North Dakota State Professional Athletes

North Dakota State has long billed itself as a quarterback factory. On Sunday, September 13, it ran both assembly lines at the same time — Carson Wentz rewriting Vikings history in Minnesota while Bryce Lance made his NFL debut 1,200 miles south in New Orleans. For one afternoon, Fargo owned the league's narrative.

Wentz Turns Back the Clock in Green Bay

The story was supposed to be Kyler Murray's debut in purple. It became something far more interesting. Murray went down with a concussion before the first quarter ended against the Packers, and Wentz stepped into one of the most hostile environments in football — on the road, in relief, in a season opener — and delivered.

When the dust settled, Wentz had gone 13-for-19 for 133 yards and three touchdown passes, helping Minnesota gut out a 39-22 victory. The performance was historic: per The Sporting News, Wentz became the first quarterback in NFL history to achieve the specific milestone he reached coming off the bench in that spot. The Vikings didn't just win — they won decisively, and Wentz was the reason.

The fallout was swift. With Murray remaining in concussion protocol through the week, Minnesota officially ruled him out for Week 2 and named Wentz the starter against the Chicago Bears. It's the kind of opportunity that rarely comes twice in a career, and Wentz — who spent years bouncing between Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Washington, and Los Angeles — is seizing it. He was candid about the weight of the moment, acknowledging the situation while keeping expectations grounded. A fine handed to Packers linebacker Lukas Van Ness for a hit on Wentz during the game only underscored how physical his entry into Vikings lore actually was.

Whether Murray's return eventually reclaims the starting job is a question for another week. Right now, Wentz is QB1, and the Vikings are 1-0.

Bryce Lance Arrives in New Orleans

While his NDSU predecessor was making history in Minnesota, Bryce Lance — the younger, wide receiver-converted product from Fargo — was suiting up for his first regular-season NFL snap with the New Orleans Saints.

Lance's debut was a mixed bag, as most NFL firsts are. He hauled in 3 receptions for 42 yards in a 31-30 loss to Detroit. The Saints couldn't hold on, but Lance showed enough to register as a genuine NFL contributor, not just a roster curiosity. The experience — the good and the complicated — is now part of his foundation.

His presence alongside fellow NDSU alum Jayden Price (CB) and Dillon Radunz (G) gives New Orleans a notable Bison contingent, but it was Lance's debut that drew the spotlight.

The Rest of the Herd

Christian Watson had a quietly spectacular day on the other side of the Wentz comeback. The Packers wide receiver — another NDSU alum — caught 6 passes for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss to Minnesota. It was a vintage Watson performance that just happened to come on the wrong side of the final score.

Hunter Luepke chipped in 7 rushing yards for Dallas in a 28-20 win over the Giants — workmanlike, as expected from the Cowboys' fullback.

One weekend. Multiple storylines. The Bison footprint in the NFL has never looked quite like this.

North Dakota State had a roster-cutdown week to remember, with two alumni landing on the same NFL sideline and a third parlaying his jersey number into a stake in a poultry empire.

Stick and Mauch: Bison Together Again in Tampa

Easton Stick's path to Tampa Bay ran through Indianapolis — and through the waiver wire. The Colts cut the veteran quarterback as part of their trim to 53 players, and the Buccaneers pounced, reuniting Stick with offensive lineman Cody Mauch. The two were teammates during North Dakota State's FCS dynasty run, and now they're back in the same locker room, this time in the NFL.

Mauch has held down a roster spot in Tampa Bay, and Stick's arrival gives the Bucs a veteran backup with pedigree. For NDSU fans, it's a full-circle moment — two Bison national champions grinding it out together again, just several hundred miles south of Fargo.

Luepke's Jersey Number Pays Dividends — Literally

If Stick and Mauch's reunion is the heartwarming story of the week, Hunter Luepke's jersey negotiation is the most entertaining. The Cowboys fullback agreed to hand over his No. 40 jersey to veteran edge rusher Von Miller — and the compensation wasn't cash. It was equity in Miller's poultry venture, Greener Pastures Chicken, plus a reported promise of chicken for life.

