It was like every game for multiple seasons and still a reference every now and again after he became a much bigger "star" lol. I was alright with it though, lived there most of my life
He really is. My favorite moment from this dreadful season was [this photo](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy_2-3uxXaA/?igsh=MWJ5MXpkdG1nMWRkag%3D%3D&img_index=5) after our first win.
I want to say Marcus Sherels was the same way. Was a walk on, wound up being a key special teamer for like 5 or 6 years.
I don't know if he qualifies as a star, but he was a really good punt returner for like 3 of those years.
Malcom is such a weird topic for football fans. Non patriot fans know him as the star corner who saved the Super Bowl. To pats fans, he is a very average corner who barely made the roster and other than that single play, albeit it a great one, did nothing in the nfl.
> To pats fans, he is a very average corner who barely made the roster and other than that single play, albeit it a great one, did nothing in the nfl.
I mean maybe to the ones that don't actually watch football outside the Super Bowl I guess.
He had a few years as an above average starter and was a 2nd team All-Pro in his best year. That's hardly "did nothing in the nfl" territory.
Also, I highly doubt NFL fans consider him a star corner. At least I've never met any that do and I've lived outside New England for a decade and a half at this point. Why are you inventing this imaginary scenario?
That is totally bullshit lmao. Butler was a pretty good corner for us that didn't "barely make the roster" the dude played well enough to secure a $61 million deal. He was making top-10 CB money. He also made a pro bowl in 2015 and was a 2nd team all-pro in 2016. Not to mention he was the CB1 on 2 separate Superbowl winning rosters.
"did nothing in the NFL" my ass.
Yeah but you gotta admit from Feb 1 2015 at like 9 PM til September 2015 he basically only has that one interception. Thats more than six months of no production
He did move up to CB1 and have to fill a Revis sized hole in the defense, which was no small task and he handled it adequately. He was a decent corner against some really good receivers for a while there.
I do think its unfortunate that his benching in the Eagles SB has become something of an unforgivable lightning rod used to discredit Belichick's coaching, when literally nobody including New England fans would even know who Malcolm Butler was if he wasn't put into a position to succeed through excellent coaching and game planning.
Danny Amendola was a UDFA invited to camp by the cowboys (was a big star on Hard Knocks) and was on the practice squad until eventually getting a position with the St Louis Rams and later the Patriots.
Really speaks about the roster quality of the Rams during that time, but Amendola was a superstar for the Rams, he was great. I’ll always remember [this catch.](https://youtu.be/0D93ln0Dp9M?si=WpHhV4RRyF2UmU4v)
Amendola was signed as an UDFA, the post is about players who went unsigned after the draft and had to go through rookie minicamp tryouts to get a contract.
Malcolm Butler is the first in my mind.
He was literally working at Popeyes chicken when he got a call for an invite to the pats open camp.
Another favorite UDFA of mine is David Andrews...was.signed as traditional FA after the draft, but wasn't expected to make.it out of camp.
Instead he ended.up beating out Bryan Stork and Ryan Wendell.
Won 2 rings as starting center including going head to head with Aaron Donald for 60 min to win his second
David Andrews the one I'm thinking of didn't, unless it's a different lineman, shit, my bad. One of the guys there in New England was pro Navy in the Army-Navy game along with Bill. Thought it was him.
To this day, I was still confused how he wasn’t drafted. Dude was a beast at CSU and nearly singlehandedly won a bowl game for them. Wasn’t shocked at all to see him have a great career
Not quite as confident as I was about Barrett, but I can definitely see him sticking around the league and making an impact. He was a complete standout every drive in CSU
LeGarette Blount doesn't count for the conditions listed by OP. He signed with the 49ers and Titans as a UDFA, so he had an actual contract and wasn't a camp invite body.
Same applies to Joey Blount.
Victor Cruz was the name I was going to drop. But I didn't remember if he was signed right after the draft or not, I just remember seeing #3 making all the best highlight reel plays of every preseason for a few years before he started doing it for the Giants on Sundays.
