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Patriots' UDFA Earns Special Honor From Louisville Mayor for Community Outreach
Patriots' UDFA Earns Special Honor From Louisville Mayor for Community Outreach originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The New England Patriots' training camp is right around the corner. But before that gets started, one of the newest Patriots' players took time to impact his local community.
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Safety Josh Minkins Jr. went undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft and signed with the Patriots. Minkins played football at Ballard High School in Louisville, Kentucky, and stayed home to play college ball with the Cardinals.
The local product redshirted his freshman year at Louisville and then played three years with the Cardinals, collecting a career-high 55 tackles, two TFLs, and a sack in his sophomore season. For his senior year, he transferred to Cincinnati, where he finished his college career with 45 tackles, and career-bests two interceptions, four passes defended, and a fumble recovery in 2024.
Josh Minkins Jr. came to the Cincinnati Bearcats from Louisville. The redshirt senior safety is 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds.
Now with the Patriots, Minkins will begin training camp in 10 days. But, in the meantime, he returned home for his fourth annual free skills and drills camp on July 5. Minkins hosts the camp at his high school for kids ages 5-17 to come out and have fun running drills with the now-professional football player.
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"I think the biggest ultimate goal is just for the kids to have fun and just come out here and just you know, have a good time and everybody to leave with a smile on their face," Minkins said. "That's my biggest goal."
Minkins saw great attendance at his fourth annual camp for the youth of his hometown, with 500 kids from the area participating. In attendance also included Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg. In a gesture to show appreciation for the undrafted free agents' impact in the community, Greenberg surprised Minkins by officially declaring July 5 "Josh Minkins Jr. Day" in the city of Louisville.
Now, Minkins will get prepared for training camp as he looks to compete for a roster spot on the Patriots. Whether the city of Louisville will see Minkins playing on Sundays or not, the hometown hero has already made his impact.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
