19 Former Cardinals on 2023 NFL Training Camp Rosters
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The long offseason is nearly over, and the 2023 NFL season is just on the horizon. July 25 marks the final day in which players are to report for training camp across the league, starting the process of shaping rosters for all 32 teams ahead of the 53-man roster cut deadline on Aug. 29.
As you can imagine, there is a significant Louisville presence as teams prepare to begin their season. At the start of training camp, 19 former Cardinals are on rosters in hopes of making the final cut.
Many are guaranteed to make the final roster, while others are in need of a strong preseason. Below are all 19 former Louisville football players taking part in the NFL's training camp:
Yasir Abdullah
Position: Linebacker
Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Years at UofL: 2018-22
Abdullah was the second of three Cardinals to be selected in April's NFL Draft, which was the most since four were drafted in 2018. In his final season with Louisville, he led the team with 14.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks, while also tallying 63 total tackles, two interceptions and four forced fumbles.
Jaire Alexander
Position: Cornerback
Team: Green Bay Packers
Years at UofL: 2015-17
Alexander had a bounce-back 2022 season after missing most of 2021 with a shoulder injury. He was able to set a career-high in interceptions (five) and tackles for loss (4.0), had his most tackles (56) since 2019, and earned his second career Pro Bowl nod (2020) in the process. He was the only former Louisville player to be invited to the 2022 Pro Bowl.
Tutu Atwell
Position: Wide Receiver
Team: Los Angeles Rams
Years at UofL: 2018-20
Atwell was finally able to crack Los Angeles' wide receiver rotation in year two. He caught his first pass in Week Five against Dallas, scored his first touchdown - a 62-yard bomb - in Week 11 at New Orleans, then earned his first start during week 13 vs. Seattle. He finished with 18 receptions for 298 yards and one score.
Mekhi Becton
Position: Offensive Tackle
Team: New York Jets
Years at UofL: 2017-19
Thanks to two separate knee injuries, Becton has not seen the field since Week One of the 2021 season. Fortunately, thanks in part to a concerted effort to shed excess weight, Becton is a full go for training camp. He is currently battling for either the starting left or right tackle spots.
Geron Christian Sr.
Position: Offensive Tackle
Team: Miami Dolphins
Years at UofL: 2015-17
Christian spent most of the 2022 season with the Kansas City Chiefs, but served almost exclusively a special teams role. He played in 10 total games, but only twice did he crack the offensive line rotation. He was waived by the Chiefs and picked up by the Dolphins ahead of their regular season finale, but did not play in that game.
Kei'Trel Clark
Position: Cornerback
Team: Arizona Cardinals
Years at UofL: 2020-22
Clark was the third and final Cardinals to come off the board during the 2023 NFL Draft earlier this year. Coming off of a 2021 campaign in which he tore his ACL, he finished the 2022 season with the fifth-most tackles on the team at 51, as well as 4.0 tackles for loss, a sack, four pass break ups and an interception returned for a touchdown.
Malik Cunningham
Position: Quarterback/Wide Receiver
Team: New England Patriots
Years at UofL: 2017-22
Cunningham might have gone unselected in April's draft, but the Patriots were quick to sign him as an undrafted free agent. While he is Louisville's all-time leader in touchdown's responsible for, quarterback might not be in his immediate future, as he is also taking reps at wide receiver in training camp. Last season, he completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 1,568 yards and eight touchdowns to five interceptions, while also rushing for 565 yards and 12 touchdowns.
YaYa Diaby
Position: Defensive End/Outside Linebacker
Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Years at UofL: 2020-22
Diaby was the first Louisville player off the board in the 2023 NFL Draft, and at No. 82 overall, was the first Cardinal defender to be picked inside the first three rounds since Jaire Alexander. He collected 14.0 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks in 2022, trailing only Abdullah for the most on the team. He also tallied 37 tackles, four QB hurries and two recovered fumbles.
Dorian Etheridge
Position: Inside Linebacker
Team: Atlanta Falcons
Years at UofL: 2017-20
Since breaking into the league, Etheridge has spent most of his time on the Falcons' practice squad. He spent a lot of the 2022 season on the sideline after suffering a knee injury in Atlanta's final preseason game, and is back for another try at the 53-man roster.
