All 32 NFL teams set their initial 53-man rosters for the 2021 season on Tuesday, and 49 Buckeyes made the cut.
The Cincinnati Bengals, Urban Meyer’s Jacksonville Jaguars and the New Orleans Saints lead the way with four players each on their initial 53-man rosters who finished their college careers at Ohio State (the Bengals have five Buckeyes if you include Joe Burrow), while the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Detroit Lions and Washington Football Team each have three Buckeyes on their rosters.
In total, 25 of the NFL’s 32 teams have Buckeyes on their initial rosters for the 2021 season; the only exceptions are the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans.
All 10 Buckeyes who were selected in the 2021 NFL draft made 53-man rosters, though Shaun Wade is now with the New England Patriots after being traded by the Baltimore Ravens last week.
The full list of Buckeyes who made initial 53-man rosters around the league:
| Team | Total | Players |
|---|---|---|
| CINCINNATI BENGALS | 4 | SAM HUBBARD, VONN BELL, ISAIAH PRINCE, ELI APPLE |
| JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS | 4 | DAVON HAMILTON, ANDREW NORWELL, CARLOS HYDE, LUKE FARRELL |
| NEW ORLEANS SAINTS | 4 | MARSHON LATTIMORE, MALCOLM JENKINS, NICK VANNETT, PETE WERNER |
| DENVER BRONCOS | 3 | DRE’MONT JONES, BARON BROWNING, JONATHON COOPER |
| LOS ANGELES CHARGERS | 3 | JOEY BOSA, K.J. HILL, COREY LINSLEY |
| DETROIT LIONS | 3 | TAYLOR DECKER, JEFF OKUDAH, JONAH JACKSON |
| WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM | 3 | TERRY MCLAURIN, CURTIS SAMUEL, CHASE YOUNG |
| SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS | 2 | NICK BOSA, TREY SERMON |
| CLEVELAND BROWNS | 2 | DENZEL WARD, TOMMY TOGIAI |
| INDIANAPOLIS COLTS | 2 | TYQUAN LEWIS, PARRIS CAMPBELL |
| DALLAS COWBOYS | 2 | EZEKIEL ELLIOTT, MALIK HOOKER |
| LAS VEGAS RAIDERS | 2 | JOHNATHAN HANKINS, DAMON ARNETTE |
| PITTSBURGH STEELERS | 2 | CAMERON HEYWARD, DWAYNE HASKINS |
| MINNESOTA VIKINGS | 2 | JALYN HOLMES, WYATT DAVIS |
| CHICAGO BEARS | 1 | JUSTIN FIELDS |
| MIAMI DOLPHINS | 1 | JEROME BAKER |
| ATLANTA FALCONS | 1 | KENDALL SHEFFIELD |
| NEW YORK GIANTS | 1 | BILLY PRICE |
| GREEN BAY PACKERS | 1 | JOSH MYERS |
| CAROLINA PANTHERS | 1 | PAT ELFLEIN |
| NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | 1 | SHAUN WADE |
| LOS ANGELES RAMS | 1 | JORDAN FULLER |
| BALTIMORE RAVENS | 1 | MALIK HARRISON |
| SEATTLE SEAHAWKS | 1 | JAMARCO JONES |
| HOUSTON TEXANS | 1 | CAMERON JOHNSTON |
Former Ohio State players who were waived or released by NFL teams during their final cuts included Justin Hilliard (49ers), Drue Chrisman (Bengals), Michael Jordan (Bengals), Jake McQuaide (Cowboys), Johnnie Dixon (Cowboys), Jake Hausmann (Giants), Devin Smith (Jaguars), Rashod Berry (Lions), C.J. Saunders (Panthers), Marcus Baugh (Steleers), Malcolm Pridgeon (Steelers), John Simon (Titans), Binjimen Victor (Ravens) and Tuf Borland (Vikings).
It’s still possible, though, that any of those players could end up on 53-man rosters in the subsequent days – and conversely, that players on 53-man rosters now aren’t all guaranteed to stay on them – as there will be more roster movement to come as teams add players who were let go by other teams. McQuaide, who was the only long snapper to the Cowboys’ roster, is expected to return to the Cowboys; his release is believed to be a procedural move until they can clear a roster spot by placing a player on injured reserve.
It's also likely that many of those players – particularly young players like Hilliard, Chrisman, Saunders and Borland – will be prime candidates to return to the teams who cut them as they fill out their practice squads, which will include 16 players once again in 2021, later this week.
(Update: Jordan was claimed by the Panthers and Hilliard was claimed by the Giants on Wednesday. Chrisman, Hausmann, Smith, Berry, Saunders, Borland and Victor were all brought back to the practice squads of the teams whose cut them on Tuesday.)
Additionally, eight other former Ohio State players were placed on reserve lists around the league.
The Saints placed Michael Thomas on the physically unable to perform list, which means he will be out for at least the first six games of the season. The Cowboys placed Noah Brown on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but he’s expected to rejoin their roster – which would bring them up to four Buckeyes if they also re-sign McQuaide – once he’s cleared to play. Bradley Roby (Texans) and Jashon Cornell (Lions) were placed on the reserve/suspended list, as Roby will miss the first week of the season while Cornell will miss the first three weeks of the season while serving suspensions for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
J.K. Dobbins (Ravens), Austin Mack (Giants), Raekwon McMillan (Patriots) and Darron Lee (Raiders) were all placed on injured reserve by their teams prior to final cuts, which means they won’t be eligible to return this season.
