Tag: NFL Buffs

Atlanta Falcons re-sign former Buff Nate Landman

Nate Landman is locked in with the Atlanta Falcons for another season

On Wednesday, the Atlanta Falcons announced they’ve re-signed former Colorado Buffaloes football star Nate Landman to another one-year deal through the 2024 season.

The linebacker out of CU went undrafted in 2022 before being picked up by the Falcons. He appeared in seven games as a rookie in 2022 — mostly on special teams — before signing a one-year deal with Atlanta for the 2023 season.

In his second NFL season last fall, Landman stepped up in place of injury, starting 14 games at linebacker while racking up 110 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, two pass deflections, two sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception. He was third on the team in total tackles, fourth in TFLs and was tied for first in forced fumbles.

Landman became the first CU player to earn all-conference honors four times (two first-team, two second-team) and his 409 career tackles are tied for fifth-most in program history. Additionally, he led the Buffs in tackles in three different seasons.

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Colorado WR Xavier Weaver invited to NFL Scouting Combine

Xavier Weaver has been invited to the NFL Scouting Combine

Fresh off his lone season with the Colorado Buffaloes, wide receiver Xavier Weaver has been invited to the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. Assuming he accepts the invite, Weaver will head to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the combine, which is set for Feb. 26-March 4.

The former South Florida standout is currently the only CU player who has received an invite.

This past fall, Weaver quickly became one of quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ favorite targets. In 11 games played, he led the Buffs with 68 catches and 908 receiving yards while finding the end zone four times.

Check out the best pictures from Weaver’s 2023 season:

Every former CU Buffs player to win a Super Bowl

How many Super Bowl-winning Buffs can you name?

Very few who’ve ever played the game of football know what it’s like to win a Super Bowl. For most college players, it may not be at the forefront of their minds, but securing the Lombardi Trophy remains the sport’s crowning team achievement.

As you’ll see below, the Colorado Buffaloes are in a bit of a drought when it comes to former players winning the NFL’s biggest game. Regardless, the history is rich and many legendary Buffs have contributed to championship-winning teams.

Not including former CU players who’ve won as coaches, below is a list of every former Buff to win a Super Bowl (h/t CUBuffs.com):

Nate Landman enjoying huge second season in Atlanta

All-time great Colorado linebacker Nate Landman is putting up huge numbers in his second NFL season

The list of former Colorado football players in the NFL isn’t a big one, but Mason Crosby is making some headlines this month after joining the New York Giants.

But, one of the newest NFL Buffs is linebacker Nate Landman, who went undrafted out of CU before signing a free-agent deal with the Atlanta Falcons.

With his second season in the NFL approaching its end, Langman has appeared in 14 games so far and done incredibly well. Entering Week 17, Landman has 94 total tackles (56 solo) and a pair of sacks to go with an interception. He also has a pair of forced fumbles on top of that.

His interception came last month against Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.

Landman earned plenty of Pro Bowl buzz and has a decent chance of finding his way onto the roster, which would be a massive accomplishment for the undrafted linebacker.

On Dec. 20, the Falcons posted that Landman had received the second-most Pro Bowl votes at inside linebacker for the NFC.

The Falcons finish their season with road games against the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints.

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Former CU Buffs kicker Mason Crosby crushes 52-yard field goal in New York Giants debut

Former Buff Mason Crosby proved that there’s still plenty left in his 39-year-old right leg

There’s still plenty of juice left in Mason Crosby’s 39-year-old right leg.

Only three days after signing, Crosby debuted with the New York Giants during their Christmas Day game and drilled a 52-yarder in his first field goal attempt. The former Colorado kicker also made both of his extra-point opportunities in the Giants’ 33-25 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Crosby, who spent the previous 16 years with the Green Bay Packers, wore No. 21 for the Giants, a jersey number that has recently taken on some meaning for Colorado fans with Deion Sanders now in Boulder.

If Crosby desires to play another year in the NFL, his impressive debut with the Giants should certainly help him land somewhere before next fall.

At Colorado, Crosby was a two-time First-Team All-American and left Boulder as the school’s all-time scoring leader (307 points).

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Seahawks add former Buffs TE Brady Russell to active roster

Former #cubuffs tight end Brady Russell is headed to Seattle

The Colorado Buffaloes don’t have too many alumni currently in the NFL, although that will change soon with the talent that is playing in Boulder now.

