MANHATTAN, Kan. – With the 2024 NFL season kicking off one week from today, 19 former Kansas State players have been placed on active rosters, practice squads or injured reserve lists as the 32 organizations set their initial rosters for the season earlier this week.
The 19 former Wildcats on opening-weekend NFL rosters are the most since they also had 19 to open the 2009 season. Of the 19 players, 12 are on offense and seven are on defense. Four players off last year’s squad enter their rookie seasons, a list that includes second-round draft pick Ben Sinnott (Washington), third-round draft pick Cooper Beebe (Dallas), seventh-round selection KT Leveston (Los Angeles Rams) and rookie free agent Khalid Duke (Tennessee – practice squad).
Leveston, along with Minnesota offensive lineman Dalton Risner, were placed on injured reserve but were designated for return, which means they will miss at least four games but will be allowed to be added back to the active roster later in the season.
Aside from the four players from last year, Adrian Martinez, a K-State quarterback in 2022, is on a regular-season roster for the first time in his career as he is on the New York Jets’ practice squad. Martinez is coming off a UFL campaign in which he was named league MVP and helped the Birmingham Stallions win the UFL Championship.
The longest-tenured former K-State players on NFL rosters are Tyler Lockett and Cornelius Lucas, both entering their 10th seasons. Lockett has spent his entire career with the Seattle Seahawks, while Lucas is in his fifth year with the Washington Commanders after having spent time with the Detroit Lions (2014-16), Los Angeles Rams (2017), New Orleans Saints (2018) and Chicago Bears (2019). Additionally, Cody Whitehair is entering his ninth season in the NFL but his first with the Las Vegas Raiders after spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Chicago Bears.
No. 18 Kansas State opens the 2024 season on Saturday by hosting UT Martin at 6 p.m., inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Standing-room only tickets are available online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets or by phone at 1-800-221-CATS. The game will be shown on ESPN+ and can be heard across the K-State Sports Network, SiriusXM channel 160 or 198, on the SiriusXM app, the Varsity Network app or Big 12 Radio on TuneIn.
Former Wildcats on NFL Rosters
| Player | Organization | Position | Experience | ||||
| Felix Anudike-Uzomah | Kansas City | DE | 2nd Year | ||||
| Cooper Beebe | Dallas | OL | Rookie | ||||
| JuJu Brents | Indianapolis | CB | 2nd Year | ||||
| Khalid Duke* | Tennessee | OLB | Rookie | ||||
| Josh Hayes | Tampa Bay | DB | 2nd Year | ||||
| Timmy Horne^ | New York Giants | DT | 3rd Year | ||||
| Malik Knowles^ | Minnesota | WR | 1st Year | ||||
| KT Leveston^ | Los Angeles Rams | OL | Rookie | ||||
| Tyler Lockett | Seattle | WR | 10th Year | ||||
| Cornelius Lucas | Washington | OL | 10th Year | ||||
| Adrian Martinez* | New York Jets | QB | 1st Year | ||||
| Byron Pringle | Washington | WR | 7th Year | ||||
| D.J. Reed | New York Jets | CB | 6th Year | ||||
| Dalton Risner^ | Minnesota | OL | 6th Year | ||||
| Ben Sinnott | Washington | TE | Rookie | ||||
| Skylar Thompson | Miami | QB | 3rd Year | ||||
| Deuce Vaughn | Dallas | RB | 2nd Year | ||||
| Cody Whitehair | Las Vegas | OL | 9th Year | ||||
| Russ Yeast | Los Angeles Rams | DB | 3rd Year |
* – Practice Squad; ^ – Injured Reserve
