The NFL has 272 games on its 2024 regular-season schedule, and there’s a good possibility that players from Alabama high schools and colleges will appear in all of them.
The NFL’s 105th season kicks off on Sept. 5, when the Baltimore Ravens visit the Kansas City Chiefs, who ended the 2023 campaign by beating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11.
The NFL released its schedule on Wednesday night.
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The 2024 campaign spreads across 18 weeks and features recurring schedules on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays plus late-season Saturday games and holiday contests on Black Friday and Wednesday for Christmas.
Ten games on the schedule that appear especially impactful for players with Alabama football roots are:
Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns: 3:25 p.m. CDT Sept. 8 at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland
The Cowboys signed wide receiver Amari Cooper to a five-year, $100 million contract to keep him from reaching free agency in 2020. But after he had 68 receptions for 865 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021, Dallas decided he wasn’t worth the contract and traded the former Alabama All-American and a sixth-round draft pick to the Browns for fifth- and sixth-round selections on March 11, 2022. In his two years with Cleveland, Cooper has 150 receptions for 2,410 yards and 14 touchdowns. In his 10th NFL season, Cooper will be playing against Dallas for the first time.
Los Angeles Chargers at Carolina Panthers: Noon Sept. 15 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina
Bradley Bozeman made every snap for the Carolina offense in the 2023 season, his first after the Panthers signed the former Handley High School and Alabama standout to a three-year, $18 million contract last offseason. But on March 10, Carolina released Bradley. Eight days later, Bozeman signed a one-year, $1.125 million contract to fill the Chargers’ vacancy at center.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions: Noon Sept. 15 at Ford Field in Detroit
The Buccaneers picked cornerback Carlton Davis from Auburn in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He started 84 games over the next six seasons for Tampa Bay, including the Bucs’ 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7, 2021. But with Davis headed into the final season of a three-year, $44.5 million contract, Tampa Bay traded the cornerback to Detroit for a third-round draft pick. Among the former teammates across the field from Davis will be long-time running mate Jamel Dean, who played in the secondary with Davis at Auburn and for five seasons in Tampa Bay.
Denver Broncos at New Orleans Saints: 7:15 p.m. Oct. 17 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans
The roles played by Bo Nix and Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry as rookies remain to be seen, although as the 12th and 41st selections in the 2024 NFL Draft, respectively, they’ll have a chance to make them prominent. That could mean Nix would be at quarterback for the Broncos and McKinstry at cornerback for the Saints for this game. Both players earned Alabama’s Mr. Football Award while playing for Pinson Valley High School – Nix in 2018 and McKinstry in 2020. They played together on the Indians’ AHSAA Class 6A championship teams in 2017 and 2018. But they haven’t played in the same game since Pinson Valley’s 26-17 victory in the state-championship contest on Dec. 7, 2018, at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn.
Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos: 3:25 p.m. Oct. 27 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver
Call it the 2021 Iron Bowl that never was. Nix was on course to start for the third time against Alabama in 2021, but the Auburn quarterback suffered a broken ankle against Mississippi State on Nov. 13 that ended his season. That deprived him of the opportunity to square off against Alabama QB Bryce Young in the 2021 Iron Bowl. Even though Young was on his way to the Heisman Trophy that season and the Tigers went with T.J. Finley in Nix’s place, the game went to four overtimes before the Crimson Tide prevailed 24-22, with Young delivering a 97-yard touchdown drive in 1:11 to send the game to overtime in the waning seconds. The Panthers picked Young with the first selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Broncos chose Nix with the 12th selection in the 2024 NFL Draft after he played two seasons at Oregon.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Washington Commanders: Noon Nov. 10 at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland
Running backs Najee Harris and Brian Robinson Jr. were teammates for four seasons at Alabama. In their first two seasons, they contended for carries as backups with Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs among the Crimson Tide’s other running backs. In 2019, Harris took over the No. 1 spot and produced 1,224 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground and another seven TDs receiving while Robinson served as his backup with 441 rushing yards and five touchdowns. The next season, for Alabama’s undefeated CFP national-championship team, Harris was an All-American with 1,466 yards and 26 touchdowns rushing and four more touchdowns receiving. Robinson again was Harris’ backup and ran for 483 yards and seven touchdowns. With Harris gone to the Steelers in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Robinson ascended to the top spot for the Tide and ran for 1,343 yards and 14 touchdowns. He joined Washington in the second round of the 2022 draft. Each has been his team’s primary ball-carrier since entering the NFL. Their first meeting in the NFL will allow Harris to knock heads with former Tide teammates Daron Payne and Phidarian Mathis, who are defensive tackles for the Commanders, as is former Alabama All-American Jonathan Allen.
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans: Noon Nov. 24 at NRG Stadium in Houston
The Titans’ offseason overhaul included using the seventh selection in the NFL Draft on April 25 on Alabama right offensive tackle J.C. Latham with the intention of installing him at left tackle. In the first of two AFC South matchups against the Houston Texans, Latham should be lined up across from defensive end Will Anderson Jr., an All-American teammate with the Crimson Tide. Anderson reached the NFL one season earlier than Latham and earned the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2023. Among the other pass-rushers that Latham might face in 2024 include former Alabama teammate Dallas Turner, the 17th selection in this year’s draft by the Minnesota Vikings, on Nov. 17 and Jacksonville Jaguars outside linebacker Josh Allen (Abbeville) twice in division games on Dec. 8 and Dec. 29.
Miami Dolphins at Green Bay Packers: 7:20 p.m. Nov. 28 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing yards during the 2023 season. But he also further cemented his reputation as having cold-weather Kryptonite, particularly with his performance in frigid conditions in the Dolphins’ 26-7 loss to the Chiefs in an AFC playoff game played in Kansas City, Missouri, on Jan. 13. It probably won’t be that cold on the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving night, but who knows? The former Alabama All-American will have a prime-time chance to show he can throw in the cold, too.
Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos: 7:15 p.m. Dec. 2 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver
For the bulk of his NFL career after the Broncos picked Jerry Jeudy from Alabama at No. 15, trade rumors swirled around the wide receiver. Denver finally pulled the trigger on March 13 by dealing Jeudy to the Browns for fifth- and sixth-round draft picks. Not much return for such a high-pick investment. But on the hook for $12.987 million in salary for 2024 after getting 211 receptions for 3,053 yards and 11 touchdowns in four seasons from Jeudy, Denver dumped him.
Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings: Noon Dec. 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis
Just about every mock-drafter under the sun is going to be rooting for Vikings rookie linebacker Dallas Turner to have a field day against Atlanta. Mock draft after mock draft had the Falcons taking the Alabama standout with the eighth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, often showing Turner as the first defensive player selected. Instead, the Falcons left draft commentators scratching their heads by choosing Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8, even though the month before, Atlanta had signed Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract in free agency. Minnesota got Turner as the 17th selection.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.