Washington Huskies alumni in the NFL – 2020 wrap up: NFC North

Herb Nightengale   |  

Jan 7, 2021

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This year there were 36 Washington Huskies alumni in the NFL. PNWS takes a division by division look at how they fared. We continue with the NFC North.

The Washington Huskies have been a dependable supplier of talent to the professional ranks. This year, 36 University of Washington alumni were part of NFL Rosters. Pacific Northwest Sports reviews their performance this season, division by division. Today it’s Huskies alumni playing in the NFC North.

Green Bay Packers

Cornerback Kevin King is the Green Bay Packers only player from the University of Washington. Due to a quad injury in Game 4, he missed 5 games. The other 11 games King played in, he started. King had 56 tackles this year. The total included 10 tackles in the final game regular-season game against Chicago. He also had five passes defended and forced a fumble.

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have no players from UW.

Minnesota Vikings

Undrafted quarterback Jake Browning started all four years at Washington. On his watch from 2015–18, the team went 39–15. So far, Browning hasn’t been able to break on to an NFL roster spending the last two years on Minnesota’s practice squad. It looks as though the Vikings like what Browning is doing as he signed a futures contract on Monday, January 4.

Detroit Lions

Detroit has three players from Washington, Hunter Bryant, Danny Shelton, and Desmond Trufant.

Bryant came out this year after his junior season. Undrafted, he signed as a free agent with the Lions. Early reports from Detroit indicated the Lions believed they found a gem. Due to injuries (hamstring and concussion), Bryant only played five games. Against Tennessee in Week 15, he had his only reception of the year. In Bryant fashion, the play went for 44 yards.

In March, defenseman tackle Danny Shelton signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Lions. Feast Mode started every game until a knee injury forced him to injured reserve on December 2 until he returned for the January 3, 2021 season finale’. For the season, Shelton had 37 tackles with one sack and four quarterback hits.

After seven successful seasons in Atlanta, cornerback Desmond Trufant became a cap casualty in March. He was on the market for a week before signing a two-year deal with Detroit. A hamstring injury limited Trufant to six games. His season ended on IR with 20 tackles, a pick, and one sack.

Related Story: Washington Huskies in the NFL 2020 – NFC West

We will be back tomorrow with Washington Huskies alumni from the NFC South.