Cowbell Corner

Bulldogs in NFL: When former Mississippi State players suit up in divisional games

Five alumni are on playoff teams, but a new knee injury could force Seattle's Charles Cross to miss its divisional playoff game against the 49ers.
Taylor Hodges|
Los Angeles Rams cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. (1) reacts in the fourth quarter in an NFC Wild Card Round game at Bank of America Stadium.
Los Angeles Rams cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. (1) reacts in the fourth quarter in an NFC Wild Card Round game at Bank of America Stadium. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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Mississippi State Bulldogs

Five Bulldogs are part of teams still alive in the NFL playoffs, but there's a chance more than one will miss their team's NFL Divisional playoff game.

Darius Slay never reported to the Bills after being picked up off the waiver wire in December. He's guaranteed to not be on the field Saturday against the Broncos.

Seahawks' left tackle Charles Cross was on track to play in his first game in more than a month. He was a full participant in Tuesday's practice, but was downgraded Wednesday to limited participation with a knee injury.

Cross missed Seattle's last three games with a hamstring injury, so the knee injury is new and concerning.

Sunday's pair of games will be better for Mississippi State fans. Denico Autry and the Texans take their NFL-best defense to New England who took advantage of one of the easiest NFL schedules of all-time to get the No. 2 seed.

After that, Emmanuel Forbes and the Rams will face Montez Sweat and the Bears in the final playoff game of the weekend.

Here's when you can see the former Bulldogs in action:

Saturday

No. 6 Buffalo Bills at No. 1 Denver Broncos | 3:30 p.m. | CBS

Darius Slay, CB, Buffalo Bills

Last Week: On reserve/did not report list.
Season: 23 solo tackles, 1 PD

No. 6 San Francisco 49ers at No. 1 Seattle Seahawks | 7 p.m. | FOX

Charles Cross, OT, Seattle Seahawks

Last Week: Did not play due to injury in a 13-3 win against the 49ers.
Season: 14 GS

Sunday

No. 5 Houston Texans at No. 2 New England Patriots | 2 p.m. | ESPN/ABC

Denico Autry, DE, Houston Texans

Last Week: Had one tackle, a half-sack, two pass deflections and two QB hits in a 30-6 win against the Steelers.
Season: 9 tackles, 3 tackle for loss, 4 sacks, 1 FF, 3 PD, 2 blocked field goal.

No. 5 Los Angeles Rams at No. 2 Chicago Bears | 5:30 p.m. | NBC/Peacock

Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Los Angeles Rams

Last Week: Had six tackles, three solo, in a 34-31 win against the Panthers.
Season: 51 tackles (36 solo), 1 FF, 17 PD, 3 INT

Montez Sweat, DE, Chicago Bears

Last Week: Had three tackles, one pass deflection and three QB hits in a 31-27 win against the Packers.
Season: 56 tackles, 13 TFLs, 10 sacks, 6 PD

Eliminated Bulldogs

Logan Cooke, P, Jacksonville Jaguars

Last Week: Had two punts for 100 yards (50 avg.) with a long of 58 and one landed inside the 20 yard line in a 27-24 loss to the Bills.
Season: 62 punts, 2,978 yards, 48.0 avg., long 66, 23 IN20

Jaden Crumedy, DT, Carolina Panthers

Last Week: Currently on Panthers’ practice squad.
Season: 2 tackles, 3 GP

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.