Rice football has nine alumni currently active on NFL rosters. Here’s how the NFL Owls fared through the entirety of the 2018 season.
Chris Boswell, K (Steelers) – Boswell made 13 of his 20 field goal attempts this year, missing more than four attempts for the first time in his professional career all the while dealing with injuries which caused him to miss two games. His highlight play came in Week 12, a 2-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal. He ended the season on IR.
CHRIS BOSWELL
TO
ALEJANDRO VILLANUEVA 🤯
(Yes, you read that correctly.) pic.twitter.com/0FtvWfCkCO
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 25, 2018
Bryce Callahan, CB (Bears)Â – Callahan set career highs in tackles (45), tackles for a loss (6) and quarterback hits (5), tying personal bests for passes defended (6) and interceptions (2). Like Boswell and several other Owls, he ended his season on IR, missing the Bears’ final three games of the regular season.
Christian Covington, DE (Texans) – Covington had a strong season which came to an end in the Texan’s Wildcard Round loss to the Colts. Highlighted by a 2.5 sack breakout against the Titans in Week 12, Covington finished the year with a career-best 3.5 sacks and eight quarterback hits.
Phillip Gaines, CB (Browns) – Gaines started the year with the Bills before being cut after seven games. He was picked up by the Browns and played in four contests before an injury forced him to miss the remainder of the season. Between both stops he registered 39 tackles and two passes defended.
Vance McDonald, TE (Steelers) – McDonald was an important piece in the Pittsburgh offense this season, finishing third on the team in targets, receiving yards and touchdowns, trailing only Antonio Brown and Vance McDonald. All such marks were career highs.
Andrew Sendejo, S (Vikings) – Sendejo was productive for the Vikings in five weeks before suffering a groin injury that ultimately landed him on injured reserve. He started the first five weeks, registering 27 tackles, 21 of them solo. He was on pace for a career-best 67 solo tackles before his season came to an end.
Jordan Taylor, WR (Broncos) – Taylor never saw the field for Denver this season after hip surgery landed him on the PUP list to start the season. He was able to return to practice in mid-October but was never activated during the season.
Luke Wilson, TE (Lions) – Wilson started eight games for the Lions this year. He caught 13 passes for 87 yards, failing to score for the first time in his six-year NFL career.
