Wild-card The NFL Divisional Round, which has nine former Alabama players suiting up for five different teams, begins this weekend, therefore the weekend is officially over.
With 57 graduates on active rosters at the start of the season—many of whom were standout players for their teams—the Crimson Tide once again dominated the league in this category. It set an NFL record with almost 70 active players.
Check out the venues for some of those players’ divisional round matches.
Five former Crimson Tide players will take the field in the opening game of the weekend in an attempt to help their club progress to the AFC title game, making it the most former stars of any game this round.
Will Anderson, Jr., Christian Harris, and Henry To’o To’o, three linebackers for the Texans, have all contributed to one of the most surprising defensive teams in the league. Kareem Jackson, an NFL veteran of 14 years, plays in the secondary. He was taken off waivers in December and is currently in his second stint with Houston.
Wide receiver John Metchie III rounds out the former Alabama players on the Texans roster. After battling cancer throughout his rookie season in 2022, Metchie made a successful comeback to the field in 2023, hauling in 16 receptions for a little under 200 yards.
In the wild card round matchup with the Browns, the wideout from Ontario, Canada had his greatest performance of the year and career, catching three catches for 44 yards.
Over his career, Jackson, a Prattville native, made three appearances and recorded a tackle against Mississippi State in 2022. According to ESPN, he was a top-300 recruit and a four-star inside linebacker prospect out of high school. The previous season, UTSA finished 9-4 in the American Athletic Conference.
One of the busiest turnovers in college football history has resulted in 23 players accessing the transfer portal: After UA’s Rose Bowl loss to Michigan, head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement nine days later. Kalen DeBoer, the incoming coach, is working to assemble a staff while holding onto important players from the roster.
Jihaad Campbell and Deontae Lawson will rejoin the Tide at interior linebacker, where Jackson was positioned. Robert Bala, the linebackers coach, declared on January 18 that he would not be staying on DeBoer’s staff.
