Penn State fans don’t stop cheering for their favorite Nittany Lions after they finish up their playing days at Beaver Stadium. No, when superstars like Saquon Barkley or Micah Parsons head to the NFL, Penn State fans follow with their support, and that’ll be the case for Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren when they hear their names called in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Naturally, we want our favorite former Nittany Lions to succeed at the next level, and oftentimes that has more to do with circumstance than it does talent. The entire league learned this lesson with Barkley’s first season in Philadelphia. After six years wasting away on a dysfunctional franchise in New York, Barkley made his way to one of the best teams in football and had a historic season, rushing for 2,000 yards and winning a Super Bowl, conveniently for the NFL franchise that roughly half of the Penn State fanbase roots for on Sundays. And after, Barkley was rewarded as the highest-paid running back in NFL history.
This crop of nine former Penn State players heading into NFL free agency has already had success in the league, and some have been stars, but for a successful second, third, or even fourth act in the league, they’ll need to find the perfect landing spot when NFL free agency opens on March 12.
Here is every former Penn State football player entering NFL free agency this offseason:
- Will Fries, OG | EXP: 4 years | Age: 26 | Previous Team: Indianapolis Colts
- Mike Gesicki, TE | EXP: 7 | Age: 29 | Previous Team: Cincinnati Bengals
- Kevin Givens, DT | EXP: 6 | Age: 28 | Previous Team: San Francisco 49ers
- Chris Godwin, WR | EXP: 8 | Age: 29 | Previous Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Austin Johnson, DL | EXP: 10 | Age: 30 | Previous Team: Buffalo Bills
- Jesse Luketa, LB | EXP: 3 | Age: 26 | Previous Team: Arizona Cardinals
- Amani Oruwariye, CB | EXP: 6 | Age: 29 | Previous Team: Dallas Cowboys
- Allen Robinson, WR | EXP: 11 | Age: 31 | Previous Team: Detroit Lions
- Nick Scott, S | EXP: 6 | Age: 29 | Previous Team: Carolina Panthers