Penn State in the NFL: Which Lions are left in the Playoffs, and how did the rest do in 2023?

Penn State was well-represented in the NFL during the 2023 season. Thus, it should go without saying that many Nittany Lions are still playing in the postseason, too. The list of alumni still vying for a Super Bowl title dwindled after Wild Card weekend. But, a fair number will be in action this Saturday and Sunday. Below, you can see a list of who plays when and also a recap of how each onetime Lion performed during the season to date. The Lions’ 13 still-active players in the postseason are the third-most in the country behind Georgia and Iowa (14) and Florida (15).

Saturday Divisional Round Penn State participants

4:30 p.m (ESPN): Safety Adrian Amos, center Juice Scruggs, and the Houston Texans at defensive end Odafe Oweh, punter Jordan Stout, and the Baltimore Ravens.

8:15 p.m. (FOX): Quarterback Sean Clifford, tackle Rasheed Walker, and the Green Bay Packers at defensive tackle Kevin Givens, safety Ji’Ayir Brown, and the San Francisco 49ers.

Saturday Divisional Round Penn State participants

3:30 p.m. (FOX): Receiver Chris Godwin and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at fullback Jason Cabinda and the Detroit Lions.

6:30 p.m. (CBS): Tackle Donovan Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs at guard Connor McGovern, guard Ryan Bates, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, and the Buffalo Bills.

BWI’s Matt Herb compiled a breakdown of each Penn State player in the NFL after the regular season below.

How Penn State alums performed in the NFL on offense

Saquon Barkley (2015-17), RB, New York Giants: Barkley’s future in New York is unclear. He rushed for 962 yards and 6 touchdowns, while also catching 41 passes for 280 yards and another 4 scores. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in March, but the Giants haven’t ruled out using the franchise tag on Barkley for the second year in a row. 

Ryan Bates (2015-19), G/C, Buffalo Bills: Bates, who joined the Bills in 2019, had a special teams role in every game this year prior to publication. In addition to those 79 snaps, he also had 35 on special teams, all at center. He and the Bills advanced in the playoffs after knocking out the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 in the Wild Card Round. 

Nick Bowers (2015-19), TE, Miami Dolphins: Bowers was signed to the Dolphins’ practice squad in August and did not see game action this season.

Jason Cabinda (2014-17), FB, Detroit Lions: Cabinda played in only four games during the regular season, making 4 special teams tackles. He was waived in December and later re-signed to the practice squad.

Tariq Castro-Fields (2017-21), CB, Washington Commanders: Castro-Fields made his first career start in Week 17 against San Francisco, making 3 tackles before leaving the game with a shoulder injury. For the season, he played in eight games and made 4 stops.

Dan Chisena (2015-19), WR, Arizona Cardinals: Chisena appeared in four games after being signed by Arizona in November and finished with 2 tackles.

Sean Clifford (2017-22), QB, Green Bay Packers: Clifford attempted his first career pass in Week 17 against Minnesota, hitting receiver Bo Melton for a 37-yard gain. He played in two regular-season games and briefly saw action in the Packers’ 48-32 upset of Dallas in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.

Jahan Dotson (2019-2021), WR, Washington Commanders: Dotson finished as Washington’s third-leading receiver with 49 catches for 518 yards. He tied for the team lead with 4 touchdown receptions.

Pat Freiermuth (2018-20), TE, Pittsburgh Steelers: Freiermuth had five catches for 76 yards in the Steelers’ 31-17 Wild Card Round loss to Buffalo. Both were team highs. He finishes the 2023 season with 32 receptions for 308 yards and two touchdowns after earning a total of nine starts. 

Will Fries (2016-20), OL, Indianapolis Colts: Fries had the second-most snaps (1,125) of any Colts offensive lineman, earning an overall blocking grade of 65.4 from PFF. 

Mike Gesicki (2014-17), TE, New England Patriots: Gesicki played in all 17 games and made 10 starts, completing his first season in New England with 29 catches for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was his least-productive season since he was a rookie in 2018. Gesicki is a free agent, and it is unclear whether he will return to the Patriots for Year 1 of the Jerod Mayo coaching era.

Chris Godwin (2014-16), WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Godwin caught the game-icing touchdown, a 24-yard lob from Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield, in the Bucs’ 32-9 Wild Card Round demolition of the Philadelphia Eagles. Godwin finished with four catches for 45 yards after having 83 catches for 1,024 yards and two scores in the regular season. 

KJ Hamler (2018-19), WR, Indianapolis Colts: Signed to the Colts’ practice squad in late September, Hamler did not see any game action in 2023.

Connor McGovern (2016-18), G, Buffalo Bills: McGovern started every game so far this season for Buffalo at guard. He was the team’s best pass blocker during the regular season, per Pro Football Focus.  

Trace McSorley (2014-18), QB, Pittsburgh Steelers: After signing him to their practice squad in December following an injury to starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, the Steelers cut McSorley on Jan. 9. 

Allen Robinson II (2011-2013), WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: Robinson had a limited role in the Steelers’ 31-17 Wild Card Round loss to Buffalo. He caught two passes for 12 yards after hauling in 34 for 280 yards during the 2023 regular season. 

Miles Sanders (2016-18), RB, Carolina Panthers: Sanders carried 129 times for 432 yards (3.3 yards per carry) and scored 1 touchdown for a Panthers team that averaged a league-worst 265.3 yards per game and finished 2-15. 