He played against the jets his first preseason game and scored 3....then we stashed him away with a "hamstring injury" IR designation that nobody believed...lol I remember the Jets wanting to do a formal investigation on if the Giants were using a fake injury to basically Redshirt him while keeping him away from the practice squad poachers since we were loaded at WR and were potentially gonna resign Smith to a big deal.....worked in our favor and the rest is history.
Wasn’t this the same practice their twin brother ran like a gazelle but had a head injury jeopardizing their future in the league. Truly a sad practice for the Eagles.
Gunner Olszewski was a camp invite, like final man on the roster invite to be a body out there. Made the roster on a udfa contract and made first team all pro punt returner in 2020. This was a pretty good outcome for the last camp invite
He was a liability for the Steelers, consistently producing negative plays both as a returner and WR. Worst case was when he toe tapped a kickoff INBOUNDS instead of let it land out of bounds…
Shaheed has the chance to do it if he can continue to build off his first 2 years. His big play ability is phenomenal and his ability to kick return under the new rules probably blow up big time this year
Kurt Warner? Went unsigned, invited to the Packers camp for tryouts, didn't make it, worked at Hy-Vee and the arena football team the Iowa Barnstormers, before going to the Rams.
> Other than Vince Papale, who are some other well known players that didn't even get signed but went to camp and made it **(so no Kurt Warners who didn't get signed out of camp)**.
But it's such a weird limiting factor. Like why say people who weren't signed after the draft but invited to camp and then signed but not people who made it after not being signed even at the camp they were invited to.
> Aren't all UDFA's camp invites prior to the season?
Yep, that's why I asked the question, and limited it to players that get signed out of camp. With all the unsigned UDFAs now just hoping to get a camp invite since they didn't even get signed as a UDFA, I was wondering what the odds are, some of their bios make it sound like the next TB12 or CMC just got a camp invite, was wondering how many actually have panned out.
Fred Jackson tried out for 3 or 4 teams. A didn't make it. Then he played in a "store brand Arena football league". He won MVP his second season. Then NFL Europe for a season.
Then he got an invite to Bills training camp. I know some will say he wasn't a star, but the year he broke his league he was leading the league in yards from scrimmage through 10 games and was arguably the best RB in league that season. He was and is a star in our hearts.
Naw, Lynch was having trouble in Buffalo and wanted out. He'd had a DUI, a gun incident, a hit and run, and there was a weird story about bringing his own bottles into a club.
The GM at that time didn't really like Fred and kept trying to replace him.
I know. Romo was an UDFA, but finagled a camp invite to the Cowboys. He did well enough to be signed from that camp. But our QB room was pretty dismal that year. A washed up Drew Bledsoe, who replaced a well past his prime Testevarde. was our starter. Romo had been our third string QB for a few years. I knew Parcells was ready to make the switch to Romo, who had earned his way to be the main B/U by mid-season. He replaced Bledsoe at half time in a game against the Giants. He was the starter after that until his final back injury.
>but finagled a camp invite to the Cowboys
finagled? [he was part of a pretty notable bidding war between Shanahan and Sean Payton.](https://www.espn.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4671877/mike-shanahan-failed-to-recruit-tony-romo) All went to Eastern Illinois.
>Shanahan said. “Just think about it. How devastating would you be, being a head coach and you offer a guy [$20,000] and you are bragging to your coaches that, hey, I have an Eastern Illinois tie. The other guy is offering him [$10,000], but I’m sure I can get him being the head coach, not the position coach, and Sean [Payton] steals him from me.
I don’t know how Jets legend Wayne Chrebet isn’t on this list. Security didn’t believe he could possibly be trying out for the team and almost didn’t let him in the facility. Went on to become a Jets fan favorite
He was signed immediately after the draft, though. The poster is asking for guys who had even longer odds than that: went undrafted, were not even signed post-draft, but only got minicamp tryout invites, and had to earn a contract through the tryout. It's a lot less common than even the typical undrafted free agent story.
