UD graduate makes NFL opening day roster for first time

This will be the first time Niese has started a season on a NFL roster. He signed as undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos before the 2022 season but was waived before the season. He then joined the Chicago Bears practice squad that September.

In 2023, after being waived in August by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Niese joined the Lions practice squad before the season. He appeared in one game in Week 11 against the Bears. He signed a Futures Contract with the Lions in January.

The Detroit Free Press wrote about Niese in mid-August and mentioned him being an option for a reserve spot on the interior offensive line at guard or center.

“Just focused on getting better every day,” Niese told the Free Press. “Trying to be as versatile as I can and showing that I can play all three (offensive line positions) inside. I’m trying to bring it every day and trying to earn a spot.”

Niese, who’s from Chesterfield, Mo., and attended St. Louis University High School, was a member of Dayton’s 2016 recruiting class. He redshirted as a freshman, started five games in 2017 and appeared in all 11 games in 2018 and 2019.

In his final season at UD, Niese won UD’s Stan Kurdziel Award as the team’s best offensive lineman and was named to the Pioneer Football League first team. Niese played for an offense that ranked first in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in scoring offense (42.5 points a game). The offense featured All-American tight end Adam Trautman, who was a third-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2020 and is now entering his fifth season in the NFL and second season with the Denver Broncos.

Niese graduated from Dayton in 2020 with a degree in mechanical engineer but had one season of eligibility remaining because he redshirted as a freshman. He transferred to Temple, but the 2020 season didn’t count against his eligibility because of the pandemic. He stayed at Temple in 2021 for a sixth season in college football.

“I didn’t have exactly all the offers and high praise I wanted coming out of high school,” Niese told 247Sports.com in 2020. “But Dayton wanted me, so I got the opportunity to play there and I took it and ran with it. It’s a non-scholarship school, so I got certain academic aid coming out of high school through the application process, and that lasted me for eight semesters, so for four years. So part of the reason I got into the transfer portal and decided to explore the transfer process is because that academic aid was up, and to stay at Dayton for a fifth year would have been very costly to me and my family. So me and my family made the decision that I would put my name out there and try to play again somewhere else if I could.”