Huskies Football

Washington Huskies Alumni in the NFL: AFC – October 2021

By Herb Nightengale

Elijah Molden, Washington Huskies.

The tradition of sending Washington Huskies alumni to the NFL continues strong In 2021, PNWS once again looks at former UW players in the NFL. This week is AFC teams.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

Marcus Peters – CB

The Ravens lost three-time All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters for the season to a torn ACL just before opening day. Although Baltimore leads the AFC North, they haven’t been able to replace his impact.

Cincinnati Bengals

Drew Sample – TE

Week 3 – Drew Sample made his second start of the season. He was used primarily as a blocker and didn’t have any targets in the Bengals win over Pittsburgh.
Week 4 – Despite playing half of Cincinnati’s offensive snaps, Sample again had no targets.
Week 5 – Good news and bad. Bengals QB Joe Burrow targeted Sample four times this week and pulled in two balls for nine yards. Cincinnati, however, lost to the Pack by three points, 27-24.
Week 6 – Cincinnati decisively won this “cat-fight” over the Lions. This Dawg found his way into the starting lineup and played his greatest number of snaps this year (39). However, he was thrown to only once, and the pass was incomplete.
Week 7 – It was back to the status quo. Sample appeared in 43 percent of the offensive snaps without a ball thrown in his direction.

Jake Browning – QB

It was a mild surprise when quarterback Jake Browning was one of Minnesota’s final roster cuts from their 2021 Training Camp. A day later, the Bengals signed him as a free agent. He’s been on their practice squad since.

Cleveland Browns

Nick Harris – C

In Weeks 3 and 4, Nick Harris continued to play on Cleveland’s special teams. Unfortunately, he injured a hamstring in the fourth game, which put him on Injured Reserve. The Browns miss his on-field contributions as well as the offensive line depth he provides.

Pittsburgh Steelers

No Washington Huskies alumni are playing in Steel Town.

Next: Page 2 – Music City impact player

AFC West

Las Vegas Raiders

Corey Littleton – LB

Week 3 – The Raiders beat Miami 31-28. Cory Littleton had 10 tackles and was rated as the highest linebacker against the run.
Week 4 – 14 tackles against the Chargers.
Week 5 – Only a half dozen stops in a loss to Chicago.
Week 6 – Las Vegas beat Denver 34 -23. Littleton had 11 tackles, a sack, and broke up a pass.
Week 7 – Six more tackles and a fumble recovery during a victory over Philadelphia.

Los Angeles Chargers

Tristan Vizcaino – K

Week 3 – The Chargers beat Kansas City, but Vizcaino missed two extra points.
Week 4 – A perfect week; Vizcaino was four for four on extra points. He also had a 32-yard punt.
Week 5 – Vizcaino only made three of five PAT’s. Missed kicks are becoming a problem.
Week 6 – Baltimore soundly beat the Charges 34-6, Vizcaino missed another point after.

Denver Broncos

No Washington Huskies in Denver.

Kansas City Chiefs

None in Kansas City either.

AFC South

Houston Texans

Houston still has no Huskies on their roster

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jags remain Husky-less.

Indianapolis Colts

Jacob Eason – QB

Jacob Eason made his NFL debut in Game 2. He must not have impressed Colts Head Coach Frank Reich because Eason rode the bench for the next three games. A week after bringing in veteran Brett Hundley, Indianapolis released Eason on October 19. He signed with his hometown Seattle Seahawks a day later.

Tennessee Titans

Elijah Molden – DB/LB

Week 3 – Molden played on special teams as well as 16 percent of the Titans defensive snaps. He made one tackle.
Week 4 – The Jets upset Tennessee 27-24. Molden played exclusively on special teams.
Week 5 – Tennessee used a new defensive package against the Jags. Molden played as a coverage linebacker, and he caused a fumble on the third play, which teammate Kevin Byard ran back for a score.
Week 6 – Molden made his first career start in a 34-31 win over Buffalo. He had a career-high nine tackles.
Week 7 – Six tackles in a 27-3 blowout win over the Chiefs.

Next: Page 3 – Beasts of the East

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

Buffalo still has no Washington alumni on their team.

New York Jets

The New York Jets also don’t have former Washington players on their team.

Miami Dolphins

Myles Gaskin

Week 3 – Ironically, the first game Myles Gaskin didn’t start in 2021 was his most productive to date. He had 13 carries for 65 yards, along with 3 catches for 9 yards.
Week 4 – Gaskin only played 12 snaps against Indianapolis, gaining three yards on two carries.
Week 5 – In his third start this season, he had just 5 carries for 25 yards. Miami fell behind Tampa Bay early, so Gaskin made his biggest contributions in the passing game. He had 10 catches for 74 yards. Gasking also found the end zone twice.
Week 6 – Gaskin wasn’t very productive in Miami’s 23-20 loss to Jacksonville, picking up 14 yards on 7 touches.
Week 7 – It was Gaskin’s best rushing performance of the 2021 season with 15 carries for 67 yards. He also added another 10 yards on four catches, including his third TD this season.

Salvon Ahmed

Week 3 – Ahmed played five snaps and never touched the ball.
Week 4 – Not much production, one yard on three carries and a dozen more from two receptions.
Week 5 – A slight uptick with 5 yards rushing and 15 receiving.
Week 6 – 29 total yards in a three-point loss to Jacksonville.
Week 7 – Ahmad also played his best game of 2021 in this game. He had 26 yards rushing and 26 more rushing.

New England Patriots

Myles Bryant

Week 4 – Cornerback Myles Bryant was activated from the practice squad but didn’t have any tackles.
Week 5 – Active again, Bryant made a pair of tackles in the Patriots win over Houston.
Week 6 – Did not play.
Week 7 – Although he didn’t start, Bryant had his professional coming out party against the New York Jets. It started early with an eight-yard sack on rookie Zach Wilson during NYJ’s first offensive series. Bryant played on 86 percent of the defensive snaps, making six tackles.

We’ll be back next month with another update on Washington Huskies alumni playing in the AFC.

Herb Nightengale