Tuesday was cutdown down in the NFL, with teams having to submit an initial 53-man roster to the league ahead of the opening games next month. And when the dust settled, 10 former Arizona Wildcats had survived:
- WR Jacob Cowing, San Francisco 49ers
- RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders
- LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, New York Giants
- K Nick Folk, New York Jets
- K Tyler Loop, Baltimore Ravens
- DL Roy Lopez, Detroit Lions
- WR Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers
- OL Jordan Morgan, Green Bay Packers
- CB Christian Roland-Wallace, Kansas City Chiefs
- OL Jonah Savaiinaea, Miami Dolphins
Croskey-Merritt, Loop, McMillan and Savaiinaea will be making their NFL debuts this season, as each was selected in the 2025 draft. Compare that to Folk, who is entering his 18th NFL season and first with the Jets since 2016.
In 2024, Folk was 21 of 22 on field goals for the Tennessee Titans,
leading the league in accuracy for the second straight season. He is third on the active NFL list in field goals (403), extra points (511) and points score (1,720).
Flannigan-Fowles and Lopez are with new teams this season after signing during the winter.
The most notable ex-Wildcat not to make a 53-man roster was tight end Tanner McLachlan, a 6th-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2024 who was waived on Tuesday. He cleared waivers and was added to the Bengals’ Reserve/Injured list.
Two other former UA players have signed to NFL practice squads. Gary Brightwell is on the Bengals’ squad while defensive lineman Bill Norton, who played for the UA in 2023 before finishing his career at Texas, is with the Los Angeles Rams.
Others who were cut during or after camp and have yet to sign on elsewhere include running backs Quali Conley (Bengals), JJ Taylor (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Michael Wiley (Chiefs) and DJ Williams (Bucs) and linebacker Tony Fields II (Rams).