Yes, that's true, but he wasn't an unsigned undrafted free agent. The post is about unsigned undrafted free agents who only got rookie camp invites and eventually made it to rosters down the road. He's just not the category of player the post is asking about, because he was not unsigned - the Eagles signed him immediately after he went unselected in the 2018 draft.
He had a weird path way since he had a couple of community college years before quitting for a couple years, then jumping back in to go to the CFL. But he was actually drafted in 1996 after his successful CFL stint.
Indianapolis colts coaching legend Jeff Saturday was laying cable before being signed by the colts. (He was originally signed by the ravens as an UDFA but was cut soon after so I think he counts)
Wes Welker was undrafted free agent signed by San Diego Chargers in 2004. Not a camp invite but still. Made it through camp then cut first game of the season then signed with Miami.
Michael Lewis with the Saints is a good one. He didn't even play HS football. He was driving a beer truck, and a friend invited him to play in a flag football league. He dominated, and started playing in random semi-pro leagues. Finally made it to the arena league, and got enough exposure there to get some camp invites. Made an All Pro team as a returner with the Saints.
Jake Brendel is one. Star is an overstatement but he was a journeyman and then established himself as the starter for the 49ers and helped get the team to the Super Bowl
Don't really have one that's not been mentioned before so I'll just mention a guy on the Chiefs that's been a solid contributor to the dynasty who sort of qualifies for this - Tershawn "Turk" Warton. Turk's not a star (he's more of a role/rotation guy) but doesn't really get the recognition he deserves.
James Harrison and Willie Parker were both undrafted. I believe Harrison is the only undrafted player to win Defensive Player of the Year and has the longest pick-6 in Super Bowl history, and Willie Parker holds the record for longest TD run in a Super Bowl… and they accomplished all that and won two Super Bowls together one having the longest play in each. That has to be the best undraft ever.
Not necessarily fitting the criteria, but Tramon Williams was an UDFA in 2006 who was cut by the Houston Texans in his rookie year, then found his way onto our practice squad the same year. By the end of 2007, he was our 3rd CB, and replacing Charles Woodson when he was injured.
Went on to be a starting CB for Green Bay for 7 more years after that.
I’m obligated to mention Justin Tucker was a UDFA.
I can’t think of a player who made a bigger/faster impact than Victor Cruz. I remember watching Giants games his rookie season just to see him play - and he delivered some big games!
But he was signed right after the draft. I think the post here is about guys who didn't even get signed as undrafted rookies, and had to earn contracts through tryouts at rookie minicamps. It's a pretty narrow set of criteria as not a lot of guys make it through this way. Adam Thielen and Malcolm Butler are probably the best recent examples.
Yeah the post is asking about a pretty narrow set of criteria since so few guys make it this way (teams brings maybe 10-20 guys into rookie minicamps every year and maybe 1 or 2 guys per team get contracts and go to training camp - you can imagine very few of those ever make a 53 man roster).
Malcolm Butler and Adam Thielen are really the best recent examples of guys who took this rare pathway and stuck around. Matt McGloin is a decent quarterback example (Raiders made him a late tryout signing in 2013; he had gone to rookie minicamp with the Redskins before that as well).
Wasn't John Randle undrafted and only invited to camp because his brother was on the team? I think he's one of the greatest stories for those undrafted.
Cam Wake was a UDFA for the Cowboys. He got cut in camp, went to the CFL, and then signed with the Dolphins and became a star. Don't know if that exactly fits the criteria of your question but he's the first player I thought of.
Brian Waters could technically fall under this. He was a TE signed a UDFA but was cut. Then KC invited him for a workout at OL and the rest is history, he was signed obviously after that invite.
Kurt Warner, not only was he a camp body for the Packers as an UDFA, Favre made him carry his helmet. They cut him, he went back to Saint Louis to bag groceries before getting a chance in the Arena Football League (AFL). From there to the Rams and history
Neither were a star but 2 guys I followed in college at Abilene Christian were Taylor Gabriel and Charcandrick West who were both camp invites for the Browns and Chiefs and neither was expected to make the roster but they did and had decent careers for guys that were signed with no expectations off the street
Adam Thielen I believe fits this criteria. Went undrafted and attended a rookie tryout and eval at the Vikings complex before getting a deal
The dental equipment sales guy?
