Updates on Alabama Players in the NFL

I found myself wondering if there was anything new on the Alabama players drafted this year into the NFL today, so I decided to look it up and make a fanpost on the subject.

We all know where Rolando McClain is, and he seems to be doing alright. He's starting for the Oakland Raiders, and though he wasn't able to do much to stop Vince Young and Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans in week 1, it looks as though he won't be alone in that regard. How about some of the other players from last year's squad?

For starters, there's Terrence Cody. Despite some negative attention for his weight, he was drafted fairly early by the Baltimore Ravens, and looks to be a real contributor to the team this year. Unfortunately, he will be getting off to a late start as he underwent knee surgery, so he will be out for tonight's game, and probably next week's as well.

The same goes for LG Mike Johnson with the Atlanta Falcons. He made the roster as expected, but apparently has suffered some sort of injury which kept him out of the week 1 game.

Defensive End Brandon Deaderick is in a similar situation for the New England Patriots. He was the last Tide player to be drafted, but made it onto the 53-man roster as a backup. However, he did not play in this week's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. This may be due to a reported toe injury, though the above link speculates it may simply be due to his position on the depth chart.

Kareem Jackson was drafted in the 1st round by the Houston Texans. I admittedly did not see their upset of the Indianapolis Colts last night, but he did contribute in the game: 

· Rookie CB Kareem Jackson started in his professional debut. Jackson finished the game with four solo tackles and a pass defensed.

Javier Arenas is still on the Kansas City Chiefs roster, of course, and will probably contribute as a return man in their first game tonight. He's already had a highlight clip in the preseason in which he returned a kick-off for a touchdown, which was called back for a penalty (some things never change).

On to some less positive news....

As we've heard before, LB Cory Reamer managed to sign with the New York Jets after going undrafted. Despite some concerns about speed, the coaches liked his football intelligence and felt like he was able to learn the playbook with relative ease (almost as though he had experienced some excellent coaching in college...). Unfortunately, it appears that this was not enough to keep him on the final roster, though it's thought that he may be able to make the practice team.

Similarly, DB Marquis Johnson, who was drafted late by the St. Louis Rams, was cut and has now been placed on the practice squad.

I haven't managed to find any information on Colin Peek, Leigh Tiffin, P.J. Fitzgerald, or Roy Upchurch, none of whom were confirmed to be on NFL roster's as of Kleph's last post on the subject. I would imagine that these guys are still not on any rosters, but as far as practice squads, coaching opportunities, etc., I just don't know. If anyone has some info, be sure to let us know.