Florida football: 3 Gators sign as free agents with teams

Some Florida football players weren’t fortunate enough to be drafted, but that doesn’t mean their NFL dream is over as three were picked up as free agents.

A trio of Florida football players didn’t hear their names called during the 2020 NFL Draft this weekend.

However, the same day the draft ended, all three were signed as unrestricted free agents.

In all, 10 Florida football players were picked up by NFL teams during the draft weekend.

Here’s a look at the three who were signed outside of the draft.

Josh Hammond, wide receiver

Apparently, the Jacksonville Jaguars see something good in Florida football players.

While the Jaguars picked cornerback CJ Henderson with the No. 9 overall pick in the first round, they went back to the Gators’ well in the free agency with wide receiver Josh Hammond.

Hammond was the only draft-eligible wide receiver to not hear his name called over the last three days, but Jacksonville wants the receiving help. And Hammond can certainly provide it.

The Associated Press’ Mark Long picked up the news on Hammond going to Jacksonville as a UDFA.

In four years with Florida football, Hammond — while not the most prolific wideout for the Gators — did have 1,138 yards on 87 receptions and six touchdowns.

Adam Shuler, defensive tackle

While Jabari Zuniga and Jonathan Greenard did get picked up in the NFL Draft, fellow defensive lineman Adam Shuler did not.

However, according to his Twitter account, it didn’t take long for the Arizona Cardinals to sign Shuler as an unrestricted free agent on Saturday.

Shuler, a transfer from West Virginia, played two seasons with Florida football and had an impressive couple of years.

He noticed 68 total tackles, five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. He wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine this season but decided to post workout videos in an attempt to attract some attention from NFL scouts.

It seemed to work as the 6-foot-4, 275-pound tackle will try to earn a spot with the Cardinals this off-season.

Tommy Townsend, punter

After his brother Johnny left Florida football, Tommy Townsend was a shoo-in to be the Gators’ starting punter.

In those two seasons, Tommy Townsend averaged 44.8 yards per punt to be one of the best in the Southeastern Conference.

Now punters aren’t usually drafted high, if at all. So it’s really no surprise that Townsend wasn’t picked up during the draft.

However, Townsend got a call Saturday to work with the defending Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs to be their next punter.

He’ll have his work cut out for him as he will be competing for the starting job with punting journeyman Dustin Colquitt — who is 37 years old this season.

In all, Florida football had solid representation both in the draft and in unrestricted free agency.

It goes to show that the Gators’ football program is certainly moving in the right direction.