Miller, who wore No. 40 in high school and college, had his sights set on the number from the moment he signed in Dallas. Luepke, entering just his third NFL season, had leverage and used it creatively. Multiple outlets confirmed the deal, which was first reported by the Cowboys' official team website. For a fullback whose NFL margins are always thin, locking in a long-term business stake in exchange for two digits on a jersey might be the shrewdest move any Bison made this week.

The Rest of the Bison Board

The cutdown chaos touched other NDSU alumni as well. Cam Miller, listed as a quarterback with the Dolphins, was waived as Miami overhauled its entire backup QB room — trading Quinn Ewers to Jacksonville and subsequently acquiring Kyle McCord from Green Bay. Miller's release was part of a broader depth-chart teardown rather than a performance indictment, but it leaves him searching for a new opportunity heading into the regular season.

On the brighter side, cornerback Jayden Price survived the cut to make the Saints' 53-man roster — a genuine longshot story. Price, who went undrafted and spent time on the practice squad, broke through in New Orleans' training camp to earn a legitimate roster spot, giving the Bison faithful another name to track on Sundays.

Meanwhile, Trey Lance secured his spot as the Chargers' backup quarterback after Los Angeles waived DJ Uiagalelei, signaling that Lance won the competition outright.

For a mid-major FCS program, having alumni on active rosters in Tampa Bay, Dallas, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and beyond is a testament to what the Bison pipeline continues to produce. This week just happened to come with a side of fried chicken.

The Chargers' QB Battle May Have Ended Trey Lance's Run

The moment North Dakota State fans have been dreading may have arrived. Trey Lance, the former No. 3 overall pick who has spent two years trying to resurrect a career derailed by injuries and benching in San Francisco, delivered one of the worst possible performances when it mattered most — and now his spot on the Los Angeles Chargers' roster is in serious jeopardy.

In Thursday's final preseason game against the Rams — the Chargers' definitive audition for the backup quarterback job — Lance ran the offense for two possessions and did not complete a single pass. DJ Uiagalelei, his direct competition for the QB2 role, outplayed him decisively. For a player who desperately needed to make a statement, Lance made the wrong one.

The stakes couldn't have been clearer going in. Yahoo Sports flagged the Chargers' QB competition as Thursday's most interesting position battle across the entire league, framing it explicitly as a fight for Lance's NFL career. Both Lance and Uiagalelei were competing for the backup spot behind starter Justin Herbert, but the subtext was always larger for Lance — at 24, a former top pick who has never lived up to his draft billing, running out of chances is a very real possibility.

Pro Football Talk confirmed afterward that Uiagalelei had outplayed Lance in that final preseason test. The Chargers must finalize their 53-man roster, and Lance's inability to complete a pass in his final audition makes it difficult to justify keeping him over a younger, cheaper quarterback who performed better when it counted.

Whether Lance lands elsewhere if cut — or whether this marks the quiet end of a once-heralded career — remains to be seen. But the NDSU community that watched him dominate college football will be hoping he finds a path forward.

Wentz Resurfaces in Minnesota

There's a more encouraging NDSU quarterback story unfolding in Minnesota, where Carson Wentz is back in the conversation. According to Bleacher Report, an NFL insider floated the possibility that J.J. McCarthy — the Vikings' presumed starter — could be demoted or traded, with Wentz potentially moving up the depth chart as a result. The report centers on McCarthy's performance in a competition with Kyler Murray, with one insider suggesting McCarthy's standing in Minnesota is shakier than publicly acknowledged.

Wentz, who has bounced around the league since his Eagles days, would represent a surprising but not unprecedented pivot for a franchise searching for stability under center. For NDSU fans, seeing two Bison-connected quarterbacks — one fighting to stay in the league, one potentially stepping back into a starting conversation — makes for a genuinely compelling NFL week.

The broader alumni corps is sprinkled across rosters from Green Bay to Seattle, but the quarterback drama is the story this preseason. Lance's immediate future may be decided within days.