We are entering the final week of the 2021 NFL regular season, and Liberty has had a few former players making their way on to NFL rosters throughout the year. Jessie Lemonier, Antonio Gandy-Golden, and Elijah Benton have all had their opportunities with various NFL franchises over the past several months.
Lemonier signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent immediately following the 2020 NFL Draft. After spending most of the year on the team’s practice squad, Lemonier played in 6 games with the Chargers during his rookie campaign, recording 2 tackles while being a key member of the special teams units.
This year, after being let go by the Chargers, Lemonier was picked up by the Detroit Lions and placed on their practice squad. In October, the outside linebacker was signed to Detroit’s active roster. He has played in the past 6 games for the Lions, recording 14 tackles and 0.5 sacks while getting a good number of snaps on both defense and special teams.
Gandy-Golden was selected by the then Washington Redskins in the fourth round (142nd overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. Injuries plagued his rookie season as he suffered a concussion late in the preseason causing him to miss week one and then suffered a hamstring injury mid-season which forced him out much of the rest of the year. AGG ended up playing in weeks 2 through 6 and again in week 16 before being a healthy scratch for week 17. As a rookie, AGG played in 6 games during the regular season, making 2 starts. He finished with just 1 reception on 7 targets for 3 yards to go along with a 22 yard run on his lone carry.
This year, Antonio Gandy-Golden only played in one game this season and did not record any stats. He was cut and then placed on the team’s practice squad prior to the start of the year. On New Year’s Day 2022, AGG was released by the Washington Football Team before being signed back to the practice squad earlier this week.
Benton was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in May 2020. He spent most of the season on the Browns’ practice squad during 2020, making it to the active roster for one game. Just prior to the start of the 2021 season, Brown was waived by the Browns after spending much of training camp in Cleveland. Throughout the 2021 season, Benton has bounced around several teams on their practice squads, making stops with the Patriots, Seahawks, and Jets. Most recently, he was released by the Jets on Dec. 30.
