Vols For Life: NFL Round-Up 8/14

Jul 27, 2013; Cortland, NY, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Zach Rogers (9) reaches to make a catch during training camp at SUNY Cortland. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

We’re pleased to bring you a new feature here at All For Tennessee.

Several times a week we’ll be bringing you updates on former Vols in the NFL.

This will include practice updates, how they fared in games and general news.

There’s a ton of former Vols in the NFL, which means a lot of news to keep up with. We’ll bring you all of that news in one place!

Justin Hunter — Tennessee Titans — WR

Hunter was chastised heavily after the Titans’ opening pre-season game. The 6’4″ receiver ran backwards in an attempt to gain more yardage on a 3rd-and-4 play, causing him to lose the first down. Hunter has been no stranger to criticism from the coaching staff during camp. Wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson has berated Hunter for being soft and having some issues with drops.

At practice on Tuesday, Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean reported that Hunter is starting to “make strides after a slow start”.

Cordarrelle Patterson — Minnesota Vikings — WR

The early reviews for Patterson have been great so far. The Vikings’ first round draft pick played well in his first pre-season game, returning a kick 50 yards and catching four passes for 54 yards. He was targeted seven times in the Vikings opener.

Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier seemed more than pleased with Patterson after the game.

"That’s exactly what you want out of a rookie playing wide receiver in our league. He’s going to be hungry coming back, now we just have to keep feeding him, helping him continue to grow."

Patterson is currently behind Jerome Simpson on the Vikings depth chart, but could push the veteran for a starting job by the first regular season game.

Zach Rogers — New York Jets — WR

Rogers has been a consistent performer for the Jets since rookie mini camps, even drawing praise from head coach Rex Ryan back in May. The former Vol continued to be a steady option at receiver in the team’s first pre-season game. Rogers caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in a loss to the Detroit Lions.

The young wide receiver should definitely make the Jets’ final 53-man roster, and could see some playing time early as a rookie.

Mychal Rivera — Oakland Raiders — TE

Rivera, who displayed good receiving skills during the early portions of Raiders camp, had some issues with drops during Oakland’s first pre-season game. He’s currently third on the Raider’s depth chart, so he’s got an up-hill battle ahead of him for playing time as a rookie.

Eric Berry — Kansas City Chiefs — DB

Berry learned this past week that he’ll be lining up at linebacker in dime packages for the Chiefs. Berry has stated on numerous occasions that he’s all in with coach Andy Reid and ready to step up as a leader on defense.

Tyler Bray — Kansas City Chiefs — QB

Tyler Bray has been the talk of Chiefs’ camp so far, the rookie has displayed his strong arm and performed extremely well. He had a shaky time during the team’s opening pre-season game, losing a fumble along the way. One of Bray’s biggest knocks coming out of college was his attitude. That apparently has been a strong point of his, something which Andy Reid complemented recently.

"Alex Smith sees everything at the line of scrimmage and he is a very smart quarterback. So are Chase  and Ricky Stanzi. They are smart guys. It is unbelievable how far Tyler has come along working with those guys."

Arian Foster — Houston Texans — RB 

Texan’s running back Foster has been held out of practice since the end of mini-camps. He’s been on the P.U.P. list since the beginning of training camp and remains there with continued “back tightness”. Head coach Gary Kubiak remains optimistic that the pro-bowl running back will be able to practice soon.

Montario Hardesty — Cleveland Browns — RB

Hardesty, who’s in a battle for the Browns’ number two running back job, suffered a dislocated thumb in practice on Monday. Dion Lewis, formerly of the Eagles, has somewhat overtaken Hardesty for the number two job. Hardesty will have to get back on the field quickly if he plans on having any chance of regaining the job.

Ben Bartholomew — New England Patriots — FB

Bartholomew appears to be a long-shot to make the Patriots’ final roster. The team isn’t really using him at tight end and since they don’t utilize a fullback, it’s unclear where Bartholomew could fit in with the team. The former Vol played only three snaps during the Patriots’ first pre-season game.

Matt Simms — New York Jets — QB

Simms is currently operating as the Jets’ fourth QB, but he’s made it a battle with Greg McElroy for the number three QB job. Simms had performed well during camp.

Da’Rick Rogers — Buffalo Bills — WR 

Rogers caught a six-yard touchdown in his first game with the Bills on Sunday, but he still finds himself buried on the depth chart. Rogers is currently behind Stevie Johnson, Robert Woods, TJ Graham and Marquise Goodwin. He gave up on a fumble-return on Sunday, something that won’t win him any favor with the Bills’ coaching staff.

The former Vol did manage to hook up with Kevin Kolb during practice on Tuesday for a long touchdown reception.

Make sure to check back weekly for updates on Vols in the NFL.

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