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Published Nov 21, 2023
Mountaineers in the Pros: Former players making a mark in the NFL
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Zach Anderson  •  WVSports
Staff Writer
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@zachanderson_11
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Every offseason, West Virginia football puts former Mountaineers into the professional ranks, where these players go to show their skills on the largest stage of football, the National Football League.

This is a comprehensive list of every former West Virginia player making an impact in the NFL, which will be updated every week as games are played. Now that Week 11 of the NFL regular season has passed, here's every former Mountaineer who's active on an NFL roster, with some players growing into professional stars.

-- CB Rasul Douglas - Buffalo Bills

On a new team, Douglas finally came into his own in his third game with Buffalo after accomplished the best single game performance in his professional career to lead the Bills to a dominant 32-6 victory over the New York Jets.

The former Mountaineer cornerback held the banner for West Virginia players in the pros on Sunday, finishing with four tackles and three pass deflections. More importantly, he snatched two interceptions and recovered a fumble to lead the Bills' defense to a win.

-- WR David Sills V - Denver Broncos

After starting the season and playing the majority of the year on Denver's practice squad, Sills was finally elevated to the active roster as a backup wide reciever, marking his second-straight appearance on the game-day roster for the Broncos.

He played four snaps in the previous matchup against Buffalo and didn't play on Sunday Night Football in Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings.

-- DE Bruce Irvin - Detroit Lions

At the beginning of the week, the Detroit Lions signed a former Mountaineer legend to the practice squad, making the former first-round pick a member of his seventh NFL squad. Irvin most recently played for the Seattle Seahawks' in 2022 and he has 55 career professional sacks at age 36.

-- QB Geno Smith- Seattle Seahawks

Smith had a modest performance in another tight game for Seattle, as the Seahawks lost to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday 17-16.

Finishing 22-for-34 with 233 yards and one passing touchdown, Smith dealt with an elbow injury in the fourth quarter and missed one offensive drive. However, he returned to give Seattle a chance to win on the final possession, but a game-winning kick was missed.

-- LB Kyzir White & DL Dante Stills - Arizona Cardinals

White left Arizona's game early on Sunday after sustaining an elbow injury, but the former West Virginia safety still recorded three tackles, including two solo stops and a pass deflection in the Cardinals' 21-16 loss to the Houston Texans.

Stills also rotated in on the defensive front and had a big day, recording four total tackles and one sack, the second of his career. He also finished with one tackle for loss and a quarterback hit.

-- LB David Long Jr. - Miami Dolphins

Following the bye week, Long played a somewhat minor role in Miami's 20-13 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, recording four total tackles and two solo tackles for the Dolphins in the win.

-- OG Mark Glowinski - New York Giants

The Giants bounced back for a strong offensive showing on Sunday against the Washington Commanders, coming away with a convincing 31-19 victory where the offense shined behind a brand-new rookie quarterback.

With Glowinski rotating in at offensive guard for New York, the Giants finished with only 292 offensive yards and 5.4 yards per snap, but big plays were enough to get the job done.

-- OT Colton McKivitz - San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers played a near-perfect game on Sunday as they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-14 at home with a strong offensive showing. The former Mountaineer lineman McKivitz started at right tackle once again for the 49ers and led his unit to 420 yards of offense and 7.1 yards gained per play.

-- CB Daryl Worley - Baltimore Ravens

Playing as backup defense back for Baltimore, Worley saw limited action on Thursday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he still managed to record one solo tackle and play solid defense on a third down passing attempt.

-- LB Tony Fields II - Cleveland Browns

Fields has also been rotating at linebacker on a stout Cleveland Browns defense this season and he was only able to record one solo tackle in the Browns' last-second win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. A game-winning kick decided the 13-10 final score in Cleveland.

Players who are rostered but did not appear or record a statistic in Week 11:

-- QB Will Grier - New England Patriots - Grier remains the team's third quarterback and is yet to appear for the team despite being active.

-- TE Trevon Wesco - Tennessee Titans - Wesco is primarily a backup for the Titans, playing with a role as a blocker.

-- OG Adam Pankey - Dallas Cowboys - he remains on the Cowboys' practice squad.

-- OT Yodny Cajuste - New York Giants - Cajuste remains on the Giants practice squad.

-- WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton - New York Giants - Ford-Wheaton will miss the season for the Giants on the team's injured reserve with a torn ACL.

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