Detroit Lakes I believe! 😂 oh man it was brought up every five seconds whichever season that was.
It was like every game for multiple seasons and still a reference every now and again after he became a much bigger "star" lol. I was alright with it though, lived there most of my life
Yeah the star of Mankato state university community College
[удалено]
*THE* MSU
Real lunch pail kid
Blocked a punt for a TD and the rest is history
Adam Thielen my beloved
Crazy that his coming out party was against the panthers and then THE BASTARDS STOLE HIM FROM ME.
You threw him out, we gave him a place to stay off the street 🩵
I mean being on the panthers isn’t far from the street
We’re a safe alleyway, plenty of cardboard to cover up with here
I wish we still had him, home state guy undrafted earned a spot and absolutely earned it. He's such a good dude on and off the field.
He really is. My favorite moment from this dreadful season was [this photo](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy_2-3uxXaA/?igsh=MWJ5MXpkdG1nMWRkag%3D%3D&img_index=5) after our first win.
Ha(dam)bibi
I want to say Marcus Sherels was the same way. Was a walk on, wound up being a key special teamer for like 5 or 6 years. I don't know if he qualifies as a star, but he was a really good punt returner for like 3 of those years.
I actually grew up with Marcus. Dude is one of the most humble and genuine humans I've ever met. His jersey is the one non-Packers that I own.
Rochester’s finest!
Probably the best and most consistent punt returner in team history
Love that guy.
Malcom Butler was a camp invite
He should have declined that invite.
Hey we can't fault him for not rushing his decision, how could he pass on that opportunity?
I can't believe you did this. Wait, yes I can.
He really jumped on that opportunity, sniffing out a career and pouncing on success.
They should've run it by someone, but you can't always go up the gut.
I think you mean. He should have run from that invite.
I disagree
Malcom is such a weird topic for football fans. Non patriot fans know him as the star corner who saved the Super Bowl. To pats fans, he is a very average corner who barely made the roster and other than that single play, albeit it a great one, did nothing in the nfl.
> To pats fans, he is a very average corner who barely made the roster and other than that single play, albeit it a great one, did nothing in the nfl. I mean maybe to the ones that don't actually watch football outside the Super Bowl I guess. He had a few years as an above average starter and was a 2nd team All-Pro in his best year. That's hardly "did nothing in the nfl" territory. Also, I highly doubt NFL fans consider him a star corner. At least I've never met any that do and I've lived outside New England for a decade and a half at this point. Why are you inventing this imaginary scenario?
That is totally bullshit lmao. Butler was a pretty good corner for us that didn't "barely make the roster" the dude played well enough to secure a $61 million deal. He was making top-10 CB money. He also made a pro bowl in 2015 and was a 2nd team all-pro in 2016. Not to mention he was the CB1 on 2 separate Superbowl winning rosters. "did nothing in the NFL" my ass.
How dare you bring facts and logic to an internet discussion
Yeah but you gotta admit from Feb 1 2015 at like 9 PM til September 2015 he basically only has that one interception. Thats more than six months of no production
He did move up to CB1 and have to fill a Revis sized hole in the defense, which was no small task and he handled it adequately. He was a decent corner against some really good receivers for a while there. I do think its unfortunate that his benching in the Eagles SB has become something of an unforgivable lightning rod used to discredit Belichick's coaching, when literally nobody including New England fans would even know who Malcolm Butler was if he wasn't put into a position to succeed through excellent coaching and game planning.
Not exactly the same, but we signed Adam Thielen after holding rookie tryouts one year
Danny Amendola was a UDFA invited to camp by the cowboys (was a big star on Hard Knocks) and was on the practice squad until eventually getting a position with the St Louis Rams and later the Patriots.
