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Jake Butt is back on schedule.
After tearing his ACL in the 2016 Orange Bowl, the former Michigan tight end fell down draft boards, until the Denver Broncos snagged him in the fifth round. After a year of rehabilitation and an offseason sitting behind Jeff Heuerman on the depth chart, he’s now starting.
He caught two balls for 29 yards, while also adding a special teams tackle, in Denver’s 27-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
His former teammate — and current AFC West rival — Maurice Hurst saw his first regular season action for the Oakland Raiders Monday night.
The mobile defensive tackle slashed his way to three tackles in Jon Gruden’s initial return to Oakland, with the Raiders dropping a 33-13 contest to the Los Angeles Rams.
He made noise during the preseason, particularly when he sacked the Rams a few weeks ago.
A pair of former Wolverine defensive ends also harassed backfields upon their return. First, Brandon Graham recorded two tackles for loss in the Philadelphia Eagles 18-12 Thursday night triumph over the Atlanta Falcons — their first win since last year’s Super Bowl.
Graham endured ankle surgery, which held him out all preseason.
Seattle’s Frank Clark made his lone tackle count, sacking Denver’s Case Keenum after battling hamstring issues all summer.
A sack by Seahawks Frank Clark. Prepare the 12s' hallelujah chorus.
— Art Thiel (@Art_Thiel) September 9, 2018
Sunday in Miami, things got ugly as Tennessee starting left tackle Taylor Lewan sustained a vicious blindside block from the Dolphin’s Andre Branch.
Other Wolverine alumni notes:
- Outside Lewan, the following linemen started this weekend: right guard Patrick Omameh for the New York Giants, right tackle Michael Schofield for the Los Angeles Chargers, center Mason Cole for the Arizona Cardinals and center Graham Glasgow for the Detroit Lions.
Ben Braden (New York Jets) and Erik Magnuson (San Francisco 49ers) also appear on NFL rosters as backups.
- Jabrill Peppers shined in all facets for the Cleveland Browns in their 21-21 tie against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He racked up six tackles, returned one kick for 24 yards and one punt for 15 more.
He also nearly returned a fumble for a touchdown, sparking a comeback from down 21-7.
Skip to 8:01.
- 250 miles southwest from Cleveland, defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow anchored the middle in Cincinnati’s 34-23 opening win over the Indianapolis Colts.
The former walk-on amassed six tackles, with one for loss.
OBVIOUS TOM BRADY UPDATE
Brady entered his 18th professional season Sunday, continuing to demonstrate his steady dominance by dispatching the Houston Texans 27-20.
He completed 26-of-39 passes for 277 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
At this pace, he will reach 4,000 yards passing for the 10th time in his career, trailing only Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.
- Other defensive contributors included Minnesota’s Ben Gedeon (five tackles), Oakland’s Leon Hall (six tackles), Dallas’ Taco Charlton (three tackles), Jacksonville’s Jarrod Wilson (0.5 TFL) and Baltimore’s Chris Wormley (one tackle).
- Matt Wile, once just the long-distance kicker for Michigan, now starts for the Vikings at punter.
He looked the part in Sunday’s 24-16 victory over the 49ers, putting four punts inside the 20-yard line and booting one for a long of 56.
- Carolina’s Devin Funchess caught three passes for 41 yards in the Panther’s 16-8 victory over the Cowboys. On the other side of the ball, Dallas’ Jourdan Lewis started at nickel and kick returner.
- Quarterback Chad Henne (Kansas City Chiefs), fullback Khalid Hill (Seattle Seahawks) and safety Dymonte Thomas (Denver Broncos) also appear on 53-man rosters.