Former Cougars getting first NFL preseason action this weekend

The NFL preseason hits full swing this weekend, and 17 former Cougars could see playing time in 13 different games from Thursday to Saturday.

Football is finally back, even if it is just the NFL preseason.

Last week in the Hall of Fame Game the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens squared off, with the Ravens winning 17-16. Two former BYU Football players are on the Ravens, and one saw action. Bronson Kaufusi finished the game with a fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry, while teammate Kai Nacua didn’t see the field.

This week all 32 teams will take the field from Thursday to Saturday. That’s 16 games of real football for fans to enjoy.

And Cougar fans can catch former BYU players in 13 of those games.

In all, 19 former Cougars are on NFL rosters, although Tejan Koroma is on Kansas City’s Injured Reserve and Daniel Sorensen will miss at least the preseason for the Chiefs after surgery.

Fans with NFL game pass have the luxury of watching any of the games this weekend, while those without can still catch five games televised nationally on NFL Network.

Seven former Cougars will square off in those NFL Network contests. Those games include:

• Cleveland Browns (Micah Hannemann) at New York Giants – Thursday at 5:00pm MT
• Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers (Fred Warner) – Thursday at 8:00pm MT
• Atlanta Falcons (Colby Pearson) at New York Jets (Jonah Trinnaman) – Friday at 5:30pm MT
• Detroit Lions (Ziggy Ansah) at Oakland Raiders (Dallin Leavitt) – Friday at 8:30pm MT
• Minnesota Vikings at Denver Broncos (Jordan Leslie) – Saturday at 7:00pm MT

Eight other games this weekend will feature former Cougars:

• Carolina Panthers at Buffalo Bills (De’Ondre Wesley) – Thursday at 5:00pm MT
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins (John Denney) – Thursday at 5:00pm MT
• New Orleans Saints (Taysom Hill) at Jacksonville Jaguars – Thursday at 7:00pm MT
• Washington Redskins at New England Patriots (Kyle Van Noy, Harvey Langi) – Thursday at 5:30pm MT
• Los Angeles Rams at Baltimore Ravens (Bronson Kaufusi, Kai Nacua) – Thursday at 5:30pm MT
• Tennessee Titans at Green Bay Packers (Jamaal Williams) – Thursday at 6:00pm MT
• Indianapolis Colts (Tomasai Laulile) at Seattle Seahawks – Thursday at 8:00pm MT
• Los Angeles Chargers (Michael Davis) at Arizona Cardinals – Saturday at 8:00pm MT

These preseason games are crucial for some former Cougars if they want to stay on an NFL roster through opening day. Right now, each team’s roster sits at 90 people, but by September 1st each squad will have to cut their roster down to 53.

That means that players have roughly three weeks to make an impression, and there’s no better way to do it than during live game action.