It’s a cliché to call Marist a “small world.” That’s not stopping me.
I don’t have to tell you how small Marist College is. You probably see the same people every day; there are only 6,000 or so of us. The situation of proximity and familiarity that we find ourselves in makes it all the more interesting to contemplate the fact that, throughout the 2010s, students walked the halls and sidewalks with kicker Jason Myers and defensive lineman Terrence Fede, two former Red Foxes getting set to play in their fifth seasons in the NFL.
Myers went undrafted in 2013 and faced uncertainty throughout the beginning of his career, spending borrowed and impermanent time in Jacksonville from 2015 to 2017. He was waived by the Jaguars in October 2017, then officially cut one day later. He was then signed and waived by the Seattle Seahawks before even playing a down, all within the confines of the team’s 2018 offseason. Brought on by the New York Jets for the 2018 season, he made 33 of 36 field goals and was rewarded with the AFC’s ever-coveted Pro Bowl spot. What a difference a year – and a chance – makes.
Myers now returns to the Seahawks, the same team that cut him in 2018, looking to improve on what is already a career on the incline. Seattle’s special team’s coordinator Brian Schneider says he had “Jason Myers at the top of [his] board” following his All-Star season. Myers sees the return as an opportunity to build and to improve, saying, “I’m always trying to get better personally. That’s what I was doing last year and what I’m going to try and do this year.”
Fede’s story is a bit different. He spent four years – from 2014 to 2017 – with the Miami Dolphins, playing a total of 51 games over four seasons. During that time, he recorded 50 total tackles (assists included) and a lone sack, but made his larger impact known on occasion. More specifically, a particular occasion: his blocked punt against the Minnesota Vikings in 2014 would win the game for the Dolphins, the punt having been blocked out of the end-zone for a safety.
Okay, so maybe he’s specifically remembered by me for that moment.
His career as a whole, though, has hovered at the level of dangerous mediocrity. Never more than when he was signed and released by the Buffalo Bills (who play a day’s drive from Fede’s hometown of Nyack, New York) in the span of five months, leaving his future in doubt. He did, however, sign with the New York Giants, a team located much closer to home, after rookie linebacker Mark McLaurin was placed on IR with a fractured foot. While Fede may only serve valuable as a special teams asset, he’s on contract, giving him the opportunity to make an impression. Who knows, maybe he blocks a punt or two?
Myers and the Seahawks will begin their season on September 8 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Fede and the Giants will debut that same Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Edited by Lily Caffrey-Levine