In the 2007 NFL Draft, the Jaguars used their first-round pick ( 21st overall ) to select Florida safety Reggie Nelson.

During the 2012 NFL Draft, the team selected USC lineman Matt Kalil with the 4th overall pick after a trade with the Cleveland Browns, and Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith in the first round.

The defensive secondary was aided by the emergence of second year safety Henry Jones, who tied for the NFL lead with 8 interceptions, returning them for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Pro Bowl safety Merton Hanks led the team with 7 interceptions for 93 return yards, while Sanders had 6 interceptions for 303 return yards and 3 touchdowns, earning him the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.

* Tyrell Johnson plays safety in the NFL was born and raised in Rison.

* Tom Morrow, former NFL safety for the Oakland Raiders

* Rogers Beckett, former NFL safety

* Andre Waters, former NFL safety, Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals

He played safety for 13 seasons ( 1960-72 ) for the St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL and was an eight-time All-Pro.

* Yeremiah Bell, plays safety for the New York Jets NFL team.

* Trenton Robinson-NFL safety, former Michigan State Spartans football player and 2012 NFL Draft pick.

* John Howell, safety on 2003 NFL Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers

* Dedrick Dodge ( born 1965 ), safety ( American football position ) for eight NFL seasons, from 1991-1998.

* Nate Ramsey ( born 1941 ), safety and cornerback who played for the Philadelphia Eagles for most of his 11-year NFL career from 1963 through 1973.

* Shawn Mayer ( born 1979 ), NFL who played safety for the Cleveland Browns.

* Mel Phillips, former NFL safety, former NFL coach

* Troy Polamalu, professional football player, NFL, strong safety, Pittsburgh Steelers

* Eric Castle ( 1970 -), former NFL safety and special teams player for the San Diego Chargers

* Darcel McBath, NFL safety formerly of the Denver Broncos

* David Greenwood ( football player ), NFL safety for three seasons

The play is still disputed by those involved, particularly by living personnel from the Raiders and their fans, who insist the Raiders should have won ( in an NFL Films production about the play years later, Raider guard Gene Upshaw theorized that the real purpose of Swearingen's phone conversation was to see if there were enough police on hand to ensure the players ' safety if the play was ruled incomplete, and was then called in the Steelers ' favor out of fear ).

Gillette Stadium ranks first among all NFL venues in stadium food safety with a 0 % critical violations.

Although the 49ers had 3 rookies starting as defensive backs, they all were major defensive threats: Carlton Williamson recorded 4 interceptions, Eric Wright had 3, and Ronnie Lott recorded 7 interceptions and tied an NFL record by returning 3 of them for touchdowns.

James Brown hosted all the events with help from his fellow Fox NFL Sunday cast members Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Ronnie Lott.

* Ronnie Brown, NFL player

Former NFL players ( including USC alumni ), such as Ronnie Lott, Gary Plummer, Tim McDonald and Willie McGinest offered their support for Carroll, who they noted had a player-friendly, easygoing style that might suit the college game and particularly recruiting.

Ronald Mandel " Ronnie " Lott ( born May 8, 1959 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was a cornerback, free safety, and strong safety in the National Football League ( NFL ) for fifteen seasons during the 1980s and 1990s.

In week 1 of the 2011 NFL Season, Reed recorded two interceptions against Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, passing Ronnie Lott for most games with multiple interceptions.

NFL running back Ronnie Brown was also a teammate.

Ronnie G. Brown, Jr. ( born December 12, 1981 ) is an American football running back for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League ( NFL ).

In 1998, off the heels of NBC losing the rights to telecast the NFL to CBS, Cris Collinsworth joined Fox NFL Sunday and subsequently replaced Ronnie Lott.

Lott was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, and is widely considered one of the best defensive backs in NFL history.

Upon entering USC, Lott and teammate and future NFL star Marcus Allen were both considered for the tailback and safety positions.

