Iowa Football: Hawkeyes in the NFL, Wild Card Weekend

The playoffs are underway. At the start of last weekend there were 17 former Iowa players trying to help their team earn the Vince Lombardi Trophy and pick up a nice ring in the process.

As long as the Houston Texans or Seattle Seahawks don’t win it all, at least one former Hawkeye will be getting that ring!

For the former Hawkeyes not in the playoffs, their final stats and information are at the bottom of the article and as team are eliminated, they will join their friends at the bottom the week after their loss.

Hawkeyes in the Playoffs

QB C.J. Beathard (San Francisco 49ers, 3rd season in the NFL): Beathard and the 49ers own the top seed in the NFC and had a bye this week. They host the Vikings on Saturday afternoon.

OL Ike Boettger (Buffalo Bills, 2nd season): Boettger and the Bills lost in the wild card game to the Texans 22-19 in overtime. Boettger was inactive for the game.

OL Bryan Bulaga (Green Bay Packers, 10th season): Bulaga and the Packers have the second seed in the NFC playoffs and will host Seattle on Sunday night. POTW = 1.

WR Nick Easley (Buffalo Bills, 1st season): Easley is on the Buffalo practice squad.

C James Ferentz (New England Patriots, 4th season): Ferentz and the Patriots were upset by Tennessee 20-13 in New England on Saturday night to end their season. Ferentz only played in three plays for the special teams. POTW = 1.

TE Parker Hesse (Tennessee Titans, 1st season): Hesse is on the Titans practice squad.

LB Anthony Hitchens (Kansas City Chiefs, 6th season): Hitchens and the Chiefs have the second seed in the AFC and will host Houston on Sunday afternoon. POTW honors = 1.

S Amani Hooker (Tennessee Titans, 1st season): Hooker and the Titans knocked off the defending champion Patriots on Saturday night to advance in the playoffs. The Titans will travel to Baltimore to play the top-seeded Ravens on Saturday night. Hooker had one tackle in the victory.

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S Micah Hyde (Buffalo Bills, 7th season): Hyde and the Bills lost in the wild card game to the Texans 22-19 in overtime to end their season. Hyde had five tackles in the loss. POTW honors =2.

CB Josh Jackson (Green Bay Packers, 2nd season): Jackson and the Packers had a bye. They will host Seattle on Sunday night.

DT Jaleel Johnson (Minnesota Vikings, 3rd season): Johnson and the Vikings upset the Saints 26-20 in overtime. Minnesota moves on to play at San Francisco on Saturday afternoon. Johnson had one tackle for loss in the victory. POTW honors = 1.

TE George Kittle (San Francisco 49ers, 3rd season): Kittle and the 49ers own the top seed in the NFC and had a bye this week. They host the Vikings on Saturday afternoon. POTW honors = 4.

LB Ben Niemann (Kansas City Chiefs, 2nd season): Niemann and the Chiefs have the second seed in the AFC and will host Houston on Sunday afternoon. POTW honors = 1.

OL Riley Reiff (Minnesota Vikings, 8th season): Reiff and the Vikings went to New Orleans and upset the Saints 26-20 in overtime. Minnesota moves on to play at San Francisco on Saturday afternoon.

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OL Keegan Render (Philadelphia Eagles, 1st season): Render is on the practice squad for Philadelphia.

OL Ross Reynolds (San Francisco 49ers, 1st season): Reynolds is on the San Francisco practice squad.

OL Marshal Yanda (Baltimore Ravens, 13th season): Yanda and the Ravens had a bye this week and will host the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night. POTW honors = 1.

Final Stats for Eliminated Hawkeyes

OL Austin Blythe (Los Angeles Rams, 4th season): Blythe and the Rams finished their season at 9-7 as they defeated Arizona 31-24. With a high payroll and no first round pick in 2020, the Rams will have to be creative to keep up with San Francisco and Seattle. Blythe played and started in 15 games on the season while drawing just three penalties on the year. Blythe is a free agent for 2020.

RB James Butler (Oakland Raiders, 2nd season): Butler was on the Raiders practice squad in 2019.

DE Adrian Clayborn (Atlanta Falcons, 9th season): Clayborn and the Falcons finished 7-9 on the season. Clayborn played in 15 games recording 18 tackles which included four sacks. He also forced two fumbles. Clayborn is a free agent for 2020.

