Alabama in the NFL: Former Tide stars taking the field on Thursday night
The Hall of Fame Game got the NFL preseason kicked off last week. Several former Alabama stars participated in that action, including Najee Harris, Trevon Diggs, Isaiah Buggs and others. But it’s now a new week, and a full 16-game slate over the next four days begins on Thursday night.
In the first of two games starting at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be on the road facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles. That means fans will once again get to see Harris and Buggs in action. But with the opponent differing from last week, we’ll also get to see a slew of other former Tide standouts.
Here’s a look at the Alabama players who either play for the Steelers or Eagles:
Alabama on the Steelers
- RB Najee Harris
- S Minkah Fitzpatrick
- OL J.C. Hassenauer
- DL Isaiah Buggs
Alabama on the Eagles
- QB Jalen Hurts
- WR DeVonta Smith (injured)
- OL Landon Dickerson (injured)
- OL Ross Pierschbacher
The second game will feature the New England Patriots welcoming the Washington Football Team to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. This is the premier matchup that will be aired nationally on the NFL Network, which means Alabama fans will get to watch former quarterback Mac Jones taking the field in his NFL debut.
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Jones is one of nine different players hailing from Tuscaloosa who play for one of these two teams. Here’s the complete list:
Alabama on the Patriots
- QB Mac Jones
- RB Damien Harris
- LB Dont’a Hightower
- EDGE Anfernee Jennings
- DL Christian Barmore
Alabama on Washington
- DL Jonathan Allen
- DL Daron Payne
- S Landon Collins
- WR Cam Sims
All-in-all, that’s 17 former Alabama standouts between these four teams. We know that at least a couple of them won’t be participating on Thursday night, and there could be others — such as Fitzpatrick or Hightower — who sit out this first week of preseason action.
But either way, expect to see at least a couple of former Tide stars on Thursday night.
Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.
