Minkah Fitzpatrick is gonna need a bigger man cave.
The Dolphins cornerback, a first-round pick from Alabama, has begun collecting NFL jerseys worn by fellow former members of the Crimson Tide. The process started last Thursday night, when the Dolphins faced the Buccaneers and former Alabama tight end O.J. Howard.
“There’s a lot of Bama guys that we’re going to be playing against, so I definitely want to get their jerseys and put them up on my wall,” Fitzpatrick said, via AL.com.
As Mark Inabinett of AL.com notes, NFL rosters currently boast 59 former pupils of Nick Saban. So Fitzpatrick will need a really big wall.
He won’t need a big wall this week. The Dolphins play the Panthers, and the Panthers are one of three teams without Alabama players (per Inabinett, the Browns and Vikings are the only other two). After Miami’s third preseason game, however, Fitzpatrick will have his hands full; the Ravens will roll out a quintet of former Tuscaloosans: cornerback Anthony Averett, center Bradley Bozeman, cornerback Marlon Humphrey, middle linebacker C.J. Mosley, and outside linebacker Tim Williams.
By the time rosters cut from 90 to 53, there will surely be fewer former Alabama players in the NFL than 90. Still, Fitzpatrick will be doing plenty of jersey swapping throughout his NFL career, especially since more and more Alabama players are making it to the NFL every year.
