Former Spartans Preparing for NFL Playoffs

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Nine former Michigan State Spartans are preparing for the NFL Playoffs, which start this weekend (Jan. 10-12) with the Wild Card round.

A total of 19 former Spartans who finished their career at Michigan State saw action on NFL rosters this season.

Wild Card Weekend Schedule (games involving former Spartans)

Saturday, Jan. 10
No. 5 Los Angeles Rams (12-5) at No. 4 Carolina (8-9), 4:30 p.m. (FOX)
Former Spartans: OL Nick Samac (Panthers)

No. 7 Green Bay (9-7-1) at No. 2 Chicago (11-6), 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Former Spartans: OL Luke Newman (Bears), WR Jayden Reed (Packers)

Sunday, Jan. 11
No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) at No. 2 New England (14-3), 8 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
Former Spartans: P Bryce Baringer (Patriots)

Monday, Jan. 12
No. 5 Houston (12-5) at No. 4 Pittsburgh (10-7), 8:15 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)
Former Spartans: DT Naquan Jones (Texans), TE/FB Connor Heyward (Steelers)

Byes: NFC No. 1 Seattle (14-3), AFC No. 1 Denver (14-3)
Former Spartans: LB Jordan Turner (Broncos), RB Kenneth Walker III (Seahawks), WR Cody White (Seahawks)

Former Spartans on active NFL rosters entering the NFL Playoffs (as of Jan. 8, 2026)

P Bryce Baringer – New England Patriots (third season)
Former Spartan All-American punter averaged 47.4 yards per punt and placed 21 of his punts inside the 20 in his third season in New England . . . this marks his first career appearance in the NFL Playoffs . . . was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team in 2023 after averaging 46.9 yards per punt . . . earned consensus first-team All-America honors for the Spartans in 2022 and graduated as the program's all-time leader in punting average (46.0 avg.), which now ranks second in the school record books.

TE/FB Connor Heyward – Pittsburgh Steelers (fourth season)
Fourth-year tight end is making his third career appearance in the NFL Playoffs with the Steelers . . . also plays fullback . . . had 15 carries for 43 yards, including two touchdowns . . . caught three passes for 21 yards with one TD . . . saw action in all 17 games . . . played 289 snaps on special teams and 90 on offense . . . has played in 68 regular-season games for the Steelers during his first four seasons in the NFL (2022-25) with 44 receptions for 379 yards and three TDs . . . four-year letterwinner (2017-18; 20-21) played in 49 career games for the Spartans and helped MSU to a No. 9 national ranking and a win in the Peach Bowl during the 2021 season.

DT Naquan Jones – Houston Texans (fifth season)
Fifth-year NFL veteran played in seven games to start the season with the Chargers, but finished the season playing in four games for the Texans . . . this marks his second career appearance in the NFL Playoffs . . . played 112 snaps on defense with the Chargers and has played 70 snaps with the Texans . . . has totaled 102 tackles in 60 career games in the NFL (2021-25) . . . four-year letterwinner for the Spartans from 2017-20.

OL Luke Newman – Chicago Bears (rookie season)
Rookie played in nine games for the NFC North Champion Bears . . . played 47 snaps on special teams and 25 on offense at left guard . . . was selected in the sixth round (No. 195 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft by Chicago . . . played in 52 collegiate games over the course of five seasons (40 at Holy Cross from 2020-23; 12 at MSU in 2024).

OL Nick Samac – Carolina Panthers (rookie season)
Played in 11 games on special teams for the NFC South Champion Panthers . . . saw action on 46 snaps on special teams . . . was selected in the seventh round (No. 228 overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft by Baltimore and spent the 2024 season on the practice squad for the Ravens . . . started the 2025 season on the practice squad of the Ravens before getting signed by Carolina in September . . . made his NFL debut in Week 5 against the Dolphins . . . five-year letterwinner played in 49 career games for the Spartans from 2019-23, including 32 starts at center.

