Former Huskers Luke Gifford, Ameer Abdullah land one-year free agent deals | Football

Luke Gifford has stuck with the Dallas Cowboys for three seasons so far, and he’s returning for a fourth in 2022. 

The former Lincoln Southeast graduate and standout Nebraska linebacker agreed to a one-year deal with the Cowboys on Friday afternoon, according to his agent, Brett Tessler. 

“(Gifford) has been on their roster the last three seasons and wanted to continue getting more defensive playing time while remaining one of their top special teamers,” Tessler said in a tweet announcing the deal. 

Gifford went undrafted in 2019 but made the Cowboys roster in camp and quickly became a special teams regular. He appeared in six games that season and eight in 2020 during injury-shortened campaigns, but played in 16 games for Dallas last fall and totaled nine tackles in the process. In all, Gifford has 21 tackles over 30 games with the franchise. 

Also on Friday, the Las Vegas Raiders announced they had signed former Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah to a one-year agreement. The Raiders are under the direction of first-year head coach Josh McDaniels, who took the job after spending several years as the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. 

Abdullah, a second-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 2015, split 2021 between the Carolina Panthers and the Minnesota Vikings. In all, he totaled 51 carries for 166 yards and 38 catches for 289 yards and a touchdown. 

In his seven-year career, Abdullah has 1,574 rushing yards and six touchdowns to go along with 865 receiving yards and seven more scores. He has also handled return duties over the course of his career, including 29 kick returns (22.0 average) in 2021. 

Abdullah finished his Nebraska career with 4,744 rushing yards, including three straight seasons of 1,000-plus. 

Earlier this week, former Husker pass-rusher Randy Gregory agreed to a five-year deal worth up to $70 million ($28 million guaranteed) with the Denver Broncos, and defensive lineman Maliek Collins signed a two-year, $17 million deal with $8.5 million guaranteed with the Houston Texans.