You can find Wisconsin Badgers players all over the NFL, each with varying degrees of success. Here’s a look at how each former Wisconsin player fared in the 2022 regular season.
Zack Baun, LB, New Orleans Saints
Baun saw his playing time dip in Year 3, from 194 defensive snaps in 17 games in 2021 to just 83 snaps in 13 games this season. He saw most of those in Week 10 (28 vs. Pittsburgh) and Week 12 (32 at San Francisco), the latter being his lone start after starter Pete Werner was hurt. Baun was injured himself in Week 13 vs. Tampa Bay and was placed on injured reserve. He finished with 16 tackles, two quarterback hits and one tackle for loss.
Tyler Biadasz, C, Dallas Cowboys
Biadasz started 16 games for Dallas, missing just the season finale, appearing in 97% of the snaps of the contests in which he suited up. He did not allow a sack in 2022 and committed five penalties. Pro Football Focus rated Biadasz as the No. 22 center in the league with a grade of 61.7.
Vince Biegel, LB, Baltimore Ravens
Biegel signed with the Ravens after a couple of years in Miami but his misfortunes continued, tearing an Achilles for the second time (also in August 2020) during training camp. He spent the season on IR.
Logan Bruss, OL, Los Angeles Rams
The Rams’ top pick in the 2022 draft (third round) appeared to be on the way to a starting job but tore his ACL and MCL in August and was lost for the season.
Quintez Cephus, WR, Detroit Lions
Cephus injured his foot in Detroit’s third game this season and landed on IR. He was designated to return in early December but never did – put back on the injured list at the end of the month. He recorded two catches for 15 yards.
Leo Chenal, LB, Kansas City Chiefs
The rookie third-round pick played in every game for the Chiefs and made eight starts. He appeared in 261 defensive snaps (23%) while recording 35 tackles, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and one sack (of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence). Chenal’s season high was five tackles, which he did three times – all of which occurred in the final four games.
Corey Clement, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Clement began the offseason with Baltimore but was cut in mid-August. He was picked up by Arizona, where he was elevated twice to the active roster before being signed to the 53 on Nov. 19. He only appeared in 73 offensive snaps – 68 of which came in the final two games. Clement finished with 15 carries for 55 yards and a touchdown, which came in the finale, with three receptions for 21 yards.
Ryan Connelly, LB, Minnesota Vikings
Connelly tore his ACL at the end of last season and after being put on the Physically Unable to Practice list by Minnesota was waived-injured then re-signed to the practice squad. He was elevated for the Vikings’ final regular-season game and played 16 snaps on defense, recording one tackle.
Michael Deiter, OL, Miami Dolphins
A one-time starter, Deiter was relegated to a bench role by new Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. In fact, Deiter didn’t see one offensive snap in 2022, appearing only on special teams (76 snaps).
David Edwards, OG, Los Angeles Rams
Edwards played in only four games – missing Week 4 – before being placed on injured reserve because he suffered multiple concussions. He was designated to return in November but was never fully activated. Edwards allowed two sacks in his brief time and committed one false start.
T.J. Edwards, LB, Philadelphia Eagles
After having a breakout season in 2021, Edwards took his game up another notch this year. Designated with the “green dot” to call defensive plays, Edwards started all 17 games for Philadelphia, appearing in 94% of the snaps. He finished seventh in the NFL with 159 tackles – third most in franchise history – with 10 tackles for loss, seven passes defensed, five QB hits and two sacks. Edwards had nine games with 10+ tackles and no fewer than six in any contest. Pro Football Focus named Edwards to its All-Pro team.
Alex Erickson, WR, Washington Commanders
Erickson spent the season on Washington’s practice squad, elevated for games in Week 12 and 13. He returned four punts for 25 yards against the New York Giants in Week 13. The Commanders signed Erickson to a reserve/future contract.
Jake Ferguson, TE, Dallas Cowboys
The fourth-round pick played in 18 games with eight starts. Ferguson had 19 catches on 22 targets for 174 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest game was in Week 6 at Philadelphia when he had four catches on six targets and his first NFL touchdown. He scored TD No. 2 in Week 8 vs. Chicago. Ferguson wasn’t credited with any drops.
