Kent State in the NFL | Week of Aug. 30–Sept. 5, 2026
Luke Floriea arrived at Browns camp as a long shot. He's leaving it as one of the most talked-about waiver-wire stories of the 2026 preseason — and the phone, apparently, keeps ringing.
The Kent State product turned heads throughout Cleveland's preseason slate, flashing the route-running and hands that made him a Golden Flashes standout. But when the Browns finalized their 53-man roster, Floriea was among the cuts — a move that raised eyebrows leaguewide almost immediately. Cleveland then added Bills cornerback Toriano Pride off waivers, making clear the team was prioritizing secondary depth over keeping a receiver who had arguably outplayed expectations all summer.
The Browns' loss is shaping up to be someone else's gain. Per reporting from both Sports Illustrated and Yahoo Sports, Floriea has drawn interest from multiple teams since hitting the open market — a sign that his preseason tape carried real weight beyond the Cleveland bubble. The most concrete development: the Seattle Seahawks brought him in for a tryout this week, giving the Kent State wideout an NFC audition and his clearest path yet to landing on a 53-man roster or practice squad.
As of the end of this period, Floriea remains unsigned — but the Seahawks tryout signals he's firmly in the conversation. At this stage of roster-building, a single strong workout can be the difference between a phone call and another week of waiting.
It's a familiar arc for Kent State skill players trying to crack the league, and Floriea is navigating it with the kind of momentum that makes his situation worth watching. The Browns' decision to let him walk without even stashing him on the practice squad may yet look like an oversight — particularly if he surfaces elsewhere and produces.
Elsewhere in the Kent State alumni orbit, Qwuantrezz Knight remained on Washington's roster through the cutdown period, continuing to carve out a role with the Commanders. D.J. Miller held his spot in Detroit, where the Lions' secondary depth keeps the young corner in the mix heading into the regular season.
But this week belongs to Floriea. His story — preseason standout, roster cut, league-wide interest, NFC tryout — is the kind of undrafted, unfinished narrative that defines the grind of NFL roster cycles. Kent State fans have seen flashes of what he can do. Now the rest of the league is catching up.
AI-generated summary