According to ESPN, there are currently 38 former Hawkeyes on NFL rosters. Many of them will not make it out of training camp, others are destined for the practice squad, some will make the team and you probably won’t even know it.
Here are some of the miscellaneous veterans and where they stand right now; some of them may bring you back to brighter times of Iowa football.
James Morris, LB, New England Patriots
Injuries may have kept Morris off the 53-man roster last season — tearing his ACL in the Patriot’s final preseason game after signing with them undrafted out of Iowa. The Pats placed him on injured reserve for the 2014 season.
Linebacker Jarrod Mayo has been hampered by injuries over the last two seasons, and fellow starters Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower also missed games with injuries in 2014.
This gives Morris value as a reserve, but only if he can stay healthy in training camp.
Colin Cole, DT, Carolina Panthers
Cole is an aging rotational defensive lineman at this stage in his career. The 34-year-old signed a one-year deal in the off-season to stay with one of the better defenses in the league — which might say something about his value.
Last season, he appeared in all 16 games, logging 420 snaps and recording 28 tackles.
Conor Boffeli, G, Chicago Bears
The Bears don’t have the best offensive line, but Boffeli is still a long shot to make the 53-man roster. Last season, he spent time on the team’s practice squad, and that’s most likely where he’ll end up by the start of the season.
James Ferentz, C, Houston Texans
Another practice squad candidate.
Adam Gettis, G, New York Giants
Gettis appeared in/dressed for 13 games with Washington in 2013, but he never did so in 2012 or 2014, and he has never started a game.
Karl Klug, DE, Tennesse Titans
The Titans resigned Klug in the off-season, but he may not be out of the woods just yet. Undersized for a pass-rusher, Klug has 14.5 sacks in his four years in the NFL.
He is seen as a high-energy and versatile role player but not an ideal starter, and the Titans could opt for a younger, cheaper option if one emerges in training camp.
Casey Kreiter, LS, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas signed Kreiter likely to spell L.P. Ladouceur — an 11-year veteran who made the Pro Bowl last season.
Kreiter missed the 75-man roster cuts for the Cowboys in August 2014, and the team is likely just paying him to aid special-teams practice for the upcoming season.
Mike Meyer, K, Tennessee Titans
Meyer gives the Titans a guy to keep Ryan Succop on his toes in camp. There’s no real competition here; the job belongs to Succop.
Shaun Prater, DB, Minnesota Vikings
Prater has to be expendable at this point. In three years, he’s recorded just 11 tackles and 1 interception with the Eagles and Vikings.
If he makes the team, it will be because he proves himself an asset on special teams.
Jeff Tarpinian, LB, Houston Texans
The fifth-year veteran appeared in a career-high 14 games last year, recording 13 tackles and forcing 2 fumbles as primarily a special-teams player.