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Oklahoma has a league-high nine former Sooners playing in the NFL’s conference championship weekend. Here’s a look at the nine in action.
There will be plenty of Oklahoma representation during the NFL’s conference championship weekend. Nine former Sooners are on active rosters and will be in action on Sunday looking to advance to Super Bowl LVI.
It’s worth noting that former Sooner Jordan Evans is also a linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals, but Evans suffered a torn ACL in week five against the Green Bay Packers.
Here’s a look at the nine Sooners in action this weekend.
With the NFL regular season wrapped up, which former Sooners are heading to the NFL playoffs?
Oklahoma DNA can be found all over the NFL these days. After fantastic seasons, several former Sooners will play in the postseason for their respective teams.
Former quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts will lead their respective teams into the playoffs. Murray and the Arizona Cardinals go on the road to face the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams. Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles travel to take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Facing off against Murray and fellow former Sooner Jordan Phillips will be former offensive lineman Bobby Evans.
Sticking with the NFC, CeeDee Lamb and the Dallas Cowboys will play host to Trent Williams and the San Francisco 49ers. Lamb capped a great second year in the league with 1,102 yards receiving, 79 receptions and six touchdowns for the Cowboys. He finished 12th in the league in receiving yards while leading a talented Dallas Cowboys wide receiver corps. Along with Lamb, Neville Gallimore will be making his first appearance in the playoffs.
Turning to the AFC, after finishing second in the NFL in rushing yards, Joe Mixon and the Cincinnati Bengals will host the Las Vegas Raiders in the wild-card round. Samaje Perine also plays for the Bengals. The Raiders pulled off an overtime win over the Los Angeles Chargers and Kenneth Murray’s squad to make it into the postseason.
Cody Ford and Daryl Williams will take on Rhamondre Stevenson as the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots are set for their first-round matchup.
Sticking with the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs, with Orlando Brown, Creed Humphrey, Blake Bell and James Winchester, remain one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl this season. The team is led by Patrick Mahomes.
With six games this weekend, there are several opportunities to put on your Sooners gear and cheer your favorite former Sooners as they make their way through the NFL playoffs with the hopes of hoisting the Lombardi trophy.
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Watch #Chiefs LS James Winchester ride with the Blue Angels and explain how important the experience was to him in, “Leaving a Legacy.” | from @TheJohnDillon
After a lifetime of experience around the aviation community, Kansas City Chiefs long snapper James Winchester got to take the ride of a lifetime with the Blue Angels. The team shared a recorded short film featuring Winchester, celebrating the life of his late father. Titled “Leaving a Legacy,” the short film shows Winchester going up in a demonstration plane for a full flight experience with the naval aviators that looked like a dream come true.
He prefaced the experience by describing the time he had spent around airplanes growing up, going to events with his dad who worked with an airline for the better part of 30 years.
“Growing up going to air shows in Oklahoma City at Will Rogers World Airport, my dad worked for Southwest Airlines for 29 years, so I grew up with a fascination and a love for aviation,” Winchester said. “My dad loved the Blue Angels, loved the Thunderbirds, so I had a love for aviation and grew up watching dad work around Boeing 737s, and then [I was] obviously carted around at air shows.
“I had two dreams growing up in life, to play football and be a pilot. That’s kind of what I wanted to do. I think I’m slacking on one of those dreams, but I think the other one has worked out pretty well.”
While he won’t be turning in his cleats for a pilot helmet anytime soon after signing a two-year extension with the Chiefs, Winchester’s passion for the skies was hard to hide at altitude. Only a handful of people know the feeling of being in a high-performance fighter jet, and after an experience as unique as this, he is sure not to forget it.
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The Chiefs locked down an important member of their special teams as LS James Winchester signed a 2-year contract extension.
The Kansas City Chiefs locked down an important member of their team as they signed long snapper James Winchester to a two-year contract extension on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
While it’s not the kind of extension that’s going to generate a ton of buzz, Winchester has been a valuable member of Kansas City’s special teams unit and the extension is well-earned.
The Chiefs made Winchester the highest-paid long snapper in the league, according to his agent Ken Sarnoff.
