The 2025 NFL regular season is creeping closer, with the New Orleans Saints now just 86 days away from their opener against the Arizona Cardinals. Tight end Michael Jacobson currently wears No. 86 for the Saints, entering his third year with the franchise. Jacobson is the 36th player to wear the number in team history. He’s also our Saints Player of the Day.

Name (age): Michael Jacobson (28)

Height, weight: 6-foot-7, 244 pounds

College: Iowa State Cyclones

Relative Athletic Score: N/A

Drafted: Undrafted, 2020 (Seattle Seahawks)

2025 salary cap hit: $840,000

Jacobson was a basketball star more than a football standout at Waukee High School in Iowa. An all-state selection in basketball, he chose a scholarship to Nebraska in that sport over a football scholarship to Iowa State. By his sophomore year, Jacobson was a starter on the Cornhuskers basketball squad, but would transfer to Iowa State after the 2017 campaign. He had to sit out a year due to NCAA regulations before being able to suit up for the Cyclones basketball team.

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An Iowa State basketball standout who averaged around 10 points and 6 rebounds per game, Jacobson helped the Cyclones reach the NCAA tournament twice and was named to the Big 12 all-tournament team as a senior. He was also college teammates with Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton and Talen Horton-Tucker of the Chicago Bulls.

Undrafted by the NBA, Jacobson would play a year with Kyiv-Basket of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In 2021, he’d accept an NFL tryout offer with the Seattle Seahawks. After not playing football since high school, Seattle released Jacobson at the end of the 2021 preseason. He was picked up by the Indianapolis Colts and spent 2021 on their practice squad.

Over 2022 and 2023, Jacobson was with the Colts through preseason. He was cut both times, but was picked up by the New Orleans Saints in 2023. Jacobson spent that year and the following season on the New Orleans practice squad after being left off the active roster. He was re-signed again by the Saints this past offseason to a reserve/future contract.

Michael Jacobson has yet to play in an NFL regular season game. It looks like he’s facing an uphill battle to make this year’s roster as well. Juwan Johnson is the starting tight end for the Saints. Foster Moreau, currently sidelined by a knee injury, is again likely to be the primary backup with versatile star Taysom Hill also listed at tight end. Jacobson will try to turn the heads of a new coaching staff. He’ll attempt to do it as he competes against fellow tight ends Moliki Matavao, Jack Stoll, Dallin Holker, and Treyton Welch. Jacobson has had a unique journey to the NFL. We’ll see if a strong training camp allows him to continue that journey.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Michael Jacobson is the Saints Player of Day 86