Juice Scruggs (2018-22), IOL, Houston Texans: Following a hamstring injury that delayed his NFL debut, Scruggs has been starting at left guard for the Texans. He was their best blocker in the first round of the playoffs, earning a 78.7 grade from Pro Football Focus for his performance against Cleveland. 

Donovan Smith (2011-14), OT, Kansas City Chiefs: Smith has been a fixture at left tackle for the Chiefs. His 73.7 blocking grade from PFF was the team’s third-best in its 26-7 win over Miami in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.

Chris Stoll (2017-22), LS, Seattle Seahawks: Stoll played in all 17 games as the Seahawks’ long snapper.  

Brenton Strange (2019-22), TE, Jacksonville Jaguars: Strange played in 14 games and had 5 catches for 35 yards and 1 touchdown. 

Mitchell Tinsley (2022), WR, Washington Commanders: Tinsley played in only one game and did not catch a pass during the 2023 season.

Rasheed Walker (2018-21), OT, Green Bay Packers: Walker has been a pleasant surprise for the Packers. A second-year pro, he’s been the team’s starting left tackle for much of the year and compiled a 74.1 pass-blocking grade from PFF during the regular season.

Parker Washington (2020-22), WR, Jacksonville Jaguars: Despite missing time with a knee injury, Washington flashed potential both on offense and special teams. In nine games, he caught 16 passes for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns while also averaging 10.5 yards on 12 punt returns.

How Nittany Lion alums performed in the NFL on defense

Adrian Amos (Played at Penn State from 2011-14), S, Houston Texans: Amos had 23 tackles in 11 games before being released by the Jets on Dec. 2. He was picked up by Houston three days later and has played in four games since, finishing with 1 tackle in the Texans’ 45-14 victory over Cleveland in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.

Jaquan Brisker (2019-21), S, Chicago Bears: Despite missing two games while in the concussion protocol, Brisker finished third on the Bears with 105 tackles. He also had an interception and 2 forced fumbles.

Cam Brown (2016-19), LB, New York Giants: Primarily a special teams contributor, Brown played in 16 games and totaled 8 tackles. 

Ji’Ayir Brown (2020-22), S, San Francisco 49ers: Brown took over the 49ers’ starting free safety position when Talanoa Hufanga got hurt, but then he got hurt himself, suffering a knee sprain against Baltimore in Week 16. Brown finished the regular season with 35 tackles and 2 interceptions in 15 games.

Arnold Ebiketie (2021), DE, Atlanta Falcons: Ebiketie ranked third on the Falcons with 6 sacks. He played in all 17 games and totaled 25 tackles.

Blake Gillikin (2016-19), P, Arizona Cardinals: Signed by the Cardinals in October, Gillikin made 13 game appearances and averaged 50.6 yards on 51 punts

Kevin Givens (2016-18), DT, San Francisco 49ers: A backup defensive tackle for the top-seeded team in the NFC Playoffs, Givens finished the regular season with 23 tackles including 1.5 sacks.

Yetur Gross-Matos (2017-19), DE, Carolina Panthers: Gross-Matos missed time with a hamstring injury. He played in only 12 games but still finished third on the team with 4.5 sacks. 

Austin Johnson (2012-15), DT, Los Angeles Chargers: A starter at nose tackle, Johnson played in 17 games and totaled 46 stops for the Chargers

DaQuan Jones (2010-13), DL, Buffalo Bills: Jones assisted on two tackles in the Bills’ 31-17 Wild Card Round win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. During the regular season, the defensive tackle had 2.5 sacks, 16 tackles, and five quarterback hits over seven games.

Jesse Luketa (2018-21), LB, Arizona Cardinals: Luketa appeared in 14 games and made 11 tackles, including 1 for loss. 

PJ Mustipher (2018-22), DT, New Orleans Saints: After starting out on Denver’s practice squad, Mustipher was signed to the Saints’ active roster on Dec. 6. The rookie defensive tackle played in four games and made 4 tackles.

Amani Oruwariye (2014-18), CB, Jacksonville Jaguars: Oruwariye joined the Jaguars’ practice squad in October but did not see any game action in 2023.

Odafe Oweh (2018-20), DE, Baltimore Ravens: Despite being slowed by an early-season ankle injury that forced him to miss four games, Oweh totaled 5 sacks to rank third on the Ravens heading into the AFC Playoffs. 

Micah Parsons (2018-19), LB, Dallas Cowboys: Parsons was the lone Penn State alum named to the Pro Bowl, and he’ll have ample time to prepare after the Cowboys’ stunning elimination in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. He finished the regular season with 14 sacks (tied for seventh in the league) and 18 tackles for loss (sixth). He was held to 2 tackles in Dallas’ season-ending loss to Green Bay.

Brandon Smith (2019-21), LB, Philadelphia Eagles: After starting out his NFL career with Carolina, Smith joined the Eagles’ practice squad in October. He was elevated for the team’s regular-season finale against the New York Giants and had one tackle but was demoted again before the Wild Card Round loss to Tampa Bay.

Nick Scott (2014-18), S, Cincinnati Bengals: Scott ranked seventh on the Bengals’ defense with 57 tackles. 

Jordan Stout (2019-21), P, Baltimore Ravens: Stout averaged 47.8 yards on 66 punts during the regular season, helping the Ravens claim the top seed in the AFC Playoffs.

Jonathan Sutherland (2017-22), S, Seattle Seahawks: Sutherland was signed to the Seahawks’ practice squad on Oct. 31. He did not see any game action in 2023.