Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Football
Logan Lowery, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – With the NFL regular season less than two weeks away, teams trimmed their rosters down to 53-men on Monday.
A total of 20 former Mississippi State players made it through the final day of cuts including four players who were selected to the 2022 NFL Top 100, seven former Pro Bowlers and five former first round draft picks.
Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (39), Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (44), Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (54) and Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay (77) were each tabbed to the NFL Top 100 list by their peers. this year.
It was the fourth consecutive year for Jones to be included on the list and the fourth overall time for Slay to be selected. Simmons ascended 24 spots since last year’s rankings while Prescott finished among the top four signal callers in the NFL in completion percentage (68.8), quarterback rating (104.2) and touchdown passes (37) after sustaining a season-ending injury in 2020.
MSU produced the fifth-most players on the NFL Top 100 list this year behind Ohio State and LSU (6) and Alabama and Oklahoma (5).
Jones, Slay and Simmons were also named to the Pro Bowl last season as was New Orleans Saints safety/special teams extraordinaire JT Gray.
Joining Jones in Kansas City again is linebacker and Starkville native Willie Gay Jr. But that pair is far from the only Bulldogs teaming up at the next level. Former six-time Pro Bowler and 11-year veteran defensive tackle Fletcher Cox is back with the Eagles alongside Slay while Simmons reunites with Denico Autry on the Titans’ defensive front.
Safety Johnathan Abram and wide receiver Isaiah Zuber join forces with the Las Vegas Raiders as will 2022 first-round pick Charles Cross with Gabe Jackson on the Seattle Seahawks offensive line. Offensive guard Elgton Jenkins, linebacker Preston Smith and running back Kylin Hill return with the Green Bay Packers although Hill will start the fall on the physically unable to perform list while still recovering from a season-ending injury last year.
Logan Cooke is punting back for his fifth season with the Jacksonville Jaguars while defensive end Montez Sweat begins his fourth year with the newly named Washington Commanders. Cornerback Cameron Dantzler and offensive guard Tyre Phillips each enter their third seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens, respectively, while rookie cornerback Martin Emerson is set to make his professional debut with the Cleveland Browns.
Several other former State standouts are expected to be picked up on the NFL’s newly expanded 16-man practice squads.