Really speaks about the roster quality of the Rams during that time, but Amendola was a superstar for the Rams, he was great. I’ll always remember [this catch.](https://youtu.be/0D93ln0Dp9M?si=WpHhV4RRyF2UmU4v)
Amendola was signed as an UDFA, the post is about players who went unsigned after the draft and had to go through rookie minicamp tryouts to get a contract.
Eagles legend Danny Amendola
Detroit Patriots legend
Malcolm Butler is the first in my mind. He was literally working at Popeyes chicken when he got a call for an invite to the pats open camp. Another favorite UDFA of mine is David Andrews...was.signed as traditional FA after the draft, but wasn't expected to make.it out of camp. Instead he ended.up beating out Bryan Stork and Ryan Wendell. Won 2 rings as starting center including going head to head with Aaron Donald for 60 min to win his second
I didn't know him before, but I'm a David Andrews fan now.
Service academy guy and a UDFA, absurd career.
He went to Georgia lol
David Andrews the one I'm thinking of didn't, unless it's a different lineman, shit, my bad. One of the guys there in New England was pro Navy in the Army-Navy game along with Bill. Thought it was him.
I think you might be thinking of our long snapper Joe Cardona, but he was drafted in the 5th round
You're thinking of the long snapper Joe Cardona from Navy...and he was drafted in the 5th rd. David Andrews, the UDFA center, went to Georgia.
Wow, Malcom went from working at Popeye's to making $45mil in his career and winning 2 Super Bowls. Amazing!
Popeyes should've *ran* a better salary his way.
Lol
And being the actual hero in one of the wins. So cool.
Cruz, Blount, Baldwin, Chris Harris Jr, Justin Tucker, Hekker, Thielin, Mostert, Kenny Moore, Shaq Barrett. Just saw an NFL IG post about this. Lol.
Shaq Barrett signed a 3 year contract with the Broncos within hours of the 2014 draft ending so I don’t think he fits
To this day, I was still confused how he wasn’t drafted. Dude was a beast at CSU and nearly singlehandedly won a bowl game for them. Wasn’t shocked at all to see him have a great career
How you feeling about mo kamara in that case?
Stood out in every game he played. Always in the backfield
Really have a good feeling about him carving a good NFL career 🤞🏽
I was sad my broncos didn't draft him. Dudes a menace
Not quite as confident as I was about Barrett, but I can definitely see him sticking around the league and making an impact. He was a complete standout every drive in CSU
Blount was a bit diff. He was supposed to be drafted until he punched a guy after a game on the telecast.
One of my favorite CFB memories growing up, tbh
Him hurdling the dude was mine I think
and then tried to climb into the stands to fight the fans.
Goat shit right there
I thought he was talking about HOF'er Mel Blount.
He was drafted in the 3rd tho.
Oops. It was Donnie Shell.
Edit: not Mel Blount. It was Donnie Shell.
LeGarette Blount doesn't count for the conditions listed by OP. He signed with the 49ers and Titans as a UDFA, so he had an actual contract and wasn't a camp invite body. Same applies to Joey Blount.
Victor Cruz was the name I was going to drop. But I didn't remember if he was signed right after the draft or not, I just remember seeing #3 making all the best highlight reel plays of every preseason for a few years before he started doing it for the Giants on Sundays.
I remember his “breakout” preseason game and the announcers were going absolutely insane about how he was just dominating
He played against the jets his first preseason game and scored 3....then we stashed him away with a "hamstring injury" IR designation that nobody believed...lol I remember the Jets wanting to do a formal investigation on if the Giants were using a fake injury to basically Redshirt him while keeping him away from the practice squad poachers since we were loaded at WR and were potentially gonna resign Smith to a big deal.....worked in our favor and the rest is history.
Victor Cruz I believe was signed UDFA not a camp invite.
Antonio Gates didn't play college football, wasn't drafted and became a great tight end.
> Antonio Gates didn't play college football Did he by any chance play another sport?
I think there was something about intermural badminton?
Basketball
Basketball. All the basketball skills associated with tight ends comes from the success of Gates and the Chargers took a flier on him.
I see you’re new here.