Tiyon Evans
Position: Running Back
Team: Carolina Panthers
Years at UofL: 2022
Evans originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Rams shortly after the 2023 NFL Draft ended, but was waived in June and soon-thereafter picked up by the Panthers. The Tennessee transfer rushed for 525 yards and six touchdowns during his lone season in Louisville, but injuries limited him to just eight games.
Dez Fitzpatrick
Position: Wide Receiver
Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Years at UofL: 2016-20
Fitzpatrick spent almost the entire 2022 season on the Tennessee's practice squad. The one time he wasn't was when he was elevated to the Titans' active roster for their Week Five matchup at the Commanders, playing just five total snaps. After his practice squad contract expired in January, he signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers.
Jonathan Greenard
Position: Outside Linebacker
Team: Houston Texans
Years at UofL: 2015-17
Greenard came off of a career-year in 2021 where he led the Texans in sacks, but got bit hard by the injury bug in 2022. He spent most of this season on injured reserve due to a calf injury, playing in only the first four and last four games of the season, while starting the former. He was only able to collect 16 tackles (6.0 for loss) and 1.5 sacks because of the aforementioned injury.
Hassan Hall
Position: Running Back
Team: Cleveland Browns
Years at UofL: 2018-21
Following a year at Georgia Tech after entering the transfer portal, Hall wound up signing as an undrafted free agent with the Browns after going unselected in April’s draft. He had a career season in his lone year with the Yellow Jackets, setting career marks in rushing attempts (116), rushing yards (521), receptions (28) and receiving yards (165).
Tyler Hudson
Position: Wide Receiver
Team: Los Angeles Rams
Years at UofL: 2022
Atwell won't be the only former Louisville wide receiver with the Rams, as Hudson signed as an undrafted free agent with Los Angeles following the draft. In his lone year with the Cardinals, the Central Arkansas transfer finished with 69 receptions for 1,034 yards, becoming only the seventh player in Louisville history to have a 1,000-yard receiving season, along with two touchdowns.
Lamar Jackson
Position: Quarterback
Team: Baltimore Ravens
Years at UofL: 2015-17
It's been a wild last few months for Jackson. He missed the final five weeks of the regular season after suffering a PCL sprain in his knee during the Ravens' Week 13 matchup vs. Denver, which limited him to 2,242 yards and 17 touchdowns through the air and 764 yards and three touchdowns on the ground for the 2022 season. After publicly requesting a trade out of Baltimore in late March, Jackson and the Ravens later agreed to a five-year, $260 million extension in late April.
DeVante Parker
Position: Wide Receiver
Team: New England Patriots
Years at UofL: 2011-14
Parker had an inconsistent inaugural campaign with the Patriots, but he wound up being one of their most productive pass catchers. He finished second on the team in both total receiving yards and receiving touchdowns behind JaKobi Meyers' 804 yards and six touchdowns, and led New England in yards per reception at 17.4. he inked a three-year extension with the Pats last month.
Sheldon Rankins
Position: Defensive Tackle
Team: Houston Texans
Years at UofL: 2012-15
During his second and final year with the New York Jets, Rankins was a full-time starter for the first time since his third year in the league (2018), but took a small step back in terms of his overall production. He wound up finishing tied for fifth on the Jets in sacks (3.0) and tied for sixth on the team in tackles for loss (4.0). He signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Texans in March.
Trevor Reid
Position: Offensive Tackle
Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Years at UofL: 2020-22
Reid joined Evans and Hudson as former Cardinals to sign as undrafted free agents following April's draft. The Eagles are very deep on the offensive line, but Reid still has a chance to make the roster. In 12 games and 11 starts during the 2022 season, he allowed only three sacks, two quarterback hits and eight quarterbacks hurries.
Russ Yeast
Position: Safety
Team: Los Angeles Rams
Years at UofL: 2017-20
Yeast was a consistent special teams player as a rookie in 2022, but began to crack the Rams' secondary rotation in late November, eventually finishing with 20 tackles and a TFL. He even started in their regular season finale at Seattle, and is working towards potentially being a day one starter in 2023 for L.A.
(Photo of Jaire Alexander: Sam Navarro - USA TODAY Sports)
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