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Texans vs. Chiefs: 14 former B1G players on rosters for Thursday night’s NFL opener
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The long-awaited 2020 NFL season will kick off on Thursday night, with the Houston Texans taking on reigning Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs. The game marks the first contest of the season at the professional level, with the game airing on NBC and kickoff set for 8:20 p.m. ET.
Several former B1G players are on the roster for Thursday’s opener. A total of 14 former B1G stars are listed on the two rosters this season, with six playing for Houston and eight suiting up for Kansas City.
Michigan is the school with the most representation, having four players on the roster, all playing for the Chiefs. Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa each have two and Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin each have one player.
Below are the names of the 14 former B1G players on the rosters for Thursday night’s contest:
Houston Texans (6)
- Whitney Mercilus, LB — Illinois
- Eric Murray, S — Minnesota
- Brent Qvale, OL — Nebraska
- Bradley Roby, CB — Ohio State
- John Reid, CB — Penn State
- J.J. Watt, DE — Wisconsin
Kansas City Chiefs (8)
- Nick Allegretti, OG — Illinois
- Anthony Hitchens, LB — Iowa
- Ben Niemann, LB — Iowa
- Taco Charlton, DE — Michigan
- Frank Clark, DE — Michigan
- Mike Danna, DE — Michigan
- Chad Henne, QB — Michigan
- Damien Wilson, LB — Minnesota
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB