Sunday’s roster cutdown day shook loose a long list of former Michigan State players, but plenty of Spartans still survived the NFL’s toughest round of the calendar.
A dozen former MSU players landed on 53-man rosters, with a few names that were no surprise and a couple that stood out. The group included Luke Newman with the Bears, Jordan Turner with the Broncos, Kenneth Walker III with the Chiefs, Matt Gulbin with the Commanders, Ameer Speed with the Cowboys, Jayden Reed with the Packers, Bryce Baringer with the Patriots, Connor Heyward with the Raiders, Jalen Nailor with the Raiders, Kirk Cousins with the Raiders, Ryan Eckley with the Ravens and Montorie Foster Jr. with the Seahawks.
There were also four former Spartans who transferred from Michigan State and finished their careers elsewhere but still made NFL rosters on Sunday: Montez Sweat with the Bears, Keon Coleman with the Bills, Derrick Harmon with the Steelers and Germie Bernard with the Steelers.
On the other side of the ledger, 14 former Michigan State players were cut loose.
That list included Omari Kelly and Wayne Matthews III of the Bears, Ben VanSumeren of the Bills, Josh Butler of the Cowboys, Jack Velling and Nate Carter of the Falcons, Quindarius Dunnigan of the Jaguars, Joe Bachie of the Lions, Nick Samac of the Panthers, AJ Arcuri of the Rams, Cody White of the Seahawks, Jacoby Windmon of the Steelers, Naquan Jones of the Texans and Kendell Brooks of the Titans.
Even with more Spartans getting trimmed than making final rosters, a lot of these names still have a path to sticking around. Players such as Cody White, Joe Bachie, Ben VanSumeren, Josh Butler, Nate Carter and Nick Samac are among those who could end up on practice squads this season.
One former Michigan State standout remains on the market, too. Jack Conklin was released by the Browns in the spring and has not signed a new deal yet.
Michigan State will still have a strong footprint across the league this season, even after a busy Sunday of cuts.
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