Chippewas In The NFL

Five Central Michigan alums are on the active rosters of NFL teams on opening weekend of the season, while four others are members of practice squads.

Sean Murphy-Bunting, a starting cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, made five tackles (four of them solo) in a 34-23 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Murphy-Bunting was a two-year starter at CMU in 2017-18. He earned All-Mid-American Conference First Team honors as a junior in 2018, when he was named the Chippewas' Defensive Player of the Year.

He was selected by the Buccaneers in the second round (39^th overall) in the 2019 draft. He appeared in all 16 of the Buccaneers' games in 2019. He made 10 starts and recorded 41 tackles including one sack and three interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

• CMU's Eric Fisher started at left tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs in their 34-20 victory over the Houston Texans on Thursday night. Fisher is in his eighth year with the defending Super Bowl champions. He was drafted No. 1 – the first player in Mid-American Conference history to do so – by the Chiefs in 2013. He earned a Pro Bowl berth in 2018.

Fisher's 2019 season was limited by injury. He played in eight games, all of them starts, in helping the Chiefs in January to their second Super Bowl title and first since 1970. He has appeared in 103 games in his career.

• Tight end Tyler Conklin (Minnesota Vikings), fullback Nick Bellore (Seattle Seahawks), and safety Kavon Frazier (Miami Dolphins) each appeared in their respective teams' games on Sunday.

Conklin's Vikings opened with a 43-34 loss to Green Bay; Bellore and the Seahawks posted a 38-25 win over Atlanta; and Frazier's Dolphins fell to New England, 21-11.

Conklin was drafted by the Vikings in the fifth round in 2018; Frazier went to the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round in 2016; and Bellore was an undrafted free agent out of CMU who signed with the New York Jets in 2011.

After four years with the Cowboys, Frazier signed as a free agent with the Dolphins in April. He was credited with 62 tackles including one sack and two forced fumbles during his four years I Dallas. Bellore is in his second season with the Seahawks after spending two years each with the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers and four with the Jets.

• Former Chippewas Cooper Rush (New York Giants), Joe Ostman (Philadelphia Eagles), Jonathan Ward (Arizona Cardinals) and Xavier Crawford (Chicago Bears) are members of the practice squads.

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