The most obvious Wildcats to stick on rosters are mainstays Taron Johnson, now in Las Vegas, and Seattle receiver Rashid Shaheed.

Johnson’s eight-year stay in Buffalo is over. The Bills selected the nickel defensive back in the fourth round of the 2018 draft and he became a starter on one of the better defenses in the league. Johnson totaled 572 tackles, six interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) and eight forced fumbles in his time in New York.

Now Johnson, a native of Sacramento, California, is back West to play for the Raiders.

Shaheed, now a Super Bowl champion, was a lock to make the Seahawks after Seattle traded for the speedster midway through last season on the way to a title. The one-time First Team All-Pro and record-holder for most kickoff-return TDs in a Division I career, has 12 receiving touchdowns, two punt-return TDs and one score on a kickoff.

Linebacker Winston Reid is back with the Cleveland Browns for a third season. He joined the club undrafted in 2024 and made the team, appearing in 16 games and starting three, before missing last season due to injury.

Former Weber State linebacker Jack Kelly is in the league. He made the New York Giants’ initial 53-man roster after the team took him in the sixth round of this year’s draft. Kelly became one of the most disruptive defenders in WSU history before transferring to BYU for his final two college seasons, totaling 23.5 tackles for loss (including 15 sacks) in 25 games.

The Giants did not place running back Damon Bankston on the active roster, waiving the former WSU back who finished his college career at New Mexico.

The Arizona Cardinals waived former WSU defensive end Jonah Williams, and rookie offensive lineman Gavin Ortega also got the pink slip in Denver. The Broncos have already announced Ortega among a group the team signed to its practice squad.

Former WSU running back Dontae McMillan, who finished his college career at Eastern Michigan, was in camp with the Baltimore Ravens but was let go in the final round of cuts.

Wildcats wrap play with national basketball teams

Former Weber State men’s basketball players Dillon Jones and Koby McEwen wrapped up their stints with their national teams Monday when the final Round 4 game of FIBA Americas World Cup qualifying took place.

Jones played just more than 4 minutes in the United States’ 104-80 victory over Colombia in Washington, D.C. He totaled two points, one rebound and one assist. Former Montana State and Utah State guard Darius Brown II had one rebound and one assist.

Big man Orlando Robinson, who played in Ogden when Fresno State visited Weber State in 2021, led Team USA with 17 points and nine rebounds.

World Cup qualifying takes place regionally across the world over a total of 12 games, split into six rounds. The United States is now 7-1 through four rounds; the top three teams from each group make the World Cup, scheduled for Aug. 27-Sept. 12, 2027, in Qatar.

McEwen, who played in that 2021 game against Robinson, played for Canada’s team in this round, scoring two points Monday in a tough, 97-92 win over Argentina in Quebec. Canada featured two rotational NBA players in Nickeil Alexander-Walker (26 points) and Lu Dort (25).