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Former Tulane Football Stars Land Shots on NFL Rosters
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- Former Tulane Football Stars Land Shots on NFL Rosters
(USA TODAY Sports)
The Tulane Green Wave have a considerable presence in the NFL for being a G6 program, and the number of former players in the league grew by two on Wednesday afternoon.
Former Green Wave center Sincere Haynesworth signed with the Buffalo Bills while former wide receiver Jha'Quan Jackson landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers .
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It'll be a homecoming of sorts for Haynesworth, who actually grew up in Buffalo, NY before moving to Houston where he played high school football. Haynesworth was with Tulane from 2019 to 2023, the same years as his former teammate.
Haynesworth was an essential component of the Cotton Bowl season and convincing quarterback Michael Pratt to stick around rather than transfer after that season and finish out their careers together with the Green Wave.
His leadership was also invaluable as he was a captain alongside Pratt and linebackers Nick Anderson and Dorian Williams as the quartet that put on the Power Point presentation for the team after the 2-10 season that included a photo of the conference championship trophy they would go on to capture that season.
He was also incredibly durable, not missing a single game in five seasons with over 3,900 snaps.
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The problem for Haynesworth when he got to the league, first signing as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints , was his smaller stature for an NFL center.
However, he came back and worked on his use of hands and technique for that final season and spent the last spring working on that at the UFL level with the St. Louis Battlehawks. He also spent time with the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals .
He'll now look to make the most of his opportunity, as will Jackson who heads to Pratt's former team in Tampa Bay .
Jackson was originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft and had one catch for 8 yards in 12 games as a rookie. Jackson was primarily on special teams, returning 16 kickoffs for 412 yards and 28 punt returns for 215 yards.
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Jackson was also on the Saints roster and briefly signed with the Houston Texans earlier this offseason in 2026.
Jackson was at Tulane the same years as Haynesworth from 2019 to 2023 with 56 career game appearances for the Wave. He totaled 109 catches for 1,743 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Jackson also returned 32 kickoffs for 734 yards and 58 punt returns for 664 yards and one touchdown.
