Iowa Hawkeyes in the NFL: Preseason Roundup

The 2018 NFL regular season kicks off this Thursday, and teams spent the weekend finalizing their 53-man rosters accordingly. Twenty-six Hawkeyes are on rosters to begin the season, including four in San Francisco, and three each in Kansas City and Green Bay, respectively.

Let’s catch up with where they are.

Marshal Yanda, Baltimore Ravens
The six-time Pro Bowler will look to put together his first 16-game season since 2015 after only playing in two last year after suffering a broken ankle.

Adrian Clayborn, New England Patriots
Clayborn opens the season as one of New England’s starting defense ends after inking a two-year deal with his third NFL team. The eighth-year pro made waves with a Falcons record six sacks against Dallas en route to a career-high total of 9.5 last season.

Mike Daniels, Green Bay Packers
Daniels returns as a starter at defensive end for Green Bay’s 3-4 scheme. A first-time Pro Bowler in 2017, Daniels has started all but two games for the Packers over the last four seasons.

Bryan Bulaga, Green Bay Packers
Bulaga figures to be ready at right tackle for Week 1 after getting his only preseason action Thursday at Kansas City. Bulaga is coming back from an ACL tear suffered last November.

James Daniels, Chicago Bears
Daniels doesn’t appear to have cracked Chicago’s starting offensive line after playing every snap in the Bears’ preseason finale on Thursday. But after being the 39th overall pick, the 20-year-old figures to be in Chicago’s plans sooner rather than later.

Desmond King, Los Angeles Chargers
King returns as Los Angeles’s nickel corner — basically a starting job in today’s NFL — after a strong rookie campaign in which he tallied 76 tackles, including four sacks, and an interception.

Christian Kirksey, Cleveland Browns
Kirksey is one of few veterans on defense for a Browns squad that continues to draw attention from many with a potentially explosive offense and HBO’s Hard Knocks. Kirksey started every game each of the last two years and posted a team-best 86 tackles in 2017.

Brandon Scherff, Washington Redskins
Scherff will start at right guard again and signing him to a long-term deal figures to be a priority for Washington after back-to-back Pro Bowls.

Josh Jackson, Green Bay Packers
Jackson is listed as the No. 3 at one of Green Bay’s corner positions, but could be difficult to keep off the field after a sensational preseason. Pro Football Focus named Jackson to their All-Preseason team, and Peter King predicts he’ll win Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Riley Reiff, Minnesota Vikings
Reiff is listed as the starting left tackle for Minnesota, meaning he’ll have the all-important task of protecting Kirk Cousins, the Vikings’ new $84 million dollar man under center.

Micah Hyde, Buffalo Bills
A first-time Pro Bowler in his inaugural campaign in Buffalo, Hyde will look to build off a 2017 in which he recorded a career-high five interceptions. Hyde will start at strong safety.

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Kittle was a full participant in Monday’s practice after being on the mend from a separated shoulder in early August. Kittle figures to be the Niners’ No. 1 tight end when healthy.

CJ Beathard, San Francisco 49ers
The window closed on the starting job for Beathard in the Bay Area after the 49ers signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a monster deal, though he’s entrenched as the backup.

Anthony Hitchens, Kansas City Chiefs
Hitchens will start at inside linebacker for his new team, who paid him $45 million in the offseason.

Josey Jewell, Denver Broncos
Jewell is listed as a backup linebacker but may not stick there for long after a strong preseason. The rookie linebacker has already made an impression inside the organization as well, earning praise last month from All-Pro Von Miller.

Austin Blythe, Los Angeles Rams
Blythe has a big opportunity as he’s slotted to start the first two games at right guard for the Chargers due to Jamon Brown’s suspension.

Carl Davis, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland claimed Davis on waivers Sunday from the Ravens, for whom he started nine games in 2017.

Jaleel Johnson, Minnesota Vikings
Johnson is slated to spell Linval Joseph and Sheldon Richardson at defensive tackle and could start in the event of attrition for either.

Casey Kreiter, Denver Broncos
Kreiter returns for his third season as Denver’s long snapper, which means the less you hear of him, the better he’s doing.

Adam Gettis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Gettis made two preseason starts along the offensive line for the Bucs on his way to securing a roster spot.

Andrew Donnal, Detroit Lions
Donnal was cut by Baltimore on Saturday before getting a shot with the Lions.

Greg Mabin, San Francisco 49ers
Mabin managed to stick on the roster with the Niners, for whom he appeared in six games last year.

Ben Niemann, Kansas City Chiefs
The older brother of current Iowa linebacker Nick Niemann, Ben secured one of the Chiefs’ final roster spots after his tape impressed Chiefs GM Brett Beach.

Ike Boettger, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City claimed the undrafted rookie lineman on waivers from Buffalo.

Matt Tobin, San Francisco 49ers
Disaster for Jerick McKinnon spelled another chance for Tobin, who San Francisco signed Monday after moving McKinnon to injured reserve. Tobin had just been cut Saturday by New England.

Tevaun Smith, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars placed Smith on injured reserve with an undisclosed ailment back in June after he cleared waivers.

Additionally, New England signed three ex-Hawks — James Ferentz, Riley McCarron, and Cole Croston — to its practice squad. The Rams added Henry Krieger-Coble to theirs.

Iowa players who were cut during final roster trimmings included Akrum Wadley (Tennessee), Leshun Daniels (Green Bay), Nathan Bazata (Tampa Bay), Marshall Koehn (New York Giants), and James Butler (Oakland).