solo tackles, 232 total stops, 37 tackles for loss and 34 sacks, including a career-best 8.5 in 2022. Armstrong will, however, miss the season opener because of a suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Austin Booker is trying to push forward with the Chicago Bears after a knee injury slowed his 2025 season and cost him most of the first half. He enters his third year with Chicago having played in 27 NFL games, recording 33 solo tackles, 56 total tackles, eight tackles for loss and six sacks. The Bears’ defensive line rotation gives him a chance to matter if he can stay on the field.
Dominick Puni has already turned himself into a fixture for the San Francisco 49ers. He has started all 34 games of his career, and his rookie season drew a Pro Football Focus grade of 80.5, which the source notes ranked sixth among guards. That number dipped to 70.5 last season, when he was also moved around more because of his versatility, but his place on the line remains secure.
San Francisco will also have Enrique Cruz Jr. in the mix. He is one of three former Kansas players from last season’s team to make an NFL roster and is expected to provide depth at offensive tackle for the 49ers.
Bryce Cabeldue is in a similar spot with the Seattle Seahawks, where he is listed second on the depth chart at left guard. His role is depth for now, but he will have the chance to sharpen his game and be ready if his number gets called.
The biggest surprise of the group is Jalon Daniels. The former Kansas quarterback went undrafted in 2026 after once being picked as the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, a label that faded as injuries and uneven play interrupted his college career.
Still, the talent was obvious enough for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to sign him after the draft, and he made the most of his preseason opportunity. Tampa not only kept him, but also named him Baker Mayfield’s backup after releasing John Browning, an unusual outcome for an undrafted quarterback.
In Other News...
Three Former Jayhawks Just Kept Their NFL Dreams Alive
The NFL path for a trio of former Kansas football players is still very much open heading into the new season. Tommy Dunn Jr. landed on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, Cobee Bryant is on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad and Emmanuel Henderson Jr. is with the Seattle Seahawks, keeping each of them in position to work their way toward an active-roster opportunity if the chance comes.
For all three, the move matters because practice-squad spots are more than just placeholders this time of year. They keep players in the building, in the weekly grind and close enough to be elevated when a team needs help, which is exactly the kind of break every undrafted or recently waived player is chasing. For Kansas, it is another reminder that the program continues to send talent into the league, even if the next step still has to be earned. [Read more 🡒]
Bill Self Is Building Something Kansas Fans Need To Watch
Kansas has stayed busy on the recruiting trail, and Bill Selfs staff is making sure the next wave of talent keeps flowing through Lawrence. The Jayhawks have already hosted several other top prospects recently, and now they have lined up another important stop with four-star forward Zion Green, a highly regarded Class of 2027 player from Compass Prep in Arizona.
Green is scheduled to be on campus from Sept. 18-20, a visit that gives Kansas another chance to sell its pitch in person to one of the more sought-after young forwards in the country. The Jayhawks will not be alone in that chase, either, with Oklahoma and Alabama also in the mix, which adds another layer to a recruiting battle Kansas will want to keep pushing forward. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Is Pushing For An Early Edge In A Big 12 Battle
Kansas is set to get an early look at one of the more closely watched guards in the 2027 class when Parker McDaniel comes to Lawrence for an official visit during the Sept. 11-12 weekend. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard from South Central Prep in Oklahoma already has a growing list of Division I options, including Kansas, Oklahoma State and West Virginia, and his profile has started to rise with evaluators as he works his way through the early stages of the recruiting cycle.
For the Jayhawks, the visit is another chance to get in front of a player who already carries national attention and fits the kind of perimeter target they tend to monitor closely. McDaniel is ranked No. 96 overall and No. 15 among shooting guards in the 2027 class by 247Sports, and Kansas will not be alone in trying to make an impression as the Big 12 programs circle. [Read more 🡒]