Former Kentucky Wildcats competing in NFL training camps

Football is back. Even just reading those four syllables invokes the sound of cracking pads in brisk temperatures with an overpriced yet delicious beer in your hand. But for several former Kentucky players, it means working their butts off in the hot summer sun to try to earn a job. 30 former Wildcats signed with an NFL team and will vie for a position on an active roster. Most would even settle for a practice squad.

For some well-established players, like Wan’Dale Robinson and Josh Hines-Allen, training camps are exactly that: an opportunity to train and get better for the upcoming season. However, for several young guys, this might be their last opportunity to continue playing football in exchange for money. The same goes for a few wily veterans still hanging on for as long as they can.

Let’s take a look at the BBNFL on the dawn of Preseason Week 1.

Former Kentucky players on NFL Training Camp rosters

The Missing Free Agent

Notably absent from this is Za’Darius Smith, everyone’s favorite Big Z after the other one bolted out of Lexington last year. Smith finished last season with the Lions, but the franchise cut him back in March. Even still, veteran defensive lineman thinks there could be a future for him in Detroit. Big Z told reporters he is still trying to work out a return to the Big D, but if that falls through, you can most certainly bet that another team will be eager to pick up the man who gobbles up sacks like Ryan Lemond gobbles donuts.

The Undrafted Free Agent Rookies

If Hard Knocks has taught us anything over the years, it is that life as an undrafted free agent rookie is a tough one. This year, Eli Cox (Texans), JJ Weaver (Panthers), Jamon Dumas-Johnson (Packers), Zion Childress (Cowboys), and Marques Cox (Broncos) will all compete for a spot on their respective teams. Then again, they could do what Brenden Bates did last year and earn a spot on someone else’s team with a strong preseason performance.

Bates was a surprising cut by the Bears after showing out in their three exhibition games, but was soon signed by the Jets and made their Week 1 roster. Bates is now with the Browns, but his first-year story is an inspiring one. Could one of this year’s batch of undrafted rookies repeat his success?

Zion Childress is reportedly turning heads in Dallas after the team converted him from corner to safety. They even featured on their social media with a one-handed interception in practice. My money is on him, but you never know who is going to hang around on whatever practice squad they can find and win back-to-back-to-back Super Bowls like Darian Kinnard, who is back with the defending champion Eagles.

Rounding out the hopefuls, former Kentucky kicker Alex Raynor got a tryout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but did not make the training camp roster.

The Drafted Rookies

The fact that Buffalo has morphed into Kentucky North is well-documented at this point. Both of the Wildcats’ NFL draft picks, Maxwell Hairston and Deone Walker, are immersing themselves into all things Bills Mafia alongside Ray Davis, who is getting some practice in at kicker.

Walker is already receiving praise from fellow Buffalo linemen, with veteran Daquan Smith saying he could be a special player in the league. Meanwhile, Hairston hasn’t had quite as smooth of an NFL entry as he would have liked, but he thankfully avoided a major injury after hurting his knee in training camp.

The Early Injuries

Injuries are, unfortunately, part of football, but two former Wildcats will miss out on huge chunks of time already this season before the first game is played. Will Levis made the tough decision to have season-ending shoulder surgery (although looking at a picture of his shoulder, it may not have been all that hard of a choice). The Titans drafted QB Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick, so Levis’s days with the Titans were likely numbered anyway, but the good news is that this will give him a year to get healthy and land softly somewhere next year.

Then there is Lonnie Johnson Jr., who suffered a broken leg during training camp. Johnson is a former Kentucky defensive back who has made a living on special teams in the NFL and was starting his first season with the Raiders. Hopefully, the break isn’t season-ending, but it will be a long road ahead for the former second-round pick.

Good luck to all the former ‘Cats this season during the upcoming football season, which is, again, officially here.