Georgia Tech Professional Athletes

Georgia Tech in the NFL: Week 4 Roundup

Dallas didn't have to look far when its secondary started falling apart — it turned to the Flats.

The Cowboys signed safety Juanyeh Thomas to the practice squad and then elevated him to the active roster for Week 4 against the Houston Texans, part of a scramble to patch a secondary ravaged by injuries. Dallas worked out four defensive backs before agreeing to terms with Thomas and cornerback Alex Austin, a clear sign of how thin the unit had become. Thomas was then elevated alongside Reddy Steward ahead of Sunday's game — a fast-track from free agent workout to game-day roster that underscores both the team's desperation and Thomas's continued ability to stay NFL-ready.

White's Availability in Question

In San Francisco, Keion White finds himself on the wrong side of the injury report heading into the 49ers' Week 4 matchup with the Denver Broncos. White, who logged a sack in the 49ers' 36-30 win over Arizona on September 27, was among a cluster of new additions to the team's Wednesday injury report and is listed as questionable for the Broncos game. The timing is notable: San Francisco's pass rush is already navigating uncertainty around Nick Bosa, making White's health more than a depth concern — it's a potential structural issue for a defense that needs its edge players healthy.

Around the Rest of the Alumni Roster

Darren Waller turned in arguably the most productive performance of any Yellow Jacket on the week. The veteran tight end, now with the Carolina Panthers, hauled in 5 receptions for 51 yards in Carolina's 18-21 loss to the Cleveland Browns — a quietly solid outing on a day when the Panthers couldn't quite close it out.

Harrison Butker continued his role as one of the league's most reliable specialists, suiting up for the Kansas City Chiefs in their 24-10 win over the Miami Dolphins — a game that also featured Zeek Biggers on the other sideline for Miami's defensive front.

Jackson Hawes was on the winning side for the Buffalo Bills, who handled the Los Angeles Chargers 24-16. Rodney Shelley was on the Chargers' side of that result.

Meanwhile, Jordan Mason remains on injured reserve for the Minnesota Vikings after going down in Week 1 with a thumb injury, and his absence has become a recurring storyline as Minnesota's backfield depth continues to draw scrutiny. The Vikings are searching for a solution behind Aaron Jones, with trade speculation heating up around the position.

It was a week that illustrated the full spectrum of NFL roster life for Tech alumni — from Thomas's emergency audition in Dallas to White's uncertain status in a high-stakes San Francisco secondary — and a reminder that the pipeline from Bobby Dodd Stadium to NFL rosters remains very much open.

The Return No One Saw Coming

Darren Waller was supposed to be retired. Then he wasn't. And on Sunday, Sept. 20, the Georgia Tech tight end made the most emphatic case yet that he made the right call — catching three passes for 33 yards and two touchdowns as the Carolina Panthers dismantled the Atlanta Falcons 34-3, near where Waller grew up.

The storyline wrote itself: a player who had officially stepped away from the game, returned, and then delivered a signature performance close to home in what amounted to a personal homecoming. The blowout margin — 31 points — meant Waller's touchdowns weren't just decorative. They were exclamation points on a dominant afternoon for Carolina, and a statement that his comeback is very much for real.

Waller's path back to an NFL field was never a straight line. His peak years were improbable enough; a second act after retirement made them all the more remarkable. Now suiting up for a Panthers team quarterbacked by fellow Yellow Jacket Haynes King, the connection between two Georgia Tech alumni on an NFL roster adds another layer to what's becoming an interesting Carolina story.

Butker Ice-Cold in Overtime

Meanwhile in Kansas City, Harrison Butker reminded everyone why Chris Jones is willing to throw up two middle fingers at anyone who ever doubted the kicker. Butker drilled four field goals — including a 40-yarder with the game on the line in overtime — to lift the Chiefs past the Indianapolis Colts 33-30 on Sunday Night Football.