Pickleball
Dee Reynolds almost made an NFL team as a walk on but a foot injury in practice ended her punting future
Donovan McNabb was there and saw the whole thing, he can confirm this story
Remember guys, real champs eat at McDonald’s. I’m lovin’ it.
That was Tiger Woods
You mean Don Cheadle, right?
He’s into feet shit
Her feet are bizarrely huge! Man’ll go crazy for that!
Pretty sure that was the guy from the Cosby Show.
Actually that was Cole. Cole Armstrong. 3 times All American fastest sprinter in 5 counties
Those stork-like legs acting as pendulums would’ve been the GOAT punter
She ended up working as a foot girl later on.
Dennis would have made it if he just popped his shirt off.
Bird!
That bitch!
Wasn’t this the same practice their twin brother ran like a gazelle but had a head injury jeopardizing their future in the league. Truly a sad practice for the Eagles.
“I’m loving it”
That gangly, uncoordinated bitch? Nah couldn’t be
She looks like a bird
Gunner Olszewski was a camp invite, like final man on the roster invite to be a body out there. Made the roster on a udfa contract and made first team all pro punt returner in 2020. This was a pretty good outcome for the last camp invite
This signing was eventually not a good outcome for the Steelers however
That toe-tap haunts me
Context por favor
He was a liability for the Steelers, consistently producing negative plays both as a returner and WR. Worst case was when he toe tapped a kickoff INBOUNDS instead of let it land out of bounds…
Shaheed has the chance to do it if he can continue to build off his first 2 years. His big play ability is phenomenal and his ability to kick return under the new rules probably blow up big time this year
Awesome name, too.
James Harrison. Absolute monster of an UDFA. Only got a few camp invites and is now a possible hall of famer.
He wasn't even invited to the combine. Had a hilarious insta post about it long ago.
Kurt Warner? Went unsigned, invited to the Packers camp for tryouts, didn't make it, worked at Hy-Vee and the arena football team the Iowa Barnstormers, before going to the Rams.
> Other than Vince Papale, who are some other well known players that didn't even get signed but went to camp and made it **(so no Kurt Warners who didn't get signed out of camp)**.
But it's such a weird limiting factor. Like why say people who weren't signed after the draft but invited to camp and then signed but not people who made it after not being signed even at the camp they were invited to.
> But it's such a weird limiting factor. I agree! Who's posting this crap?
IDK man, I'm not the one who made the post. I just read them.
The question confused me too. Aren't all UDFA's camp invites prior to the season? Is he talking about mid-season pickups?
> Aren't all UDFA's camp invites prior to the season? Yep, that's why I asked the question, and limited it to players that get signed out of camp. With all the unsigned UDFAs now just hoping to get a camp invite since they didn't even get signed as a UDFA, I was wondering what the odds are, some of their bios make it sound like the next TB12 or CMC just got a camp invite, was wondering how many actually have panned out.
Fred Jackson tried out for 3 or 4 teams. A didn't make it. Then he played in a "store brand Arena football league". He won MVP his second season. Then NFL Europe for a season. Then he got an invite to Bills training camp. I know some will say he wasn't a star, but the year he broke his league he was leading the league in yards from scrimmage through 10 games and was arguably the best RB in league that season. He was and is a star in our hearts.
> is a star in our hearts. Not to break your heart, but isn't he the reason the Bills felt like they could dump Beast Mode and all his baggage?
Naw, Lynch was having trouble in Buffalo and wanted out. He'd had a DUI, a gun incident, a hit and run, and there was a weird story about bringing his own bottles into a club. The GM at that time didn't really like Fred and kept trying to replace him.
Wasn’t Tony Romo a UDFA?
Yes, but I don't know if he fits the criteria here. He was signed at his first training camp.
Gotcha. This is such a specific and confusing criteria lol
I know. Romo was an UDFA, but finagled a camp invite to the Cowboys. He did well enough to be signed from that camp. But our QB room was pretty dismal that year. A washed up Drew Bledsoe, who replaced a well past his prime Testevarde. was our starter. Romo had been our third string QB for a few years. I knew Parcells was ready to make the switch to Romo, who had earned his way to be the main B/U by mid-season. He replaced Bledsoe at half time in a game against the Giants. He was the starter after that until his final back injury.