However, former Buffs tight end Brady Russell, who was a part of last year’s 1-11 team, signed with the Seattle Seahawks on Monday and is joining their active roster.

Russell was previously on the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad.

The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar reported that Russell has made it to Seattle and is wearing No. 38, the same number he wore with the Buffs.

The former Buffs tight end went undrafted out of college but signed an UDFA deal with the Eagles and played well in the preseason, even scoring a touchdown during one of the contests before being sent to the practice squad.

Now, he will try and make some noise with the Seahawks under former USC Trojans head coach Pete Carroll. The Seahawks host the Carolina Panthers in Week 3.

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Carson Wells signs NFL contract with New England Patriots

Carson Wells signed an NFL contract with the Patriots

After spending the spring in the XFL, former Colorado linebacker Carson Wells is getting another chance to prove himself in the NFL.

The New England Patriots announced on Tuesday that they signed Wells, who had a free agent tryout with his new team over the summer.

In his lone XFL season with the St. Louis Battlehawaks, Wells started in eight games, recording 45 tackles and 3.5 sacks. The Florida native was previously with the Cincinnati Bengals before getting waived last August.

At Colorado, Wells played in 40 career games over four full seasons and was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection in 2021.

The Patriots’ second preseason game comes Saturday at Green Bay.

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Former Buff Mason Crosby staying ready for next NFL opportunity

Former #cubuffs kicker Mason Crosby is staying sharp as he awaits his next NFL opportunity

Former Colorado Buffaloes football star Mason Crosby has been one of the best kickers in the NFL for quite some time. However, the 38-year-old is a free agent after the Green Bay Packers decided to move on, and now he is waiting patiently for his next opportunity.

In 2022, Crosby went 25-for-29 on field goal attempts with a long of 56 yards and was 37-for-39 on extra points, so there is still plenty left in the tank for the veteran.

Crosby is doing whatever it takes and has posted a few clips on social media of him kicking field goals, including a new one of him kicking off a boat on his Instagram (h/t Christopher Kuhagen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Here’s the video of Crosby taking a different approach to marketing himself, although he clearly shows he can be a serviceable kicker in the NFL.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvD3jvuN78h/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=e20d3078-5ef3-46f3-95be-32f08762fb92

This isn’t the only time Crosby has done something similar to this, and he wrote earlier this summer on Instagram, “Last season was a battle, working hard the whole time trying to regain leg strength after a late summer surgery.”

It’s a different feeling for Crosby being a free agent, but there should be a suitor out on the market for him at some point.

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REPORT: Former Buff Ahkello Witherspoon inks deal with LA Rams

Former Buff Ahkello Witherspoon is reportedly signing with the LA Rams

As first reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz of theScore.com, former Colorado cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon is signing with the Los Angeles Rams.

Witherspoon, a 2017 third-round draft pick of the 49ers, spent the first four seasons of his professional career in San Francisco and the past two with the Pittsburgh Steelers before being released in May. While injuries have been an issue for him in recent years, Witherspoon joins his newest team with the opportunity to start in an otherwise young Rams secondary.

The veteran CB owns eight interceptions and 35 passes defended in 60 games played throughout his NFL career. Only 13 of those games came with the Steelers, however.

At Colorado, Witherspoon was a key member of the Buffs’ 2016 secondary that helped bring the program its lone Pac-12 Championship Game appearance.

The exact details of Witherspoon’s new contract have yet to be announced.

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Former Buff Christian Gonzalez turning heads during first summer with Patriots

Forever Buff and first-round pick Christian Gonzalez is turning heads during his first summer with the Patriots

Although he transferred out of Boulder for his final college football season, Christian Gonzalez remains a forever Buff who Colorado fans should be rooting for as he begins his NFL career.

The two-year CU cornerback improved his draft stock last fall at Oregon and was selected 17th overall by the New England Patriots in April. He’s now navigating his first NFL OTAs and rookie minicamp this summer.

According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated’s MMQB, Gonzalez is living up to his first-round hype and was the Patriots’ “best corner during OTAs and minicamp.”

If Gonzalez can continue to impress this preseason, the rookie could very well crack a spot in the Patriots’ starting lineup come Week 1.

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