Tag: LaBryan Ray

Alabama football countdown to kickoff: 89 days

We are just 89 days away from the start of Alabama’s 2023 football season. Let’s take a look at a former No. 89 for the Tide, LaBryan Ray.

The Alabama Crimson Tide will take the field for the 2023 college football season in 89 days, as Middle Tennessee State visits Bryant Denny Stadium on Sept. 2.

Here at Roll Tide Wire, we will be counting down the days until [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and his team take the field.

Today, with 89 days remaining, we will take a look at the last scholarship player to don the No. 89 for the Crimson Tide, [autotag]LaBryan Ray[/autotag].

Ray had an up-and-down career with the Tide as he battled injuries throughout his college career. In his five seasons with Alabama Ray amassed 76 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks.

Ray would switch to No. 18 for his final two seasons in Tuscaloosa. Currently, true freshman tight end Ty Lockwood wears No. 89 for the Tide.

LaBryan Ray’s Photo Gallery

9 former Patriots players who are still free agents

Here are the last remaining former Patriots players still listed as free agents.

After one week of free agency, the New England Patriots have managed to re-sign the vast majority of their pending free agents since the turn of the new league year.

They’ve also lost some key players as well, including wideout Jakobi Meyers and running back Damien Harris.

But not everyone has been picked up by another team yet. There are still some considerably noteworthy names swimming in the massive pool of free agency. For New England, that number has dwindled all the way down to 10 players left on the list.

Here are the former Patriots players still waiting to be signed in free agency.

Patriots signed these 11 practice squad players to future contracts

The Patriots signed 11 practice squad players to future contracts.

Even though the season is over, Tuesday was still a busy day for the New England Patriots with the team signing 11 practice squad players to future contracts.

These might seem like no-big-deal signings to some, but as the Patriots learned in an injury-plagued 2022 season, there’s no such thing as a no-big-deal signing. They’ve had to lean heavily on their practice squad to help fill thinning positions on the roster throughout the year.

The team even went out and signed offensive tackle Conor McDermott off the New York Jets’ practice squad to help fill the void left after the injury to former first-round draft pick Isaiah Wynn.

So the ability to develop players that can potentially help the team when called upon is obviously a big deal.

With the future contracts, the names that didn’t make the list were veteran linebacker Jamie Collins, offensive lineman Bill Murray, wideout Lynn Bowden, kicker Tristan Vizcaino and quarterback Garrett Gilbert.

Here are the 11 players that made it.

Many familiar faces return to practice after initially being cut by Patriots

Multiple preseason fan favorites were back at practice on Wednesday.

There were plenty of familiar faces back at practice after initially being cut by the New England Patriots on Tuesday.

Like the rest of the league, the Patriots went through the tough process of trimming their rosters down to 53 players. On Wednesday, many of the players on the cut list went on waivers with the chance of being claimed by another team.

The Patriots were fortunate that tight end Devin Asiasi was their only former player that got claimed on waivers. So that paved the way for a slew of fan favorites to return, including Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Tre Nixon, J.J. Taylor and LaBryan Ray.

Even veteran cornerback Terrance Mitchell was spotted at practice.

There was also a reported “mystery lineman” wearing a No. 68 jersey. Could it be Drew Desjarlais?

The Patriots will lean on some of their practice squad talent to fill roles at certain points throughout the season for a team that currently has more questions than answers.

At the very least, there are several players within the group that showed they were up for the challenge during the preseason slate.

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Two Alabama players listed as UDFAs likely to make their respective NFL teams’ rosters

See where these two undrafted Alabama players are expected to make the roster!

The NFL draft unfortunately didn’t go as planned for both Alabama DT [autotag]LaBryan Ray[/autotag] and EDGE [autotag]Christopher Allen[/autotag] as neither heard their names announced during the three day event in Las Vegas. However, the good news for these two is that over 30% of the NFL is un-drafted free agents.

The 33rd Team, which is a website ran by Mike Tannenbaum and Joe Banner, published an article discussing which un-drafted player from each of the 32 NFL teams is most likely to make their respective team. Tannenbaum is the former GM of the New York Jets and Banner was formerly the Philadelphia Eagles President and Cleveland Browns CEO, so it is safe to say that these two are about as credible as it gets.