After college, Lott was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round ( 8th overall pick ) of the 1981 NFL Draft.

In his 14 NFL seasons, Lott recorded 8. 5 sacks and 63 interceptions, which he returned for 730 yards and five touchdowns.

Lott turned to broadcasting following his retirement, serving as an analyst on Fox NFL Sunday in 1996 and 1997, and working on the network's game coverage in 1998.

Pearl River also won the 2004 National Championship of the National Junior College Athletic Association ( NJCAA ) with the help of three NJCAA All-Americans, including wide receiver Larry Brackins, who was selected 155th overall by the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2005 NFL Draft ; quarterback Jimmy Oliver, and offensive lineman Matt Lott.

One independent group which had been active in NFL exhibition promotions in Atlanta applied for franchises in both the American Football League and the NFL, acting entirely on its own with no guarantee of stadium rights.

NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who had been moving slowly in Atlanta matters, was spurred by the AFL interest and headed on the next plane down to Atlanta to block the rival league's claim on the city of Atlanta.

In 2005, owner Arthur Blank's $ 10 million investment in the facility's upgrade gave the players a more relaxing environment and, introduced its players to a training-camp style unlike few in the NFL had seen before.

However, these negotiations came to nothing, since the Bidwills insisted on retaining a controlling interest in the franchise and were unwilling move their team to a city where a previous NFL franchise had failed in 1952.

Meanwhile, the Browns unexpectedly had Cleveland to themselves ; the NFL's Cleveland Rams, who had continually lost money despite winning the 1945 NFL championship, moved to Los Angeles after that season.

Former Browns QB Otto Graham ( left, with head coach Paul Brown ), who led the Browns to 4 AAFC and 3 NFL Championships, and is a Pro Football Hall of Fame member. While the championship losses sowed bitterness among Cleveland fans who had grown accustomed to winning, the team continued to make progress.

On October 26, 1993, the league announced that the owners had unanimously voted for the Carolinas to receive the 29th franchise, the first new NFL team since 1976 ( Jacksonville was named the 30th team a month later ).

By the end of the season, the rookie quarterback had rewritten the record book in Charlotte and many more in the NFL ( including most passing yards by a rookie with 4, 051, previously held by Peyton Manning with 3, 739 ; and most rushing touchdowns by a QB with 14 ).

The team's uniforms prompted a 2003 lawsuit by the Oakland Raiders, who claimed that the NFL and the Panthers had infringed upon key trademark elements of the Raiders ' brand, specifically the silver and black colors.

After being dismissed as the Browns ' head coach by Art Modell ( who had purchased majority interest in the team in ) in January, Brown had shown interest in establishing another NFL franchise in Ohio and looked at both Cincinnati and Columbus.

The new facility had to be ready by the opening of the 1970 NFL season and was officially named Riverfront Stadium.

Carson Palmer, the future star quarterback, was drafted in 2003, but did not play a snap that whole season, as Jon Kitna had a comeback year ( voted NFL Comeback Player of the Year ).

The two-point conversion was not implemented in the NFL until 1994, but it had been previously used in the old American Football League ( AFL ) before it merged with the NFL in 1970.

* Among other rule changes in 2007, kickoffs were moved from the 35-yard line back five yards to the 30-yard line, matching a change that the NFL had made in 1994.

Oilman Clint Murchison Jr had been trying to get an NFL expansion team in Dallas ( also Lamar Hunt – who ended up with an AFL franchise ), but George Preston Marshall owner of the Washington Redskins had a monopoly in the south.

The Lions have not had much success during the Super Bowl era: the Lions are one of four current NFL teams that have yet to qualify for the Super Bowl, and the team is 1-10 in post-season play during that period.

Flutie had estimated " an 80 percent chance " of making the drop kick, which was called to give Flutie, 43 at the time, the opportunity to make a historic kick in his final NFL game, the drop kick being his last play in the NFL.