Eighteen Gophers alums start Week 1 on an NFL 53-man roster
Week One of the NFL season is here, and with that are the initial regular season rosters for each team. The Gophers had 22 players start training camp with an NFL team, and then added a few more late in the preseason to bring the complete total up to 24. When all was said and done, 18 Minnesota Golden Gophers alums will start the season on an active NFL roster, with one more on injured reserve. While none of the cut Gophers have been signed to a practice squad as of yet, there is still plenty of time. Here is a summary of the Gophers in training camp, who made the rosters and who is still looking for a job.
Baltimore Ravens:
Rashod Bateman-WR
Bateman will be one of the starting wide outs for the Ravens to start the season and hopefully can become a trusted receiver for Lamar Jackson and stay healthy.
Daniel Faalele-OL
Faalele won the starting right guard spot for Baltimore and will start it off right away against Christ Jones and the tough Chiefs DL in the season opener on Thursday night.
Week 1 @ Kansas City Chiefs—Thursday Night Football
Chicago Bears
Terrell Smith-CB
Smith will start the season as a backup corner back for the Bears, and hope to work his way into the starting lineup.
Week 1 vs Tennessee Titans
Dallas Cowboys
Brevin Span-Ford-TE
This one was a bit of a surprise. Span-Ford seemed destined to be cut, but the Cowboys kept four tight ends and traded away a 5th and here he is on an active NFL-roster. He will have a long way to go to see playing time, but he can say he is a full member of the Dallas Cowboys.
Week 1 @ Cleveland Browns
Houston Texans
Eric Murray-S
Murray will start the season as a backup safety and secondary depth piece for the Texans who may have one of the favorites in the AFC this season.
Week 1 @ Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Esezi Otomewo-DL
Otomewo was another surprise. He was 4th at DT on the depth chart midway through camp but impressed the right people and made the final 53-man roster for Jacksonville. He still has a long way to fight his way into playing time, but he will be on the roster by Sunday,
Week 1 @ Miami Dolphins
Los Angeles Rams
Tyler Johnson-WR
Welcome back to a regular role on a 53-man roster Tyler Johnson. A year after languishing on the Rams practice squad we worked his way back to the main roster and is slated to be WR4 for the Rams to start the season.
Week 1 @ Detroit Lions—Sunday Night Football
Minnesota Vikings
Blake Cashman-LB
Cashman still is recovering from an injured finger he suffered in the preseason and his status for Sunday’s season opener is still questionable. But he will slide into a starting role on the Vikings defense when he is healthy.
Week 1 @ New York Giants
New Orleans Saints
Jordan Howden-S
Howden was in a battle for a starting spot all camp long and appears to have potentially won the job as veteran Jonathan Abram was a surprise cut by the Saints. If he doesn’t start he still is likely to see plenty of time in the Saints secondary this season.
Week 1 vs Carolina Panthers
New York Giants
Tyler Nubin-S
Nubin missed a bit of time early with a calk-injury in camp but then took off the rest of camp and appears to have won the starting strong safety job. He impressed so much that he was named the Giants Breakout Player candidate by his teammates according to The Athletic.
John-Michael Schmitz-C
Schmitz will be the starting center for the Giants as long as he can stay healthy.
Carter Coughlin-LB
Coughlin had a great camp even getting some breakout player votes in the same poll that Nubin won. He will thrive once again in his special teams role and try to earn some defensive playing time as well.
Week 1 vs Minnesota Vikings
Seattle Seahawks
Boye Mafe- Rush
Mafe is slated to start at the rush outside linebacker for the Seahawks and keep building on the flashes he showed last team to become a major pass rushing threat.
Week 1 vs Denver Broncos
San Francisco 49ers
De’vondre Cambell-LB
Campbell will see good time with the 49ers this season—potentially starting but if not should be the first LB off the bench for a potential Super Bowl Contender.
Week 1 vs New York Jets-Monday Night
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Antoine Winfield-S
The third former Gopher to be a NFL starting safety Week 1? Not too shabby.
Ko Kieft-TE
Kieft made the Buccaneers roster because he has turned himself into a valuable special teams player. He won’t do much on offense for the Buccaneers this season as either the #3 or #4 tight end, but the dude is on every special teams unit blocking and tackling.
Week 1 vs Washington Commanders
Tennessee Titans
Jack Gibbens-LB
Gibbons started 13 games a season ago but it appears he will start the season as a backup LB for the Titans this year.
Week 1 @ Chicago Bears
Washington Commanders
Benjamin St. Juste-CB
St. Juste will once again start at corner for the Commanders.
Week 1 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
INJURED RESERVE:
Chris Collins-LB
Collins was a great story for the Chargers. Went to rookie minicamp and won a training camp spot there and was turning heads there before suffering an injury. The Chargers placed him on IR and he will miss the 2024 season.
CURRENT FREE AGENTS:
Damien Wilson-LB
Wilson signed with the Cowboys and appeared to do enough to lock up a backup linebacker spot, but the Cowboys cut him and he is current a free agent.
Kyler Baugh-DT
Baugh was on two different teams in camps after the Saints initially signed him and then cut him 2 week in. He was picked up by the Giants and then was cut by them as well.
Thomas Rush-DE
Rush signed with the Titans as a UDFA after the 2023 season and had a good camp before getting up, and the same appears to have happened in 2024.
Chuck Filiaga-OL
Filiaga spent parts of the 2023 offseason and preseason with the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints, and landed with the San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL ahead of their 2024 campaign. He started eight games for the Brahmas but played just three snaps in the team’s two postseason games. He then signed with the Vikings late in camp, but it appears he was just a camp body as he was one of the first cuts off the Purple’s roster.
Mo Ibrahim-RB
The former Gopher star has tried to come back from his gruesome injury for the Lions last year and signed with the Vikings for their final week of camp. He also was unfortunately only a camp body as he was immediately cut after the Vikings final preseason game and once again is a free agent.