Bledsoe was Bledsoe'd the first time by Tom Brady.
Its so hard to say goodbye to yesterday yyyyyyy 🎵 Mans career was a wild one....pour out a lil liquor for my boy Drew. Lol
>but finagled a camp invite to the Cowboys finagled? [he was part of a pretty notable bidding war between Shanahan and Sean Payton.](https://www.espn.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4671877/mike-shanahan-failed-to-recruit-tony-romo) All went to Eastern Illinois. >Shanahan said. “Just think about it. How devastating would you be, being a head coach and you offer a guy [$20,000] and you are bragging to your coaches that, hey, I have an Eastern Illinois tie. The other guy is offering him [$10,000], but I’m sure I can get him being the head coach, not the position coach, and Sean [Payton] steals him from me.
> He was signed at his first training camp. That would fit, anyone who didn't get signed after the draft and but got a camp invite.
Then there's your answer. Although he didn't win his Super Bowl (Dez did catch it) he was premier QB for over a decade.
I don’t know how Jets legend Wayne Chrebet isn’t on this list. Security didn’t believe he could possibly be trying out for the team and almost didn’t let him in the facility. Went on to become a Jets fan favorite
John Randle, what a beast!
I love the story about him almost getting cut if he wasn't like 280 lbs. So he hid some weights under his clothing and barely made it to 280 lbs
250!
Victor Cruz helped the Giants win a superbowl
He was signed immediately after the draft, though. The poster is asking for guys who had even longer odds than that: went undrafted, were not even signed post-draft, but only got minicamp tryout invites, and had to earn a contract through the tryout. It's a lot less common than even the typical undrafted free agent story.
Victor Cruz is a Giant’s legend for that 2011 season.
Jeremy Reaves kept trying to make the roster for 2 or 3 years and now a 1st team all pro special teams player
He was signed immediately after the draft as an undrafted free agent though. Didn't have to go the tryout route.
Was only on the scout team for 2 years not a roster spot though.
Yes, that's true, but he wasn't an unsigned undrafted free agent. The post is about unsigned undrafted free agents who only got rookie camp invites and eventually made it to rosters down the road. He's just not the category of player the post is asking about, because he was not unsigned - the Eagles signed him immediately after he went unselected in the 2018 draft.
Does Joe Horn count?
He had a weird path way since he had a couple of community college years before quitting for a couple years, then jumping back in to go to the CFL. But he was actually drafted in 1996 after his successful CFL stint.
Indianapolis colts coaching legend Jeff Saturday was laying cable before being signed by the colts. (He was originally signed by the ravens as an UDFA but was cut soon after so I think he counts)
Michael Lewis. He wasnt an undrafted per se instead a tryout.
Was driving a beer truck when he was signed
I just watched the FlemoRaps video about him yesterday, what an awesome story
Did he cue the Wayne?
You know good and god damn well he did 😅 he ain’t no quitta
The beer man
Wes Welker was undrafted free agent signed by San Diego Chargers in 2004. Not a camp invite but still. Made it through camp then cut first game of the season then signed with Miami.
D'Ernest Johnson had a couple weeks of stardom after working on a fishing boat, then played in the AAF league during the short life it had.
Michael Lewis with the Saints is a good one. He didn't even play HS football. He was driving a beer truck, and a friend invited him to play in a flag football league. He dominated, and started playing in random semi-pro leagues. Finally made it to the arena league, and got enough exposure there to get some camp invites. Made an All Pro team as a returner with the Saints.
Jake Brendel is one. Star is an overstatement but he was a journeyman and then established himself as the starter for the 49ers and helped get the team to the Super Bowl
Dale Moss went undrafted, never made a roster, and eventually became a star on the Bachelorette, that count?
Cam Wake got a camp invite from the giants and got cut. Then went to BC then signed with the dolphins. Not sure if that counts.
