Inside The Huskies

Westover Finds New NFL Home, Joins Patriots' Practice Squad

The former UW tight end previously was cut by his hometown Seahawks.

Dan Raley

UW tight end Jack Westover is tackled by Michigan linebacker Ernest Hausmann in the 2024 CFP title game.
UW tight end Jack Westover is tackled by Michigan linebacker Ernest Hausmann in the 2024 CFP title game. / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

If his past football journey is any indication, Jack Westover surely will find a way to make a full-fledged NFL career happen in a lasting fashion.

For now, the former University of Washington tight end on Wednesday has joined the 16-man practice squad for the New England Patriots, coming to a franchise that already employs a former Husky teammate in wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk.

Westover spent the summer as an undrafted free agent with his hometown Seattle Seahawks before getting released during final roster cuts after his efforts were complicated by a nagging hamstring injury.

He currently is one of 41 former Huskies on NFL practice, injury or active squads, according to the following list compiled by the UW.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Westover came to the UW as a non-scholarship player and played five seasons, eventually rewarded with financial assistance after he was used in every game as a redshirt freshman in 2019.

He appeared in 52 career games and started 15, catching 87 passes for 849 yards and 6 touchdowns. He was so versatile, he also rushed seven times for 26 yards and a score.

Described as "wildly athletic" by Ryan Grubb, his UW offensive coordinator now in that role with the Seahawks, Westover finished with a 46-catch, 433-yard, 4-TD senior season for the 14-1 Huskies, who reached the CFP national championship game.

Prior to the Huskies, he was injured and played in just two football games for Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie, Washington, which greatly limited his recruiting opportunities, but that didn't deter him from becoming a UW walk-on player later with a scholarship and a starting role.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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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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