photo by: AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

San Francisco 49ers guard Dominick Puni (77) against the Arizona Cardinals during an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz.

The NFL playoffs will feature several former Kansas football players this year, including a couple who played extensively for their respective teams throughout the 2025 season.

Guard Dominick Puni locked down a spot on the line all year for the San Francisco 49ers, the No. 6 seed in the NFC, while defensive end Austin Booker picked up speed midway through the season for the Chicago Bears, who are No. 2 in the same conference. Also in the trenches for the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks is sixth-round rookie guard Bryce Cabeldue, who has been a reserve this year.

Two more are on playoff teams’ practice squads: fellow lineman Logan Brown is with Cabeldue in Seattle, while wide receiver Luke Grimm recently caught back on with the Los Angeles Chargers, the No. 7 seed in the AFC.

Booker continued a dramatic rise in 2025, at least once he actually made it onto the field. A knee injury he suffered in the preseason cost him all of September and October, but the 6-foot-6 edge rusher made a strong impression in 555 total snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, in the final 10 games of the season. Booker finished the year with 35 tackles, including 4.5 sacks, 3.5 of which occurred in the month of December, as well as a forced fumble and three passes defensed.

One of those sacks came in prime time against the 49ers, whose offensive line of course includes Puni. Puni started every game for the 49ers at right guard, his second straight season as a full-time starter, and graded out well at 70.2 on PFF. He only allowed one sack all season and in fact may have been even better as a run blocker.

One of KU’s two drafted rookies along with running back Devin Neal, Cabeldue will have a chance at playoff action in his first professional season. He has appeared sparingly at left and right guard for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks, with 24 snaps on offense and 32 on special teams over the course of eight games.

His former teammate at the opposite end of the KU offensive line, Brown, is with him again in Seattle, his third team in his first season after stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns, but unlike Cabeldue he has yet to appear in a game.

Grimm had been on and off the Los Angeles Chargers’ practice squad all season, and he re-signed Tuesday ahead of the team’s playoff run. He had recently undergone a tryout with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Bears face the Green Bay Packers at 7 p.m. Saturday, while the 49ers take on Philadelphia at 3:30 p.m. Sunday and the Chargers play New England at 7 p.m. Sunday. The Seahawks, as the top seed, have a first-round bye and will play the following weekend.

photo by: AP Photo/Eakin Howard

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, left, is tackled by Chicago Bears defensive end Austin Booker during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025.

photo by: AP Photo/Danny Karnik

Seattle Seahawks guard Bryce Cabeldue (77) lines up during the second half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Atlanta.

BEYOND THE PLAYOFFS

The veteran offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji, who had missed the entire 2024 season while in Cleveland, appeared in 12 games for the Dallas Cowboys in 2025, mainly on special teams, though he started and filled in capably in one game at guard against the New York Giants on Sept. 14.

One of the most successful KU football players in the pros in recent years, Dorance Armstrong, suffered a setback in 2025. He was starting for the Washington Commanders on the edge as usual and had 24 tackles with an impressive 5.5 sacks early in the year before he suffered a season-ending knee injury against his former team, the Cowboys, on Oct. 19.

It was a surprise when cornerback Cobee Bryant went undrafted last April and far less surprising when he found playing time with the Atlanta Falcons down the stretch. In all, the memorable former Jayhawk cornerback ended up playing 102 defensive snaps, more than half of which came in prime time against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 11. It was a trial by fire and a rough night at times for Bryant, who often found himself trying to cover future Hall of Famer Mike Evans, but the Falcons took a dramatic 29-28 win that night.

On the season, Bryant recorded 10 tackles in seven games with one pass defensed. He did suffer a concussion in Atlanta’s season finale against New Orleans on Sunday.

Neal, a sixth-round pick, took advantage of some injuries in the New Orleans Saints’ backfield to earn pretty significant playing time and ended up with 57 carries for 206 yards and two touchdowns on the year, as well as 17 catches for 104 yards. His best performance came against Tampa Bay on Dec. 7, when he had 19 rushes for 70 yards and his first NFL touchdown. However, after scoring again the following week against Carolina, he too got hurt and missed the last few weeks of the year.

Wide receiver Steven Sims Jr. continued his itinerant career, joining the Arizona Cardinals late in the season after spending camp with the Seahawks. He played in three games as a kickoff and punt returner — his longtime niche — and was also targeted once on offense as a receiver.

Fellow wideout Quentin Skinner, a rookie, always had the physical tools at his disposal during his KU tenure, and he was able to catch on with the New York Jets when he went undrafted. After flashing in the preseason, he didn’t get an in-game opportunity until the last week of the year as the Jets endured a lost season, but he made a 10-yard catch and recorded a two-point conversion on Sunday at Buffalo.

Several Jayhawks didn’t finish the year on NFL rosters. For example, Jason Bean, JB Brown, Mello Dotson, Jereme Robinson and Craig Young got cut prior to the season. Dotson had a tryout with Green Bay late in the year.

Young was signed on Dec. 30 by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. Several Jayhawks have recently appeared in the CFL, such as Dre Doiron, Kenny Logan Jr. and Alex Raich.

Earl Bostick Jr. reportedly joined the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League in October; Mason Fairchild already plays for the D.C. Defenders in that same league.