Melvin Gordon, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Gordon was re-signed by Denver in the offseason but waived after 10 games. He has just 318 yards on 90 carries (3.5 average) with two touchdowns and 11 catches for 24 yards. Gordon was signed to Kansas City’s practice squad but did not appear in any games with the Chiefs.
Rob Havenstein, OT, Los Angeles Rams
Havenstein not only started all 17 games for the Rams but he also played on every offensive snap. He allowed four sacks and committed five penalties (two holds). Pro Football Focus assigned him an offensive grade of 73.2, which ranked him 27th among NFL tackles this season.
Matt Henningsen, DL, Denver Broncos
A sixth-round pick, Henningsen played in every game as a rookie, appearing in 220 (20%) snaps on defense and 193 (40%) on special teams. He played on defense in all 17 games with a high of 25 snaps in Week 6 (his high percentage was 29% in Week 12). Henningsen had 21 tackles, two TFL and his first NFL sack (the Chargers’ Justin Herbert).
Faion Hicks, CB, Denver Broncos
A seventh-round pick, Hicks was cut before the season but re-signed to Denver’s practice squad, where he spent the entire year. Hicks was elevated to the active roster twice – in Weeks 12 and 13 – but played exclusively on special teams. He did not record a tackle.
Alec Ingold, FB, Miami Dolphins
After three years with the Raiders, Ingold moved onto Miami, where he played in every game with 14 starts. The Dolphins used a fullback more than Oakland/Las Vegas with Ingold’s 418 offensive snaps
(40%) easily eclipsing his previous highs (231 snaps in 2020; 23% in ’21). He also played 134 special teams snaps (30%), a career low. While mainly used as a blocker, of course, Ingold had six carries for eight yards and notched his first NFL rushing touchdowns. He also had 15 catches for 105 yards with a TD – he’s had one receiving score in each of his first four seasons.
Isaiahh Loudermilk, DT, Pittsburgh Steelers
Loudermilk played in 11 games with three starts, playing 18% of the defensive snaps in those contests. He saw most of his time on defense in his first three games – Weeks 6-8 – when he had 22, 20 and 23. Loudermilk had seven tackles and a TFL.
Scott Nelson, S, Pittsburgh Steelers
Undrafted, Nelson signed with Seattle in the offseason and for a few weeks was on the Seahawks’ practice squad. Released by Seattle, he ended up on Pittsburgh’s practice squad for a couple of weeks, released again. Nelson was re-signed by the Steelers to their PS on Dec. 27. He did not appear in any games. Pittsburgh signed him to a Reserve/Futures contract.
Dare Ogunbowale, RB, Houston Texans
Ogunbowale’s first year with the Texans was similar to his previous couple of years. He had 183 offensive snaps (185 and 189 the past two seasons) while rushing 42 times for 123 yards and a touchdown while corralling 20 passes for 104 yards, Ogunbowale saw a lot of time on special teams, returning two kicks for 46 yards and compiling 11 tackles.
Kendric Pryor, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Signed as an undrafted free agent by Jacksonville, Pryor was claimed off waivers by Cincinnati, which kept him on its practice squad all season.
Ryan Ramczyk, OT, New Orleans Saints
Ramczyk started the first 16 games for New Orleans before a hip injury knocked him out of a Week 16 games vs. Philadelphia and subsequently sidelined him for the season finale. For the second time in his career, the right tackle didn’t allow a sack (also in 2019). He committed four penalties with just one holding call.
Jack Sanborn, LB, Chicago Bears
An undrafted free agent, Sanborn played primarily on special teams until getting in on 13 defensive snaps at Dallas in Week 8. With the Bears trading Roquan Smith, Sanborn started every game from Week 9-15 before suffering an ankle injury which landed him on injured reserve. He finished with 60 tackles, five tackles for loss and two sacks (both coming in Week 10 against Detroit’s Jared Goff). In his six starts, Sanborn played every snap twice and three times had 10+ tackles, with a high of 15 in Week12 against the New York Jets.
Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Ankle injuries limited Taylor to 11 games (although he played just two snaps in his final contest in Week 15). After leading the NFL in carries, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in 2021, Taylor ran for only 861 yards on 192 carries (4.5 average) with four TDs. He also caught 28 passes for 143 yards and four TDs. Taylor averaged at least 5.0 yards per carry in his first two seasons but just 4.5 in 2022.
Andrew Van Ginkel, LB, Miami Dolphins
Starting 25 games the past two years, Van Ginkel was relegated to a bench player in 2022. He appeared in all 17 games but with just five starts and seeing just 29% of the defensive snaps. Van Ginkel had 47 tackles, four QBH, three TFL, an interception and a half sack.
Cole Van Lanen, OL, Jacksonville Jaguars
Acquired by Jacksonville in a trade with Green Bay in late August, Van Lanen appeared in 16 of 17 games but just 18 snaps on offense and 63 on special teams.
Derek Watt, FB, Pittsburgh Steelers
In his seventh year in the league, Watt once again played in every game (as he’s done in all but one year) and set career highs in rushes and receptions – nine and five. Watt played in just 77 offensive snaps with 290 on special teams. He rushed for his second career touchdown and nabbed his first scoring reception (Week 8 at Philadelphia). After recording 14 special-teams tackles a year ago, Watt had but five this season.
J.J. Watt, DE, Arizona Cardinals
Watt announced his retirement after Arizona’s final home game. He might not have gone out on top with the team he was on, but Watt left the game with a standout final season. In 16 games he notched 39 tackles, 25 QB hits, 18 TFL and 12.5 sacks – his highest totals in all three categories since 2018. He also had seven passes defensed and a forced fumble. In his 12-year career, which encompassed 151 games, Watt had 114.5 sacks, 317 QBH, 195 TFL, 27 forced fumbles and two interceptions. Next stop: Canton.
T.J. Watt, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Injured in Pittsburgh’s opener, Watt didn’t return until Week 10. Playing in 10 games, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year had 39 tackles, 12 QB hits, eight TFL, 5.5 sacks, five passes defensed, two interceptions and a forced fumble. He had only one game with more than one sack – 1.5 at Carolina in Week 15.
Rachad Wildgoose, CB, Washington Commanders
Wildgoose played in 15 games with three starts for Washington, which claimed him off waivers in August from the New York Jets. He played in 195 defensive snaps, although those mainly came in five games – getting just two snaps in his other 10 appearances. He had 16 tackles – seven of those in Week 6 at Chicago – and three passes defensed. According to pro-football-reference, quarterbacks had a 71.6 passer rating and no touchdowns with Wildgoose in coverage.
Russell Wilson, QB, Denver Broncos
Dealt to the Broncos from Seattle in a much-heralded offseason trade, Wilson did not live up to the hype, easily having his worst season as a pro. His passer rating of 84.4 was a career low (previous: 92.6 in 2016). Wilson completed 60.5% of his passes (also a career worst) for 3,524 yards with 16 touchdowns (a career low by five) and 11 interceptions (2.3 INT% tied career worst). He was also sacked 55 times, the most in any of his 11 seasons. Wilson ran 55 times for 277 yards and three touchdowns and even caught a pass – his fifth career – for one yard.
Kevin Zeitler, OG, Baltimore Ravens
Zeitler started 15 games for the Ravens, missing Week 10 at Baltimore and Week 18 at Cincinnati. He allowed 1.5 sacks – his most since 2019, when he had the same in 15 games with the New York Giants – while being flagged for just one penalty (a hold).
Others
Beau Benzschawel, OL: Began the offseason with Jacksonville but was waived Aug. 22. Eventually signed to Tennessee’s practice squad Dec. 20 but released three days later.
Troy Fumagalli, TE: Signed by San Francisco in May, he was released Aug. 30 and brought back to the practice squad but cut two months later.
Joe Schobert, LB: Began the year with Pittsburgh, which cut him in March. Denver picked him up in August but he only lasted a week with the Broncos. Signed by Tennessee to its practice squad in September, Schobert was elevated three times before being signed to the active roster in mid-November. He appeared in six games with one start for the Titans (122 defensive snaps), recording 16 tackles and a forced fumble before being released Dec. 12.
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here