ROCKFORD — Five locals maneuvered their way in (and, for one, out of) the NFL this past season, and only one of them is preparing to help spark his team in the playoffs beginning this weekend.
For the other four, including free-agent tight end Dan Arnold, the offseason has already kicked in.
On Monday, James Robinson, the former Rockford Lutheran star running back who eventually took the NFL by storm as an undrafted rookie, signed a reserve/future contract with his sixth team, the New Orleans Saints. He finished this season on the Saints practice squad.
Here is a look at how Robinson and the other four locals in the NFL have fared so far and what's next for all of them:
James Robinson, New Orleans Saints RB
Robinson has bounced around a lot of late, but maybe he's found another home where he can be a star.
On Dec. 13, 2023, Robinson joined theNew Orleans Saints' practice squad, and after the season ended for the team this past weekend, they signed him to a reserve/future contract early this week. Robinson rushed for 1,070 yards and scored seven touchdowns in his rookie year with the Jaguars in 2020, but has since struggled to see the field since tearing his Achilles tendon during the 2021 season.
Locals in the NFL: Pair of stars — RB James Robinson and TE Dan Arnold — get cut from their NFL teams
Back on Oct. 9, 2015,as the Rockford Lutheransenior running back, Robinsonset the IHSA state career rushing record, and he finished with 9,045 rushing yards and 158 rushing touchdowns, both of which still stand as No. 1 marks in Illinois. He went on to have a strong career at Illinois State, rushing for 4,444 yards, the second most in school history, and then stormed the NFL as an undrafted rookie for the Jaguars, becoming just the fourth such rusher to gain over 1,000 yards.
But after a lackluster season with the New York Jets in 2022, he was waived by the Patriots early in training camp, then waived by the Giants later in camp. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers, his fifth NFL team, in mid-October, and was even on their active roster on Thanksgiving day when Green Bay beat the Lions 29-22. But shortly after, he was waived once again.
Robert Jones, Dolphins OL
Jones, who played two years of college football at Middle Tennessee State and two years at Highland Community College in Kansas, joined theDolphinsas an undrafted college free agent on May 13, 2021. Ever since, he's climbed the ladder and is now one of the team's more important cogs on the offensive line.
And he's the only local who is on an NFL team that made the postseason this year.
Jones, the 6-4, 325-pounder, moved in with his uncle in Rockford to get out of a rough neighborhood in Chicago and helped East to its best record in 15 years at 4-5 back in 2016. He continued to grow and improve and has become an NFL star in Miami.
Last year he played in 16 games and started seven, but this year he played in seven and started in five. However, he started the final four games of the regular season and heads into the playoffs listed as the second-string left guard behind Lester Cotton, who has been battling an ankle injury for some time now.
Dean Lowry, Vikings DL
Lowry was solid in his first year outside of Green Bay, when on the field, but the eighth-year pro who is 6-6, 296 pounds dealt with a pair of injuries that cost him games. He finished with career lows in games started (four) and solo tackles (two).
In the end, Lowry played in nine games for the Vikings, hauling in 14 tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass defensed. Lowry had the key fumble recovery against the 49ers, but Minnesota still missed out on the playoffs with a 7-10 record.
Lowry suffered a groin injury in Week 8 at Green Bay, where he played his first seven seasons, and then dealt with a pectoral tear at Denver in Week 11. He did not return to action after that and finished the season on injured reserve.
How locals fare in the NFL: James Robinson, Dean Lowry and the rest of the NFL locals try to work themselves in
Vederian Lowe, Patriots OL
Lowe, originally drafted out of the University of Illinois by the Vikings in the sixth-round of the 2022 draft, was acquired by the New EnglandPatriotsin a trade late in training camp on Aug. 28, 2023.
The 24-year-old, 6-6, 320-pounder then started eight games this season and played in 11, but the Patriots mustered only a 4-13 record and are awaiting word on the fate of long-time legendary head coach Bill Belichick.
Lowe is awaiting on word about his future as well. He was listed as the second-string left and right tackle at the end of the season, and has a good chance of returning to the team.
Dan Arnold, free-agent TE
Arnold has been waiting for his next shot in the NFL all season long.
After stints with the Saints, Cardinals, Panthers, Jaguars and Eagles, Arnold is a free-agent, looking for a home.
Arnold was traded to theJaguarsearly in the 2021 season, but he suffered a sprained MCL in Week 12 and finished with 35 catches for 408 yards in 11 games while starting in four. In the 2022 season, Arnold appeared in all 17 regular-season games and both playoff games for the Jags, with nine receptions for 135 yards.
But that was it for his time in Florida. He was signed bythe Eagles on May 4, 2023, but was released on Aug. 27, 2023, as part of Philadelphia's final roster cuts before the start of the season.
He hasn't been re-signed by any NFL team since. In 59 NFL games, the 6-6, 220-pounder has 95 catches for 1,258 yards and 7 TDs.
Jay Taftis a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him atjtaft@rrstar.comand follow him on Twitter at@JayTaft.Sign upfor the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com.Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: 5 Rockford-area players are still battling for time in NFL