Every former Penn State player in the NFL playoffs this weekend
The NFL’s conference championship weekend has arrived. After one of the best divisional rounds in NFL history with all four games being decided on the final plays of the game, the stage is set to determine which franchises will be crowned as the champions of the AFC and NFC with a date in the Super Bowl awaiting the conference champions. Although the total number has been slashed as the playoff games have gone by, there is still hope for a Penn State player to add a Super Bowl ring to their name.
There is a 100% chance a Penn State player will be on a roster for a team playing in the Super Bowl, as both participants in the NFC Championship Game (Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers) have multiple former Penn State players on their rosters. The same cannot be said for the AFC contenders, however. Neither the Kansas City Chiefs nor the Cincinnati Bengals have a former Nittany Lion on their roster.
Here is an updated look at each former Nittany Lions still on a roster for a team taking the field this weekend in the NFL’s conference championship weekend.
Grant Haley, Los Angeles Rams
Photo: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
The star of one of the most iconic plays in Penn State history, Grant Haley is currently on the practice squad for the Los Angeles Rams. Haley is on his third NFL team since entering the league as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants. He was waived by the New Orleans Saints prior to the start of the 2021 season and signed with the Rams to the practice squad in October 2021.
Nick Scott, Los Angeles Rams
Photo: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Former Nittany Lion Nick Scott provides some good depth to the Rams’ secondary, playing behind Jordan Fuller on the Rams depth chart.
Kevin Givens, San Francisco 49ers
Photo: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Givens, former Big Ten All-Freshman player, is in his third season in the NFL, all with the Sam Francisco 49ers. Givens was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and was signed to the team’s practice squad prior to the start of the 2019 season. He was promoted to the active roster at the end of the year and was on the team’s Super Bowl roster. Givens spent a short stint on the injured reserve list in 2021 and had two tackles in the 49ers’ overtime victory to clinch a playoff spot in the final week of the regular season.
Robbie Gould, San Francisco 49ers
Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
One of Penn State’s top all-time kickers continues to compile a successful NFL career, and he gets one more chance to get his first Super Bowl ring in this year’s postseason. Robbie Gould, a long-time Chicago Bears kicker, is in his fifth season with the San Francisco 49ers, and in the first year of a two-year extension on his contract. Gould only played in six games this season due to a groin injury earlier in the year, but his game-winning overtime field goal against the Los Angeles Rams helped send the 49ers to the postseason.
It was Gould who was one of the stars for the 49ers in the divisional round, kicking a last-second field goal in Lambeau Field to lift the 49ers to a road upset of the top-seeded Green Bay Packers.
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