Josh Allen Honored, Two Former Wildcats Sign Future Contracts

The NFL season has come to an end, but things are still looking up for some former Kentucky football players.

Josh Allen closed out the NFL regular season with heroics in the AFC South title bout between Jacksonville and Tennessee. Kentucky’s College Defensive Player of the Year in 2018 did what we saw him do so many times in Lexington, rise to the occasion in crunch time. Trailing 16-13 with less than three minutes remaining, he picked up a loose fumble and returned it 37 yards for the Jaguars’ go-ahead touchdown.

Not only did he get the big score, he also stripped Joshua Dobbs one possession later to help seal the victory and send the Jaguars to the playoffs. Allen also had six tackles and a tackle for loss to earn AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Jacksonville will host the Chargers Saturday night at 8:15 pm EST on NBC.

The @Jaguars take the lead! #DUUUVAL

📺: #TENvsJAX on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/7G4GCGiaVR pic.twitter.com/9veHZEkNth

— NFL (@NFL) January 8, 2023

Two Cats Sign NFL Future Contracts

A couple of former Wildcats will still have jobs in the NFL when franchises resume practices this spring. DB Quandre Mosely will return to the New England Patriots and WR Josh Ali will be back with the Atlanta Falcons after each player signed future/reserve contracts. Each year practice squads are dissolved at the end of seasons. These contracts give clubs the right to bring back valuable practice squad players that could crack the 53-man roster at the conclusion of the following year’s training camp.

Each player went undrafted in 2022. Mosely was initially signed by Dallas and spent time with Tampa Bay and Seattle before landing with New England for the final month of the season. There he teamed up with another former Wildcat on the practice squad, Lynn Bowden. A car wreck derailed Ali’s chances at getting drafted. The wide receiver recovered, was signed by the Falcons and activated for the final two weeks of the regular season.