Kansas City Chiefs have signed their long snapper, James Winchester, to a two-year contract extension, making him the highest-paid player at his position, his agent @KenSarnoff told espn.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 23, 2021
Winchester was an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma in 2013, where he spent his rookie season with the Philadelphia Eagles during training camp and was among the first round of roster cuts in August 2013. Winchester joined the Chiefs in 2015, where he’s been ever since.
Details of Winchester’s contract extension with the Chiefs weren’t revealed at the time.
The #Chiefs made a pair of special teams transactions on Friday, activating James Winchester from the Reserve/COVID-19 list and waiving Drew Scott.
The Kansas City Chiefs have made a pair of special teams transactions on Friday.
According to the NFL’s official transaction report, the Chiefs have waived long snapper Drew Scott and activated long snapper James Winchester from the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
Winchester was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday when veterans officially reported for training camp. It prompted the team to sign Scott, who filled in for Winchester on Wednesday and Thursday at practice. Winchester returned to practice on Friday, signaling that he’d officially been cleared. Scott also practiced with the team one last time on Friday prior to his release.
The NFL’s return-to-play policy says that if Winchester is vaccinated, he’d need consecutive negative COVID-19 tests taken 24 hours apart. The haste of his return to play suggests that he has been vaccinated and was able to produce two negative tests.
The 31-year-old long snapper enters his seventh season with the Chiefs. He signed a five-year contract extension in 2017 and has been the lone long snapper to work with the Chiefs’ current specialists Harrison Butker and Tommy Townsend up until this point.
Having Scott fill in for a few days at training camp is a good thing for Kansas City. The former Kansas State wildcat had previously worked out for the Chiefs ahead of the 2019-20 postseason and the team’s Super Bowl LIV run. Now, they have someone who they’re comfortable with on their call list if something were to happen to Winchester during the course of the season.
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James Winchester will represent the Oklahoma Sooners in the Super Bowl. Here is how you can watch along with the final BetMGM odds.
There is one former Oklahoma Sooner to watch for in the Super Bowl on Sunday evening. Current Kansas City Chief and former Sooner James Winchester looks to win his second Super Bowl ring on Sunday.
Time: 5:30 p.m. CST
Location: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida
TV: CBS
Stream: CBS and NFL apps
Line: Kansas City (-3)
O/U: 55.5
Money Line: Kansas City (-165) / Tampa Bay (+140)
Looking for some action on this game or others? Place your legal sports wagers online at BetMGM in CO, IN, NJ, TN, and WV. New Customer Offer: Risk-free first bet up to $500! Terms and conditions apply. Visit BetMGM and bet now!
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
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There has been at least one former Oklahoma Sooner to play in the Super Bowl in 32 of 54 games. A look through history at each one.
The Super Bowl will be upon us before you know it and there is no shortage of history in the game when it comes to the Oklahoma Sooners. Continue reading “A look at each Oklahoma Sooner to have played in Super Bowl history”
Three Sooners have made it to the pinnacle of football. Damien Williams, Blake Bell and James Winchester are heading to the Super Bowl.
Three Oklahoma players have made it to the pinnacle of football.
The Kansas City Chiefs just defeated the Tennessee Titans 35-24 in the AFC Championship to secure their spot in Super Bowl LIV. Former Oklahoma running back Damien Williams, quarterback and tight end Blake Bell as well as former longsnapper James Winchester are members of the Chiefs heading to the Super Bowl.
Williams has been a big factor in this Kansas City run the last two seasons. He is averaging two touchdowns per playoff game for the Chiefs in the two playoff runs, including one on Sunday to help Kansas City get to Miami for the Super Bowl.
Bell caught his first career touchdown pass against the Houston Texans last week in the Chiefs’ miraculous comeback from down 24-0 to win 51-31.
Winchester remains the starting long snapper for Kansas City.
Williams and Bell live in Oklahoma lore for huge performances and moments. Williams for his 95-yard run against Texas in the 2012 OU-Texas and Bell for his Belldozer running package and big-time late game performance in the 2013 Bedlam at quarterback.
The Kansas City Chiefs will take on the winner of the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2.
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