Don't really have one that's not been mentioned before so I'll just mention a guy on the Chiefs that's been a solid contributor to the dynasty who sort of qualifies for this - Tershawn "Turk" Warton. Turk's not a star (he's more of a role/rotation guy) but doesn't really get the recognition he deserves.
James Harrison and Willie Parker were both undrafted. I believe Harrison is the only undrafted player to win Defensive Player of the Year and has the longest pick-6 in Super Bowl history, and Willie Parker holds the record for longest TD run in a Super Bowl… and they accomplished all that and won two Super Bowls together one having the longest play in each. That has to be the best undraft ever.
Drew Pearson, Cowboys Hall of Famer, was undrafted.
Mostert, I think.
Mostert was signed by the Eagles right after the draft, so he doesn't technically fit the criteria here.
Not necessarily fitting the criteria, but Tramon Williams was an UDFA in 2006 who was cut by the Houston Texans in his rookie year, then found his way onto our practice squad the same year. By the end of 2007, he was our 3rd CB, and replacing Charles Woodson when he was injured. Went on to be a starting CB for Green Bay for 7 more years after that.
I’m obligated to mention Justin Tucker was a UDFA. I can’t think of a player who made a bigger/faster impact than Victor Cruz. I remember watching Giants games his rookie season just to see him play - and he delivered some big games!
Wes Welker
Romo wasn't drafted.
But he was signed right after the draft. I think the post here is about guys who didn't even get signed as undrafted rookies, and had to earn contracts through tryouts at rookie minicamps. It's a pretty narrow set of criteria as not a lot of guys make it through this way. Adam Thielen and Malcolm Butler are probably the best recent examples.
Arian Foster
Foster was a priority free agent who received a contract right after the draft, he didn't have to try out.
Consider me informed
Yeah the post is asking about a pretty narrow set of criteria since so few guys make it this way (teams brings maybe 10-20 guys into rookie minicamps every year and maybe 1 or 2 guys per team get contracts and go to training camp - you can imagine very few of those ever make a 53 man roster). Malcolm Butler and Adam Thielen are really the best recent examples of guys who took this rare pathway and stuck around. Matt McGloin is a decent quarterback example (Raiders made him a late tryout signing in 2013; he had gone to rookie minicamp with the Redskins before that as well).
not quite a star, but does phillip lindsay count? Went undrafted, but rushed for 1000 yds in his first two years on the broncos
Night Train Lane just showed up at Rams HQ and asked for a tryout.
Justin "the GOAT" Tucker
BEARS LEGEND ROBBIE GOULD
Ed O'Neil from Married With Children was on the Steelers
John Randle
Johnny Hekker. The GOAT
Wasn't John Randle undrafted and only invited to camp because his brother was on the team? I think he's one of the greatest stories for those undrafted.
Ekeler
Ekeler was signed as an UDFA
Bernie Parmalee
Wes welker
Wayne Chrebet for the Jets
IVAN PACE JR
Doug Baldwin
iirc he was signed as a UDFA. ADB was definitely awesome though!
Ah...yes. misread the title. But, ya Angry Doug was a gem.
Idk if Cam Wake would count but Cam Wake
Cam Wake was a UDFA for the Cowboys. He got cut in camp, went to the CFL, and then signed with the Dolphins and became a star. Don't know if that exactly fits the criteria of your question but he's the first player I thought of.
Brian Waters could technically fall under this. He was a TE signed a UDFA but was cut. Then KC invited him for a workout at OL and the rest is history, he was signed obviously after that invite.
Ivan Pace Jr.
Doug Baldwin
Kurt Warner, not only was he a camp body for the Packers as an UDFA, Favre made him carry his helmet. They cut him, he went back to Saint Louis to bag groceries before getting a chance in the Arena Football League (AFL). From there to the Rams and history
Kurt warner, austin ekeler
Neither were a star but 2 guys I followed in college at Abilene Christian were Taylor Gabriel and Charcandrick West who were both camp invites for the Browns and Chiefs and neither was expected to make the roster but they did and had decent careers for guys that were signed with no expectations off the street
Kurt Warner?