How the Top 5 Highest-Paid Huskies Performed Week 1 in the NFL
The first full week of NFL games is in and a number of Washington Huskies played a big part for their respective teams. Myles Gaskin had more carries than expected in Miami, Kaleb McGary held his own on the right side in Atlanta, John Ross caught first-down passes from Joe Burrow in Cincinnati and Byron Murphy had two passes defended for Arizona.
Last week during On Second Thought, I broke down the top five highest-paid Huskies in the NFL: https://www.si.com/college/washington/football/top-5-highest-paid-huskies-in-the-nfl. This week, I took a look at how those five former UW players fared in Week 1 of the NFL and if they lived up to their large paydays.
Marcus Peters: With receiving $13 million a year, you would expect big things from this former Husky, especially facing a struggling Cleveland Browns offense. Peters ended up being the with three total tackles, all solo, and one pass defended for Baltimore. Overall, Peters should’ve had a better first game.
Cory Littleton: With $7.75 million in yearly cash and a new home means that Littleton has a lot to prove. Littleton had five tackles, two solo, and one pass defended for the Las Vegas Raiders against Carolina. Overall, Littleton had a decent first appearance with his new team, but high tackle numbers are expected.
Budda Baker: Baker isn’t the highest-paid safety in the NFL for no reason. His extension with the Arizona Cardinals and guarantee of $11 million a year was backed up after his first performance with the new contract and against a very good San Francisco 49ers offense. Baker led the team with 15 tackles, 10 solo.
Desmond Trufant: After finding a new home with the Detroit Lions for a yearly guarantee of just shy of $9.8 million, he spent the first game of the season splitting playing time with other defensive backs. Trufant walked away with only two solo tackles. Not the best start for his new team. He has plenty of room for improvement.
Shaq Thompson: Thompson had a productive opener for the Panthers, collecting 12 tackles, five solo, and one TFL for three yards. Those are decent numbers for a linebacker with a yearly cash deal of $12 million, but I expect even better numbers when Thompson faces the Los Angeles Chargers this coming week.
