Derrick Henry is chasing history for Northeast Florida football. And he's far from alone.
The national record-breaker from Yulee High School leads a contingent of more than a dozen players from the Jacksonville area on NFL 53-man rosters following the league's mandated 53-man cut day on Aug. 30.
Henry, entering his 11th NFL season, broke into the league's all-time top 10 last year for rushing yards with 13,018 and overtook several giants of the sport like Jim Brown (12,312), Marshall Faulk (12,279) and Franco Harris (12,120). Hall of Famers in his sights this year include Eric Dickerson (13,259), Jerome Bettis (13,662) and LaDainian Tomlinson (13,684), as Henry continues his pursuit of his first Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Ravens.
But Henry
isn't the only notable story from the Jacksonville area in the NFL this year. Take former Mandarin quarterback and national championship runner-up Carson Beck, aiming to capture the starting job with the Arizona Cardinals. Or former Ware County High School linebacker Ernest Jones IV, eyeing a Super Bowl repeat with the Seattle Seahawks. Or Caden Fordham from Bolles, who battled his way onto the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' roster as an undrafted rookie. Or Sandalwood graduate Ameer Speed, who spent the spring in the United Football League on his way to the Dallas Cowboys' list of 53. The list goes on.
Here are the Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia players on active rosters as of Aug. 31, the first day after full roster cuts. As always in the NFL, roster composition is subject to change.
OL Austin Barber, Cleveland Browns
High school: Trinity Christian
Notable: Third-rounder out of Florida has won positive reviews after preseason switch to right guard.
QB Carson Beck, Arizona Cardinals
High school: Mandarin
Notable: After nearly winning national title with Miami Hurricanes, third-round pick is battling Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew for playing time in Arizona.
WR Pat Bryant, Denver Broncos
High school: Atlantic Coast
Notable: Bryant has quickly become a solid contributor for the AFC runners-up, grabbing 31 passes for 378 yards. Back from a pair of late-season concussions.
DB Jadon Canady, Kansas City Chiefs
High school: Sandalwood
Notable: The football road leads all the way to the NFL for Canady, who was known more for hurdling than for football until his senior year of high school.
S Chamarri Conner, Kansas City Chiefs
High school: Trinity Christian
Notable: Now in his fourth year, Conner nailed down a full-time starting spot in 2025, recording 117 tackles.
WR DeMario Douglas, New England Patriots
High school: Mandarin
Notable: The 5-8, 185-pound Douglas keeps producing in a valuable niche for AFC champs. He has 146 catches for 1,629 yards in three years.
LB Caden Fordham, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
High school: Bolles
Notable: A second-generation NFL player (father Todd Fordham played nine seasons), he was a tackling machine at N.C. State and showed more of the same in the Bucs' preseason.
RB Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens
High school: Yulee
Notable: Henry has bulldozed his way to yards-per-carry averages of 5.9 and 5.2 at ages 30 and 31. Difficulty level: hard.
WR Xavier Hutchinson, Houston Texans
High school: Bartram Trail
Notable: A preseason ACL injury to Jayden Higgins and continuing rehabilitation for Tank Dell will mean a stepped-up role for Hutchinson in Houston's offense.
DL Jordan Jackson, Denver Broncos
High school: Bolles
Notable: Former Air Force D-lineman recorded seven tackles in five games with Denver last year.
LB Ernest Jones IV, Seattle Seahawks
High school: Ware County
Notable: Jones' five interceptions and 126 tackles didn't go unnoticed for Super Bowl champions. He's No. 97 on this year's NFL Top 100 list.
QB Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers
High school: Bolles
Notable: Jones had career-high completion percentage (69.6), career-low interception percentage (2.1) in 11 games filling in for Brock Purdy with the Niners.
OL Warren McClendon Jr., Los Angeles Rams
High school: Brunswick
Notable: A starter in 10 games last year, McClendon steps into the full-time right tackle position for one of the NFC's top-tier contenders.
OL Micah Morris, Philadelphia Eagles
High school: Camden County
Notable: How big are the Eagles? The 6-5, 334-pound guard becomes only the fourth-largest lineman on Philly's roster after joining in sixth round.
LB Jack Pyburn, Kansas City Chiefs
High school: Bolles
Notable: The Chiefs claimed Pyburn Aug. 31 off waivers after impressing in preseason with Tampa Bay.
OL Jalen Rivers, Cincinnati Bengals
High school: Oakleaf
Notable: Rivers saw action in 16 games, starting seven, as a fifth-round rookie in 2025.
K Cairo Santos, Chicago Bears
High school: St. Joseph
Notable: With 266 career field goals made, Santos now ranks inside the league's all-time top 50.
CB Ameer Speed, Dallas Cowboys
High school: Sandalwood
Notable: The appropriately speedy Speed (he runs a 4.34 40) is also determined: He's played 17 NFL games with four teams over the past three years, and spent the summer with the UFL's Houston Gamblers.
OL Laremy Tunsil, Washington Commanders
High school: Columbia
Notable: The five-time Pro Bowler is expected to miss numerous games after undergoing surgery on a triceps tear.
Note that this list does not include players who are under contract but not on active rosters. For example, the Indianapolis Colts placed former Providence School tight end Will Mallory on injured reserve Aug. 30, but with a designation to return at some point in the season.
The Commanders may do the same with Laremy Tunsil, who sustained a triceps tear in preseason, but that transaction had not occurred as of Monday afternoon.
Missing from the list this year is former Brunswick High School cornerback Darius Slay,who retired in March after 13 seasons, 28 interceptions and six Pro Bowl selections with the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Which Jacksonville-area players are on NFL 53-man rosters? See the list
