Professional Football Players with Type 1 Diabetes to Cheer For in 2026

Football season is back, and fans living with type 1 diabetes have a few extra reasons to cheer.

Imagine being a young athlete who checks your blood sugar before practice, then turning on an NFL game and seeing someone with the same diagnosis. That kind of visibility matters. It’s a reminder that diabetes can be part of your life without defining your ambitions.

Here are seven players living with type 1 diabetes who are connected to NFL teams this season:

• Mark Andrews — Baltimore Ravens

• Noah Gray — Kansas City Chiefs

• Adonai Mitchell — New York Jets

• Ben Yurosek — Minnesota Vikings (injured reserve)

• Austin Blaske — Los Angeles Rams (practice squad)

• Josh Gesky — Green Bay Packers (practice squad)

• Logan Brown — Seattle Seahawks (practice squad)

  
  

We’re also cheering for Blake Ferguson, an NFL veteran who lives with type 1 diabetes. Ferguson played for the Miami Dolphins and spent time with the Houston Texans in 2025. He is currently a free agent.

Some of these athletes are established veterans. Others are just beginning their NFL careers. Their paths look different, but they share an experience fans may never see: the daily work of monitoring blood sugar, managing insulin and planning around the demands of football.

For a child wondering whether diabetes will change what they can do, seeing these players can make the future feel a little bigger. Their dream might be football, another sport or something entirely different. They deserve the chance to pursue it with the care and support they need.

At Direct Diabetes, we’re celebrating these players and everyone in the type 1 community who keeps showing up for what they love. That’s a win worth cheering for.