WR Jayden Reed – Green Bay Packers (third season)
Played in seven games, including three starts, for the Packers . . . was injured in Week 2 against Washington and didn't return to game action until Week 14 vs. Chicago . . . had 19 receptions for 207 yards and one TD . . . will be making his third straight appearance in the playoffs . . . in his first three seasons in the NFL with the Packers (40 total games), has 138 receptions for 1,857 yards and 15 TDs . . . also has three rushing TDs and 27 punt returns for 225 yards . . . has more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage in his career (2,167) with 18 total TDs . . . three-year letterwinner was a 2021 first-team All-American for the Spartans as an all-purpose player; named Offensive MVP of the 2021 Peach Bowl.

LB Jordan Turner – Denver Broncos (rookie season)
Played in seven games for the AFC West Champion Broncos . . . recorded seven tackles . . . played 23 snaps on defense and 117 on special teams . . . was a captain for the Spartans in his only year at Michigan State in 2024.

RB Kenneth Walker III – Seattle Seahawks (fourth season)
Led the Seahawks in rushing for the fourth season in a row with 1,027 yards and five touchdowns on 221 carries . . . started in all 17 games for the NFC West Champion Seahawks . . . ranked 16th in the NFL in rushing yards . . . compiled a career-high 1,309 scrimmage yards (1,027 rushing, 282 receiving), which ranked 22nd in the NFL . . . had six games of 100-plus yards from scrimmage, including 133 (97 rushing, 36 receiving) in the Week 18 win at San Francisco that clinched the No. 1 seed and the NFC West title for the Seahawks . . . will be making his second career appearance in the NFL Playoffs . . . this marked the second 1,000-yard rushing season of his career (career-high 1,050 yards as a rookie in 2022) . . . has rushed for 3,555 yards and 29 touchdowns over the course of 58 games (54 starts) in his four-year NFL career (2022-25) . . . also has accumulated 4,560 yards from scrimmage in his career (78.6 ypg) . . . won the Doak Walker Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award during his lone season at Michigan State in 2021 when he was a consensus All-American and led the Big Ten in rushing with 1,636 yards.

WR Cody White – Seattle Seahawks (fourth season)
Played in 10 games for the NFC West Champion Seahawks . . . played 165 snaps on offense and 117 on special teams . . . had three catches for 90 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown in Week 9 at Washington . . . is in his second season in Seattle after playing two seasons (2021-22) in Pittsburgh . . . spent the 2023 season on the practice squad for the Seahawks . . . has 11 receptions for 169 yards and one TD in 30 career NFL games . . . three-year letterwinner for the Spartans (2017-19).

Former Spartans on active roster during regular season and practice squad entering the NFL Playoffs (as of Jan. 8, 2026)

CB Ameer Speed – Houston Texans (third season)
Second-year defensive back played in two games on special teams for the Texans . . . is currently on the practice squad entering the NFL Playoffs . . . has played in 17 games in the NFL in his first three seasons (five games with Patriots and eight games with Colts in 2023; two games with Bears in 2024; two games with Texans in 2025) . . . lettered at Michigan State in 2022 and was a sixth-round NFL Draft pick by the Patriots in 2023.

LB Jacoby Windmon – Carolina Panthers (second season)
Appeared in nine plays on special teams for the Panthers in the last game of the regular season in Week 18 in his only game action of the season . . . was on the active roster for Week 18 but enters the playoffs on the practice roster . . . was on the practice squad for the Steelers in October before joining the Panthers practice squad in November . . . played in eight games last season for the Panthers during his rookie year . . . two-year letterwinner (2022-23) for the Spartans.

