NFL Players With Connecticut Ties, Then and Now

I am a Las Vegas Raiders fan which means a few things, I'm miserable every Sunday and I watch my team square off with the Denver Broncos twice a year. Whenever the Raiders play the Broncos, I keep seeing one big boy on the Denver Defensive line wreaking havoc. That player is Zach Allen who I found out is from Connecticut.

Get our free mobile app

This made me curious as to how well-represented Connecticut is and has been in the NFL. I dug around for a bit and realized the football history is way better here than I thought. I came up with a list of some current and former NFL players from the great State of Connecticut.

NFL Players With Connecticut Ties, Then and Now

The Nutmeg State has had more NFL talent than you might realize. These are just a few of the more notable names (past & present) that have made their impact on the league.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

You always hear about how certain states are football factories. So many NFL stars have come out of states like Florida, Texas, Georgia and Pennsylvania but you never hear about Connecticut. It looks like we have a lot more football talent than the country is willing to recognize.

NOTE: These are not all of the current and former NFL players from CT, there are tons and many actually have Super Bowl rings. I'll need to do a follow-up report, but I wanted to share some of the league's more recognizable Connecticut guys.

Some of the NFL’s All-Time Most Feared Tough Guys – Part 1

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

Some of the NFL’s All-Time Most Feared Tough Guys – Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, I featured John Lynch, Bill Romanowski, James Harrison, Maxx Crosby and Troy Polamalu. For part 2 I felt the need to go back a bit further for some of these players, guys I was not old enough to see play but I grew up reading about.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

Some of the NFL’s All-Time Most Feared Tough Guys – Part 3

I’ve been watching the NFL my whole life and while the game has changed drastically in my 42+ years, but one thing remains the same, you must be a “tough guy” to make it to the league. On that level of athleticism, all the players are strong and physical but some clearly are better than others. In parts 1 + 2, I highlighted John Lynch, Bill Romanowski, Troy Polomalu, James Harrison, Maxx Crosby, Reggie White, Earl Campbell, Mean Joe Greene, Mike Singletary and Brett Favre. The following are some of the players who go beyond, passing the eye test and were flat out scary on a football field. These are “Some of the NFL’s All-Time Most Feared Tough Guys – Part 3”

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

Some of the NFL’s All-Time Most Feared Tough Guys – Part 4

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

Connecticut's 5 Favorite NFL Stars: Not Much Love for the Locals

The NFL is a collective success but that unit is propped up by a foundation of individual stars and the league has many of them. But who is popular, where are they popular and why? For instance, I wanted to know who are the 5 most popular NFL athletes in the State of Connecticut? I found the answers but I was surprised there was not much love for the Jets, none for the Pats and zero for the Giants.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

Danbury Area Folks Share Their NFL Fandom for Playoffs

I am an Oakland/LA/Las Vegas Raiders fan, and have been since I was a kid and I'm often outnumbered in NFL conversations, but not completely alone. In the NFL, there are fans of all kinds in every city in America.

Before the Raiders losing playoff game against the Bengals last weekend, I reached out to my friends who are Raiders fans and asked them to send me a photo of them wearing a jersey or celebrating the team in some way. I had a great response and it kicked off a fun sports conversation but it was for Raiders fans only.

I wanted to give the same opportunity to all NFL fans in the Greater-Danbury area, whether their team was in the playoffs or not. I sent out the call on my radio show and on social media and these are the responses I got back.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

Want more Connecticut news and entertainment? Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast. The show is available wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple and Spotify. The program is the same one we do on the radio but with limited commercials and no music. You can also listen live by streaming the show on the I-95 Rock Mobile app or tune into I-95 (95.1FM).

Categories: Articles