Final cuts were made for NFL rosters, waiver claims were put in and then even more cuts were made to prepare final 53-man rosters before the season begins with the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 4.
Local high school products from Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are again no strangers to being found on rosters across the league. Did a player from your alma mater make the cut? Check out the list of locals that made it through final cuts and are on 53-man rosters (or injury designated on the roster) in the NFL.
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The Fairfield graduate playing on his hometown team appears on the Bengals roster, but he is on the reserve/physically unable to perform list after tearing his ACL in Week 9 last season. All is available to return after four games, but is expected to miss the season while rehabbing the injury.
Erick All is expected to miss the 2025 season for the Bengals after an ACL tear in Week 9 of his rookie year.
Derrick Barnes, Detroit Lions (Holy Cross)
Barnes will play in his fifth season for the Detroit Lions in 2025. Barnes played in 17, 15 and 16 games in his first three years in Detroit before playing in only three last year after injuring his MCL and PCL.
Jowon Briggs, New York Jets (Walnut Hills)
The defensive lineman was drafted in the seventh round out of Cincinnati by the Browns in 2024, spending his rookie campaign with Cleveland where he had 13 tackles in six games. Briggs was traded (with a seventh round pick in 2026) to the Jets on Aug. 20 for a sixth round pick in the 2026 draft.
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Bryan Cook, Kansas City Chiefs (Mount Healthy)
The Mount Healthy Owl is entering year No. 4 with the Chiefs, fresh off of his third season with a trip to the Super Bowl but first without winning the big game. Cook started all 17 games for the Chiefs last season and intercepted two passes in the regular season with another in the Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia.
Kansas City has made the Super Bowl in each of Bryan Cook’s three seasons. The Mount Healthy grad had an interception in last season’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers (Hamilton)
Johnson made his name for the Iowa Hawkeyes last year when he rushed for over 1,500 yards with 21 touchdowns while being named a consensus first-team All-American and a finalist for the Doak Walker Award. Johnson’s breakout season got him drafted in the third round by the Steelers where he will be a rookie in 2025.
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Paris Johnson Jr., Arizona Cardinals (St. Xavier and Princeton)
The 6-foot-6, 325-pound offensive lineman is entering his third season at Arizona after starting in all 31 games he played in his first two years, including 14 games at left tackle last year.
Ryan Kelly, Minnesota Vikings (Lakota West)
Kelly enters his 10th season in the league — his first in Minnesota after spending nine years with the Indianapolis Colts. Indianapolis selected the former Firebirds center with the 18th overall pick in 2016 after he won both the Rimington Trophy, given annually to the nation’s best college center, and the national championship as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Kelly, now 32, will look to anchor the Vikings offensive line as the J.J. McCarthy era begins in Minnesota.
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Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders (Covington Catholic)
Mayer could see a jump in production this year in a new-look Raiders’ offense. Before being drafted in the second round of the 2023 draft, the tight end was the Gatorade Kentucky Football Player of the Year at Covington Catholic and a Consensus All-American at Notre Dame. With a new quarterback (Geno Smith), head coach (Pete Carroll), and offensive coordinator (Chip Kelly) in Las Vegas, Mayer will continue developing with more experienced pieces around him in his third season.
Covington Catholic’s Michael Mayer could have a breakout season for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.
David Montgomery, Detroit Lions (Mount Healthy)
Montgomery quickly became one of the league’s most dynamic running backs after being drafted in the 2019 draft’s third round by the Chicago Bears. Over the past five seasons, the former Mount Healthy star racked up the league’s sixth-highest rushing yards total. Though he played quarterback for the Fighting Owls in high school, Montgomery’s athleticism made him a standout running back at Iowa State. Gearing up for his third season with the Lions, Montgomery will lead the rushing attack for the Super Bowl contenders in Detroit.
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Ivan Pace Jr., Minnesota Vikings (Colerain)
Pace Jr. signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2023, and through two seasons he has grown into a vital piece of the Minnesota defense. Though injury hampered his 2024 season, across 28 games Pace Jr. started 21, totaling 174 tackles, two interceptions and five and a half sacks. After a standout two-way career at Colerain, Pace Jr. led the Mid-American Conference in tackles at Miami (OH) in 2021 and the American Conference in 2022 at Cincinnati.
Carrington Valentine, Green Bay Packers (Moeller)
Valentine, selected in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL draft, has worked his way from final round to impact player. In his first two seasons, the cornerback started 19 games and saw the field in all but two contests. Last year, the former Moeller and Kentucky star snagged two interceptions to go along with 32 tackles. After making the playoffs last year, look for Valentine and the Packers’ defense to take a step forward.
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Malik Verdon, Atlanta Falcons (Moeller and Hamilton)
Verdon signed with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent this offseason but has been placed on the non-football injury list and will be ineligible for the first six games of the season. At Iowa State, Verdon spent four seasons as a defensive back recording 134 tackles, three interceptions and two forced fumbles. The Falcons asked the versatile athlete, who played quarterback for Hamilton, to make the switch to linebacker. Once Verdon returns to eligibility, he will have an opportunity to make the active roster.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: These Cincinnati, NKY high school products made NFL 53-man rosters