Additional former Spartans who played in the NFL in 2025:

LB Joe Bachie – Indianapolis Colts/Tennessee Titans (sixth season)
Played in five games to start the season with the Colts and then played in 10 games to finish the season with the Titans . . . played 157 snaps on defense and 68 plays on special teams with the Colts and had 22 tackles . . . played 186 snaps on special teams with the Titans . . . has played in 66 career games with 58 career tackles during his six seasons in the NFL (2020-25) . . . has played with four teams during his NFL career (Eagles, Bengals, Colts, Titans) . . . four-year letterwinner (2016-19) was named team MVP in 2017 and was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2018.

DB Kendell Brooks – Tennessee Titans (second season)
Played in 11 games in his second season with the Titans . . . played 154 snaps on defense in the secondary and saw action on 228 special teams plays . . . recorded 22 tackles . . . has played in 16 games with the Titans in his first two seasons (five in 2024, 11 in 2025) . . . two-year letterwinner for the Spartans (2022-23).

CB Josh Butler – Dallas Cowboys (second season)
Played a total of 39 snaps (26 defense and 13 special teams) and had three tackles in Week 18 against the New York Giants in his only game action of the season . . . spent a majority of the season on the injured reserve list for the Cowboys . . . has played in six games overall the past two seasons (2024-25) for the Cowboys . . . was previously on the practice squad with the Cowboys and played in the USFL with the Michigan Panthers in 2023 . . . played in five games overall for Dallas in 2024, including three starts at cornerback . . . four-year letterwinner for the Spartans from 2016-19.

RB Nate Carter – Atlanta Falcons (rookie season)
Had nine carries for 60 yards, including three for first downs, in seven games of action as a rookie with the Falcons . . . appeared on 49 special teams plays . . . two-year Spartan letterwinner rushed for 1,297 yards (4.3 avg.; 54.0 ypg) and nine touchdowns on 301 carries in 24 games, including 22 starts, during his two seasons at Michigan State (2023-24).

OT Jack Conklin – Cleveland Browns (10th season)
Started eight games at right tackle before ending the season on injured reserve . . . completed his 10th season in the NFL . . . has played in 114 career games, all starting assignments at tackle . . . has been named first-team All-Pro twice during his career (2016 with Titans, 2020 with Browns) . . . was a first-round pick (No. 8 overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft after earning first-team All-America honors in 2015 at MSU.

QB Kirk Cousins – Atlanta Falcons (14th season)
Fourteen-year NFL veteran played in 10 games, including eight starts to close out the season, in his second year in Atlanta . . . completed 166-of-269 passes (.617) for 1,721 yards and 10 touchdowns . . . four-time Pro Bowler has thrown for 44,700 yards (19th in NFL history) and 298 touchdowns (15th in NFL history) in his NFL career . . . has played in 174 career games, including 167 starts . . . three-time MSU captain (2009-11) owns MSU school records for pass completions (723) and passing efficiency (146.1 rating), while ranking second in passing yards (9,131) and touchdown passes (66).

WR Jalen Nailor – Minnesota Vikings (fourth season)
Fourth-year wide receiver played in all 17 games, including eight starts . . . hauled in a career-best 29 receptions, one better than in 2024 . . . also had a career-high 444 receiving yards with four TD catches . . . tied for the team lead in TD receptions and also ranked third in receiving yards and fourth in receptions . . . has 69 receptions for 1,066 yards and 11 TDs in 55 career games with the Vikings from 2022-25, including 16 starts . . . three-year Spartan letterwinner finished his career with 86 receptions for 1,454 yards and 12 TDs; was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft by Minnesota.

FB Ben VanSumeren – Philadelphia Eagles (third season)
Was injured on the very first kickoff of the 2025 season against the Cowboys and spent the rest of the season on the injured reserve list . . . played in 11 games during the 2024 regular season for the Super Bowl Champion Eagles . . . two-year letterwinner (2021-22) played in 24 games for the Spartans.

Former Spartans on NFL practice squads but did not see game action in 2025:
OT AJ Arcuri (Rams), TE Matt Sokol (Steelers)

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