Patrick Mahomes threw for 382 yards and three touchdowns in a back-and-forth shootout, but when Kansas City needed the win sealed, it was the Georgia Tech product who delivered. The Colts had led twice in the second half, forced overtime, and had the Chiefs on the ropes before Butker ended it. Jones' postgame message to Butker detractors was blunt — and the scoreboard backed him up.

Elsewhere Around the League

Jordan Mason's week went in the opposite direction. The Vikings running back landed on Injured Reserve with a fractured thumb, forcing Minnesota to scramble for backfield depth. Mason, who had been counted on as a starter, now has no clear timetable for return as the Vikings' RB room has thinned considerably.

In San Francisco, defensive end Keion White picked up a tackle and a sack in the 49ers' 35-13 win over the Dolphins — but the week ended with a footnote. The NFL handed White a fine for his actions during that game, part of a broader round of Week 2 discipline that also hit teammates Upton Stout and Kyle Juszczyk. White's fine was the largest of the trio.

Up in Buffalo, tight end Jackson Hawes continued to earn quiet praise as a physical presence in the run game. A Yahoo Sports feature highlighted Hawes and veteran Dawson Knox as standout blockers through Buffalo's early games — the kind of role-player recognition that doesn't show up in the box score but matters on winning rosters.

The week belonged to Waller, though. A two-touchdown homecoming near Atlanta, in a rout, after coming out of retirement? That's not a box score. That's a story.

Jordan Mason's Season Hits an Early Wall

Jordan Mason looked every bit the part of a legitimate NFL starter in Week 1. The Georgia Tech product carried the ball 15 times for 59 yards and punched in a touchdown as Minnesota knocked off Green Bay 39–22. Then came the news that erased all of it.

The Vikings placed Mason on injured reserve Wednesday with a fractured thumb — a move that, per The Sporting News, was not widely anticipated based on initial injury reporting. He'll miss at least four games, a brutal development for a player who had just established himself as the clear lead back in Minnesota's offense.

Mason had entered the season sharing backfield duties with veteran Aaron Jones, and his Week 1 performance suggested the job was trending in his direction. Now the Vikings must patch together a backfield without him, having signed DeeJay Dallas to the 53-man roster to help absorb the lost carries. The club had evaluated Mason's thumb soreness as early as Sunday, when head coach Kevin O'Connell acknowledged the injury postgame, but the severity didn't become clear until later in the week.

For Mason, the timing is particularly deflating. After years developing his NFL case at Georgia Tech and grinding through a depth-chart climb, he'd finally seized a featured role — only to see it interrupted before the second week of the season.

A Rough Debut for Jordan van den Berg

Mason wasn't the only Yellow Jacket drawing attention for the wrong reasons this week. Bears defensive lineman Jordan van den Berg made his NFL debut in Week 1, but Chicago's coaching staff wasn't entirely satisfied with what it saw. Bears defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett publicly highlighted two specific issues with van den Berg's performance, a candid assessment that underscores the gap between college production and professional execution. The Bears fell to Carolina 37–59 in that game, so there was plenty of blame to go around, but the critique signals van den Berg will need a sharper showing as the season progresses.

Elsewhere Around the League

Not every Georgia Tech alum had a rough week. Harrison Butker continued his reliable ways as the Chiefs cruised past Denver 31–10 on Monday night. Butker didn't need to be heroic with Kansas City's offense handling business, but his presence as one of the league's premier kickers remains a quiet constant for a team with championship ambitions.

Darren Waller caught two passes for 28 yards in Carolina's 37–59 loss to Chicago in his debut with the Panthers. It was a modest showing in a lopsided game, but Waller's fit in the Panthers' offense — alongside quarterback Bryce Young and a retooled receiving corps — is worth tracking as Carolina works to find its identity.

Zeek Biggers suited up for Miami in a 13–27 loss to Las Vegas, though the Dolphins' defensive interior didn't generate much resistance against the Raiders' ground attack.

The headline remains Mason's injury. A four-game minimum absence for a player who just proved he belonged as a starter is the kind of setback that can define — or derail — a season. Georgia Tech fans will be watching his recovery closely.