CU Buffs in the NFL: 2022 season edition

PHOTOS: These former Buffs will be suiting up in the NFL this season

The 2022 NFL season will begin on Thursday with the Los Angeles Rams facing the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.

This year, there is a new former CU Buff in the NFL roster after Nate Landman made the roster for the Atlanta Falcons.

Laviska Shenault Jr. got traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Carolina Panthers and should have an increased role, and Mason Crosby and David Bakhtiari are still with the Green Bay Packers.

With opening day right around the corner, let’s look through a few former Colorado Buffaloes players who earned spots on NFL rosters. In total, there are 11 players. It still could be 12, as Phillip Lindsay was signed as a practice squad player for the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday.

 

Nate Landman makes Falcons’ 53-man roster

Nate Landman made the Falcons’ 53-man roster

Some great news came out of Atlanta on Tuesday with former CU Buff Nate Landman making the Atlanta Falcons’ 53-man roster to begin his rookie season in the NFL.

Landman is now one of 10 Falcons linebackers set to be in Atlanta for their season opener against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 11. The Falcons’ defense also features another former Buff, CB Isaiah Oliver, who played with Landman in Boulder in 2017.

During the preseason, Landman played in all three games and totaled at least four tackles in each contest. His best performance came in the Falcons’ preseason finale against the Jaguars. “The Hammer” recorded three solo tackles, a sack and an interception, likely solidifying his spot on the 53-man.

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Chidobe Awuzie and Josh Tupou repping CU Buffs in Super Bowl LVI

Two defensive players and a front office member are repping the Buffs in Super Bowl LVI

If you’re a Buffaloes fan looking for a rooting interest in Sunday’s Super Bowl LVI, consider the Cincinnati Bengals. The Cinderella team of the 2022 playoffs holds two fromer CU Buffs on its roster and another in the front office.

Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who was a member of Colorado’s stellar Pac-12 South winning secondary in 2016, started 14 games for the Bengals this season and another three in the playoffs. After spending his previous four NFL seasons in Dallas, Awuzie will now have a legitimate chance to hoist the Lombardi in his first year with the Bengals.

Josh Tupou also played his final collegiate season with the Buffs in 2016 and was an All Pac-12 honorable mention that year. Now in his fourth season with Cincinnati (he opted out of 2020), the 6-foot-3, 345-pound defensive tackle has recently struggled with knee issues and played only five snaps in the NFC Divisional Round game against Tennessee. He has been practicing in lead-up to the Super Bowl, however.

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Awuzie and Tupou would become the 64th and 65th former CU players, respectively, to play in the Super Bowl.

Another ex-Buff, Duke Tobin, who was a backup QB for Bill McCartney in the early 1990s, is also with the Bengals as their director of player personnel.

Yes, Denver Bronco great Von Miller winning another ring with the LA Rams would be cool, but it’s hard to root against three forever Buffs with Cincinnati.

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