Wildcats in the NFL – Wild Card Weekend
Jan 09, 2017 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Each week throughout the 2016 season, k-statesports.com recaps the action for the 10 former Kansas State football players currently in the NFL. For a summary of those whose teams did not make the playoffs, click here.
B.J. Finney, OL – Pittsburgh Steelers
An undrafted rookie free agent in 2015 who spent last year on the practice squad, Finney was active but did not play in Pittsburgh’s 30-12 win over Miami. During his first season on the active roster, Finney saw time in 13 games with starts against Kansas City, Buffalo and Cleveland. The AFC North Champion Steelers travel to Kansas City for the divisional round on Sunday.
Glenn Gronkowski, FB – New England Patriots
Gronkowski has been on New England’s practice for a majority of the year after originally entering the league as an undrafted rookie free agent with Buffalo. The No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, the Patriots were idle during Wild Card Weekend and host Houston Saturday night in the divisional round.
Tyler Lockett, WR/Returner – Seattle Seahawks
A nominee for the 2016 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, Lockett was placed on injured reserve on December 27, with a broken leg sustained in Week 16. He ended his season with 41 receptions for 597 yards and a touchdown to go along with an 8.4-yard punt return average and a 26.3-yard kickoff return average. Seattle defeated Detroit, 26-6, and travels to Atlanta on Saturday.
Cornelius Lucas, OL – Detroit Lions
A third-year offensive lineman, Lucas started at right tackle and played on all 55 offensive snaps for Detroit, which saw its season come to an end with a 26-6 loss at Seattle. It was the second time in his three years Lucas has started a playoff game as he did so two years ago when the Lions played at Dallas.
Highlight: Key block on 17-yd run
Jordy Nelson, WR – Green Bay Packers
A ninth-year pro, Nelson started and made one catch for 13 yards before leaving the game due to a rib injury in Green Bay’s 38-13 win over the New York Giants. On injured reserve for the entire 2015 season, Nelson finished the 2016 regular season with 97 receptions for 1,257 yards and an NFL-best 14 receiving touchdowns. The Riley, Kansas, product ranks third in Green Bay history in career touchdowns (63), fourth in career catches (497) and fifth in yards (7,366). The Packers play at Dallas on Sunday.
Highlights: 13-yd catch
