Across The Shield: 44 Former Ohio State Players on NFL Active Rosters As First Week of Regular Season Begins

With the conclusion of the preseason last Thursday and the start of the regular season coming this Thursday, NFL teams were required to trim their active rosters from 90 players to 53 players over the weekend.

As a result, more than a dozen former Ohio State players were cut or otherwise moved off their team's rosters. Former Buckeyes who were released that are now free agents include Braxton Miller (Cleveland Browns), Cardale Jones (Los Angeles Chargers), J.T. Barrett (Seattle Seahawks), Adolphus Washington (Miami Dolphins), Tracy Sprinkle (Houston Texans), Malcolm Pridgeon (Houston Texans) and Chris Worley (Philadelphia Eagles).

Tyvis Powell (Dallas Cowboys), Rod Smith (New York Giants) and Marcus Baugh (Carolina Panthers) reverted to their teams' injured reserves after being waived and going unclaimed this past weekend. The Jacksonville Jaguars initially placed Terrelle Pryor on injured reserve, but he became a free agent on Tuesday after reaching an injury settlement with the team. 

Johnnie Dixon was cut by the Texans, but is now a member of the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad. Dante Booker is also on the Cardinals' practice squad after playing for them this preseason, while seventh-round draft pick Mike Weber is on the Cowboys' practice squad after being waived from their active roster.

The Cowboys also placed Noah Brown on the Physically Unable to Perform list. That means he will not be able to play for the first six weeks of the NFL season while he recovers from a knee injury, but he is still eligible to return to play this year if he is added to their active roster later this season.

One former Buckeye was traded over the weekend, as the Kansas City Chiefs dealt Carlos Hyde to the Texans in exchange for offensive tackle Martinas Rankin. Hyde, who signed a one-year, $2.8 million with the Chiefs this offseason, never gained traction on the running back depth chart in Kansas City during the preseason but is expected to split carries with Duke Johnson – who he shared a backfield with in Cleveland for part of last season – in Houston.

Former Ohio State safety Kurt Coleman was initially released by the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, but was re-signed to the Bills' active roster on Sunday.

With all of those moves, Ohio State is now set to have 44 total players on NFL active rosters entering the regular season. NFL rosters are consistently fluid, so it's still possible there could be changes between now and Thursday, but as of now, here's how the NFL's Buckeyes stack up by team.

(Note: Ezekiel Elliott is not currently on the Cowboys' 53-man roster because he has not reported to the team while negotiating a contract extension, but is still listed here because he will be a member of the Cowboys' active roster if he signs a new contract with the team.) 

Corey Linsley will be the first Buckeye to take the field in the regular season as the Green Bay Packers are set to play the Chicago Bears in the NFL's season opener at 8:20 p.m. Thursday.

Top Photo credit: Derick E. Hingle – USA TODAY Sports