The New England Patriots chose Ray due to the Patriots high rotation in defensive linemen and a need for depth. It is also well known that Nick Saban and Bill Belichick have a great relationship and he trusts the players coming out of Tuscaloosa.

As for the Denver Broncos they went with Allen as they have a need for a rusher coming off the edge. The Broncos did sign Randy Gregory from the Cowboys as well as using a second round pick on the position, but when trying to replace a guy like Von Miller it is important to have all options available.

For both of these Alabama guys to be recognized by such reputable members of the media should speak volumes.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

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Alabama Morning Drive: 2022 NFL draft recap

The latest news and notes involving the Alabama Crimson Tide on Monday morning.

Good Monday morning ladies and gentlemen! I hope everyone had a great weekend and is ready to get another work week started.

It was a busy weekend across the sports world. The 2022 NFL draft stole the headlines and once again [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and Alabama were well represented.

In this edition of Alabama Morning Drive, we are going to take a look at each former member of the Crimson Tide that was drafted and where they are headed. We will also look at those who went undrafted but would sign as undrafted free agents.

Let’s just get right to it!

First…the undrafted…

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NFL Draft Diamonds has 11 former Tide players in latest 2022 NFL draft big board

Here is where NFL Draft Diamonds has these 11 former Alabama stars ranked on its big board.

We are less than six weeks away from the 2022 NFL draft and mock drafts and big boards are now being updated almost daily. Nick Saban’s recruiting success at Alabama has not only brought several championships to Tuscaloosa, but it has also made the NFL draft an event that all Tide fans are tuned in to.

NFL Draft Diamonds recently updated its 2022 NFL draft big board and a total of 11 former Crimson Tide players landed inside the top 350.

Let’s take a look at which former Alabama stars landed on the list and where they are ranked.

DRAFT STOCK: LaBryan Ray could move up draft boards with a strong combine performance

This former Alabama defensive lineman can continue to rise up the draft boards with a strong performance at the NFL combine

One of the most intriguing prospects heading into the 2022 NFL draft is former Alabama defensive lineman LaBryan Ray. And it has very little to do with the fact that Ray played in Tuscaloosa. It has more to do with the fact that Ray never lived up to his five-star billing out of high school due to several injuries throughout his collegiate career.

In most mock drafts, Ray is going as either a late-round selection or undrafted free agent. Recently, our friends over at Eagles Wire put out their 2022 NFL team mock draft and they have the Eagles selecting Ray with one of their fifth-round selections.

Ray is a prospect whose best football could be ahead of him if he can stay healthy.

The former Alabama standout will be participating in the NFL combine later this week and could improve his draft stock with a strong showing.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

 

 

Former Alabama DL LaBryan Ray set to play in East-West Shrine Bowl

Alabama DL LaBryan Ray accepts an invite to a collegiate all-star game.

Former Alabama defensive lineman LaBryan Ray has accepted an invitation to compete in the annual East-West Shrine Bowl.

The East-West Shrine Bowl is a college football all-star game for draft-eligible players and has been played annually since 1925.

To say that Ray went through a lot in his time at Alabama would be a massive understatement. Ray came to Tuscaloosa as a highly touted five-star prospect back in 2017, but never really lived up to expectations because of the number of injuries he suffered.

Ray ended his injury-riddled Tide career with 76 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, and one forced fumble.

You can catch Ray in the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl when it takes place on Thursday, Feb. 3, in Las Vegas. It will kick off at 5:00 p.m. CT on NFL Network.

Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire for all the latest on the Crimson Tide!

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.

 

5 Alabama players who could impact the Iron Bowl

5 Alabama players who could impact the Iron Bowl!

It’s hard to believe that we have made it to the last week of the regular season in college football. Like most seasons, it has completely flown by and we are all wondering where the time went.

On the more optimistic side, the last week of the season generally renews some of the nation’s most intense rivalries. Maybe the most intense of all is the annual matchup between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers, in a contest known as the Iron Bowl.

With kickoff just a few short hours away, I thought we could take a look at five Alabama players who could make an impact on the outcome of the game. This week I am doing things a little differently. My list will not include the likes of Bryce Young or Will Anderson Jr., not because they won’t be impactful, but those guys are obvious choices and I wanted to dig a little deeper!

Let’s get started!