Locals living the dream: Checking in with the 11 Central Mass. standouts on NFL rosters
The NFL season gets underway on Thursday and there were 11 players with Central Mass. roots that made the final cuts to live out their dreams playing on Sunday. Here's a look at who to root for this season.
Chris Lindstrom
Dudley/Shepherd Hill Regional
Guard, Atlanta Falcons
Last season, the 6-foot-3, 307-pound Lindstrom committed just one penalty – the only holding penalty of his career -- and allowed only two sacks in 850 snaps at right guard. His overall player grade according to Pro Football Focus was 93.6, tops in the NFL.
Lindstrom, a former T&G Offensive Player of the Year at Shepherd Hill, made his first Pro Bowl in 2022 and earned second-team All-Pro honors.
In March, the Falcons signed the 26-year-old Lindstrom to a five-year, $105 million contract extension, making him the NFL’s highest-paid guard as he enters his fifth season in the league.
Lindstrom, a first-round pick out of Boston College in 2019, has started every game the last three seasons, and, in 2022, he was the Falcons’ nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
Patrick Ricard
Spencer/David Prouty
Fullback, Baltimore Ravens
Ricard, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, is coming off offseason hip surgery and preparing to play his pivotal role in the Ravens’ run game in 2023.
Ricard, who was a defensive lineman at the University of Maine and played that position some early in his NFL career, has long been lauded for his versatility. During training camp, under new Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Ricard spent some time on the offensive line.
“I think I’m a football player,” Ricard recently told the Baltimore media. “I play for the Ravens, so it’s kind of wherever I’m asked to play, and wherever it’s most valuable of my time for the team and myself is where I play.”
In addition to blocking, the 6-foot-3, 305-pound Ricard helped the Ravens as a receiver out of the backfield last season with 11 catches for 74 yards.
Noah Gray
Gardner/Leominster High
Tight end, Kansas City Chiefs
Gray earned a Super Bowl ring last season while helping the Chiefs defeat the Eagles in LVII. Gray caught one pass for six yards from quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the 38-35 victory.
Gray, a fifth-round pick of the Chiefs out of Duke in 2021, enters his third NFL season as a backup to star tight end Travis Kelce, and also looking to an expanded role in the Chiefs’ offense.
After catching seven passes for 36 yards and a touchdown as a rookie, the 6-4, 240-pound Gray was on the field for more than half of KC’s offensive snaps last season. He had 28 receptions for 299 yards and a TD.
Gray, who was a two-time T&G Super Team selection at Leominster, played in 48 of a possible
49 games at Duke, and the Chiefs moved up 13 spots to draft him in 2021.
Ifeatu Melifonwu
Grafton
Safety, Detroit Lions
Injuries limited Melifonwu to 17 games his first two NFL seasons, but he his healthy heading into 2023 and looking forward to making some plays in the Lions’ defensive backfield.
Melifonwu, who was a third-round pick out of Syracuse in 2021, switched from cornerback to safety last year. He played in 10 games with one start and was on the field for only 98 defensive snaps.
In a late-season win over the Bears that kept Detroit’s postseason hopes alive, Melifonwu had four tackles, half a sack, and two defended passes, including a fourth-down pass that gave the ball back to the offense.
Entering this year, Melifonwu projects as a backup to Tracy Walker III.
Deonte (Harris) Harty
Assumption
Wide receiver/Return specialist, Buffalo Bills
After four years in New Orleans, where he was a Pro Bowl returner as a rookie in 2019, Harty signed with the Bills as a free agent this offseason.
At Assumption, Harty set the all-division NCAA career record for combined touchdown returns with 14, and he continued to shine on special teams during his time with the Saints. He averaged 25.4 yards on kickoff returns, with a long return of 75 yards in 2020, and 9.8 yards on punt returns, with a long of 53 yards and a TD, in 2019.
Harty missed most of last season with an injury. The Saints placed him on injured reserve in mid-October.
Over four seasons with the Saints, Harty, who signed with New Orleans as an undrafted free agent, had 64 receptions for 793 yards and four touchdowns.
Harty will handle kickoff and punt returns this season, and he is expected to play a bigger role in the Bills’ offense.
Kalif Raymond
Holy Cross
Wide receiver/Return specialist, Detroit Lions
Last season, Raymond emerged as Detroit’s No. 2 receiver and one of the top punt returners in the NFL.
Raymond played in every game, with seven starts, and had 47 receptions for a career-high 616 yards. He earned second-team All-Pro honors as a punt returner after averaging 13.2 yards per return.
Raymond, who enters his third season in Detroit, recently signed a two-year contract extension.
Raymond, who ranks second in Holy Cross history in kickoff return yards and sixth in punt return yards, joined the league as an undrafted free agent with the Broncos in 2016. He has also spent time with the Jets, Giants and Titans.
Zach Triner
Assumption
Long snapper, Tampa Bay Bucs
Triner was a defensive lineman at Assumption, but he carved his niche in the NFL as Tampa Bay’s long snapper.
As Triner enters his fifth pro season, he has appeared in 58 games for the Bucs, all as the team’s long snapper. He has seven career special teams tackles.
Two years ago, as a teammate of Tom Brady, Triner was part of the Bucs’ Super Bowl LV championship.
Triner originally signed a futures contract with the New York Jets in 2017.
Isaac Yiadom
Worcester/Doherty High
Cornerback, New Orleans Saints
Yiadom began 2022 in Houston, where he played three games, and finished the season in New Orleans, where he made an impact on the special teams units over the final six games.
In March, the Saints re-signed Yiadom to a one-year contract. He enters the season as the backup left corner and he will contribute on coverage units.
Yiadom, who helped Doherty to the 2014 Division 3 state championship, was a third-round pick of the Broncos out of Boston College in 2018.
He has played in 70 career games with 20 starts for the Broncos, Giants, Packers, Texans and Saints. Yiadom has 107 career tackles, a split sack, an interception, 12 passes defensed, a forced fumble and 17 special teams stops.
Sean McKeon
Dudley/Shepherd Hill Regional
Tight end, Dallas Cowboys (practice squad)
McKeon begins the year on the Cowboys’ practice squad.
The former Michigan standout, who joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2020, has played in 36 games for Dallas over the last three seasons.
He saw action in 13 games last year, and scored his first career touchdown in 2021.
Benton Whitley
Holy Cross
Outside linebacker, Minnesota Vikings (practice squad)
Whitley, who had a solid camp and made four tackles and broke up a pass in the Vikings’ preseason finale, begins the year on Minnesota’s practice squad.
Whitley, who finished his Holy Cross career with 111 tackles, including 26-1/2 for loss, and 15-1/2 sacks in 42 games, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Rams in 2022.
He spent time on the Chiefs’ and Vikings’ practice squads last season. He was on the Vikings’ active roster for three weeks, but did not see any action.
Liam Anderson
Holy Cross
Linebacker, Indianapolis Colts (practice squad)
Anderson, who helped lead Holy Cross to the FCS quarterfinals and a record 12 wins last season, begins the year on the Colts’ practice squad.
Anderson signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent.
Anderson, who overcame an arm injury early in camp, had a team-high 10 tackles in Indy’s preseason finale.
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Checking in with the 11 Central Mass. standouts on NFL rosters
