Inside The Huskies

Seven Undrafted Huskies have Free-Agent NFL Deals

Three more UW players snubbed haven't reported any future options.

Dan Raley

Seven Undrafted Huskies have Free-Agent NFL Deals
Seven Undrafted Huskies have Free-Agent NFL Deals /
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The great NFL draft snub just made it a lot tougher, but not impossible, for 10 former University of Washington football players to extend their careers.

By Sunday, seven of those who weren't drafted had come to terms on free-agent deals with teams across the country, foremost offensive guard Jaxson Kirkland.

The Huskies didn't have a player selected for the first time in 14 seasons, and for just the fourth time in 86 NFL drafts.

A three-time, first-team All-Pac-12 selection, the 6-foot-7, 321-pound Kirkland will go camp with the Cincinnati Bengals to show them and the rest of the league they were wrong about him.

It wasn't too long ago that the mock drafts promoted Kirkland as a first-round pick, but an ankle injury, the fact he's an older player after spending six seasons at the UW and concerns over his mobility all contributed to knock him out of the recent 259-player draft.

Edge rusher Jeremiah Martin, another first-team All-Pac-12 selection, likewise will head to Ohio as a free agent, joining the Cleveland Browns.

Safety Alex Cook, a second-team All-Pac-12 choice, will go to the New York Giants as a free agent.

Cornerback Jordan Perryman has agreed to a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Center Corey Luciano will join the San Francisco 49ers in camp.

Inside linebacker Cam Bright will remain in Seattle and receive a free-agent tryout with the Seahawks.

And running back Wayne Taulapapa received an invitation from the New York Jets.

That leaves offensive guard Henry Bainivalu, linebacker Kris Moll and place-kicker Peyton Henry still awaiting pro opportunities or not reporting them yet.

Of the 10 Huskies snubbed, Perryman (UC Davis), Bright (Pittsburgh), Tualapapa (Virginia) and Moll (UAB) each transferred to the UW specifically to improve their draft status.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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