Justin Rigg, Phil Hoskins find new NFL homes

It’s a good Thursday for two former Kentucky Wildcats. Tight end Justin Rigg signed a futures contract with the Tennessee Titans, according to John Glennon. Based on this tweet, former Kentucky defensive lineman Phil Hoskins has a similar opportunity with the Kansas City Chiefs:

Lookin forward to this opportunity with the chiefs. Let’s get it #ChiefsKingdom

— Big Snacc (@phil_hoskins) January 12, 2023

Rigg spent time on the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad this past fall after going undrafted in April. He was at Kentucky from 2017-21, playing in a school-record 63 games with 35 total starts, including 16 straight.

Hoskins was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft and spent most of this past season on the practice squad. He appeared in eight games for the Panthers between 2021 and 2022, posting six tackles and one sack. In three years at Kentucky, Hoskins totaled 53 tackles, 4.0 sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery, and a forced fumble over 25 games. The Panthers released Hoskins earlier this week.

What is a futures contract, you ask? Practice squads dissolve at the end of each season. Futures contracts give clubs the right to bring back or add valuable practice squad players that could crack the 53-man roster at the conclusion of the following year’s training camp. Yesterday, former Kentucky DB Quandre Mosely and WR Josh Ali signed futures contracts with their current squads, the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons.

Congrats, boys.