The final roster cuts have been made and we now know who will be in the NFL this season from Purdue. We have some of the usual suspects like Brees, as well as a few surprises:
Ricardo Allen – Atlanta Falcons – A safety now, Allen is a starter for the Falcons and will play a large role in their defensive scheme. Last year he had three interceptions.
Cliff Avril – Seattle Seahawks – Avril is in year nine with the Seahawks and he is still on a nice, big contract. He should be one of their leading pass rush options.
Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – Brees comes into 2016 ranking fourth all-time in passing yards and needs only 458 to pass Dan Marino for third all-time. He also gets four games to add to his roughly 2,000 yard lead on Tom Brady. Brees needs roughly 11,000 yards, or three seasons, to catch Peyton Manning for the most all-time. Brees is also third all-time in touchdown passes with 428 (tied with Brady for now) and needs 111 to catch Manning. Finally, he is third all-time in completions with 5,365, which is 935 behind Brett Favre’s record. Assuming all goes well for him this year he stands an excellent chance of holding all three career records before he retires.
Anthony Brown – Dallas Cowboys – Brown was Purdue’s only draft pick this April and he made the roster thanks to a pick-six in the final preseason game.
Brandon Cottom – Seattle Seahawks – Cottom is in year two, but he is officially on injured reserve to start the year after tearing his Achilles in the first preseason game. Also of an interesting note, Seattle lists him as a tight end.
Gabe Holmes – Oakland Raiders – Holmes was on the practice squad for most of last season and will be on the practice squad again this year for Oakland in year No. 2.
Akeem Hunt – Houston Texans – Hunt was on the active roster last season and had a good preseason, but he was cut from the active roster to start the year. He is still on Houston’s practice squad, however.
Josh Johnson – Jacksonville Jaguars – Johnson had a nice pick-six for the Jags in the preseason and he has parlayed it into a spot on the roster. He was originally an undrafted free agent in 2013, but this is his first time on a regular season roster.
Dennis Kelly – Tennessee Titans – Kelly was part of a training camp trade and he made the titans’ final roster after being with the Eagles for awhile. This is his fifth season.
Ryan Kerrigan – Washington Redskins – Kerrigan heads into year 6 with a big contract and he is the face of the franchise, as he is even featured on the side of the Redskins’ website.
Rob Ninkovich – New England Patriots – Ninkovich enters his 11th season in the NFL as a seasoned veteran and one of the keys on the defensive line for the Patriots. Unfortunately, he is facing a 4-game suspension for PEDs to start.
Kevin Pamphile – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Pamphile is entering his third season as a reserve tackle with Tampa.
Ryan Russell – Dallas Cowboys – Russell was on the active roster last season with Dallas, but he will start this year on the practice squad.
Kawann Short – Carolina Panthers – Short also has a new big contract and is one of the main defenders for the defending NFC champs.