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DT Mike Daniels (Detroit Lions, 8th season): Daniels and the Lions finished 3-12-1 on the season. Daniels was put on the IR on December 16 and was only able to play in nine games for the Lions. His ten tackles and one sack were probably not what the Lions had in mind when they gave him an $8 million contract. Daniels is a free agent for 2020.

C James Daniels (Chicago Bears, 2nd season): Daniels and the Bears finished the season at 8-8. Daniels played and started in all 16 games for the Bears as he played both center and guard. Daniels was called for four holding penalties on the season. There are still two years left on his rookie contract.

DT Carl Davis (Jacksonville Jaguars, 5th season): Davis and the Jaguars ended the season at 6-10. Davis played in two games for Jacksonville getting one tackle. He also played one game in his time with Indianapolis. Davis is a free agent for 2020.

TE Noah Fant (Denver Broncos, 1st season): Fant and the Broncos finished the season at 7-9. Fant played in all 16 games for Denver and ended the season with 40 catches for 562 yards and three touchdowns. Fant was the number 20 pick in the 2019 draft and has three years remaining on his rookie contract. POTW =2.

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S Jake Gervase (Los Angeles Rams, 1st season): Gervase and the Rams finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs. Gervase only saw action in two games this season and didn’t record any stats. Gervase signed a two year contract in 2019 so he has one year remaining.

TE T.J. Hockenson (Detroit Lions, 1st season): Hockenson and the Lions finished 3-12-1 on the season. After suffering a significant ankle injury, Hockenson was only able to play in 12 games but during his short time was able to catch 32 balls for 367 yards and two touchdowns. The eighth overall pick in 2019 still has three years left on his rookie deal. POTW honors = 1.

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LB Josey Jewell (Denver Broncos, 2nd season): Jewell and the Broncos finished the season at 7-9. Jewell dealt with some injuries over the season but still managed to play in 15 games for Denver. He recorded 38 tackles and 1.5 sacks for the year. Jewell still has two years remaining on his rookie contract. POTW honors = 1.

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CB Desmond King (Los Angeles Chargers, 3rd season): King and the Chargers finished their season at a disappointing 5-11 and will have the sixth pick in the upcoming draft. On the season King played in 15 games and had 50 tackles including 2.5 sacks. King also was featured in the return game and he returned 16 kicks for 331 yards and 21 punts for 118 yards and a touchdown. King will be entering the final year of his four year rookie contract in 2020. POTW honors = 1.

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LB Christian Kirksey (Cleveland Browns, 6th season): Kirksey and the Browns finished their year with an under-performing record of 6-10. Kirksey was hurt early in the season and only managed to play in two games for the Browns. On the season he recorded 11 tackles and he has two years remaining on his contract though he potentially could be a salary cap casualty.

LS Casey Kreiter (Denver Broncos, 4th season): Kreiter and the Broncos finished the season at 7-9. For those keeping track at home, Kreiter snapped the ball 146 times for the special teams unit, down two snaps from 2018. Kreiter is a free agent for 2020 but I imagine he will be re-signed by Denver.

DB Greg Mabin (Cincinnati Bengals, 3rd season): Mabin and the Bengals won their last game of the year against Cleveland and still finished with a record of just 2-14. They own the top pick in the draft and are expected to take LSU qb Joe Burrow. Mabin was only active for nine games in 2019 and most of his time was spent on special teams. For the season he had just one tackle and one pass deflection. Mabin is a free agent for 2020.

OL Matt Nelson (Detroit Lions, 1st season): Nelson was on the practice squad for Detroit.

LB Anthony Nelson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1st season): Nelson and the Buccaneers finished their season at 7-9. The rookie battled injuries and only managed to see action in nine games. During that time he totaled eight tackles, one pass deflection, and a forced fumble. Nelson has three years left on his rookie deal.

OL Brandon Scherff (Washington Redskins, 5th season): Scherff and the Redskins finished their season at 3-13. Scherff only was able to play in 11 games due to injury but managed to be named to the Pro Bowl for his efforts. Scherff is a free agent and should be looking for a big payday in 2020.

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