nick fairley.jpg

New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Nick Fairley hits a sled during training camp in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., on July 28, 2016.

(AP Photo)

Defensive tackle Nick Fairley hits the field in the black and gold of the New Orleans Saints for the first time on Thursday, the opening night of the NFL's preseason schedule.

"I feel like I'm back home, I'll say that," said Fairley, who was a high school star at Williamson in Mobile and signed with the Saints as a free agent in March for his sixth NFL season.

"My mom is going to be able to come to each home game and some away games with Atlanta, Carolina and down there in Tampa," Fairley said. "It just feels real good to know that, growing up in Mobile and New Orleans was the team that we rooted for, everybody back home is rooting for me because they're happy I'm playing for this team."

Fairley's mom probably will take in the preseason game on TV, though. The Saints kick off their four-game preseason schedule on the road against the New England Patriots. NFL Network will televise the game nationally at 6:30 p.m. CDT.

The Saints-Patriots game is one of six on the opening night of the preseason. The Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts were supposed to kick off the preseason on Sunday night, but the NFL canceled the annual Hall of Fame Game because field conditions raised questions about player safety.

The first week of the preseason continues with four games on Friday, five games on Saturday and one game on Sunday.

The Saints-Patriots game has the most players with Alabama football roots involved on this week's schedule. New Orleans and New England have 15 players from Alabama high schools and colleges on their rosters. After Williamson, Fairley starred at Auburn.

For the third straight season, the Patriots have an undrafted free agent with Alabama roots trying to earn a spot in their secondary. West Alabama's Malcolm Butler went on to become New England's Super Bowl-saving hero two seasons ago, and last year, Brandon King, who prepped at Thompson before playing at Auburn, made his mark on special teams for the Patriots and Butler earned Pro Bowl recognition.

This year, New England has two rookie defensive backs from the state. Cornerback Cyrus Jones was the Patriots' first pick in the NFL Draft in April, taken out of Alabama in the second round. Auburn cornerback Jonathan Jones wasn't drafted, but New England thought enough of him to give him the top contract of their free-agent rookies - a $35,000 guarantee.

"You get what you earn," Jonathan Jones said of his chances of making the regular-season roster. "You have to show up every day. (Butler) is definitely an example, and there's plenty of other examples here of guys who were undrafted and ended up making the team."

The first week of the preseason includes the NFL's return to Los Angeles. After 21 seasons in St. Louis, the Rams return to Los Angeles with their preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday. ESPN will televise the game at 7 p.m. CDT.

The Rams are playing in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum while their $2.6 billion stadium is being built in Inglewood, California.

The Cowboys-Rams game has only four players with Alabama football roots, not counting Rolando McClain and Tre Mason, who remain on the did-not-report list.

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The schedule for Week 1 of the NFL preseason includes (all times Central Daylight):

Thursday

Buccaneers at Eagles, 6 p.m.

Redskins at Falcons, 6 p.m.

Jaguars at Jets, 6:30 p.m.

Panthers at Ravens, 6:30 p.m.

Saints at Patriots, 6:30 p.m. (NFL Network)

Broncos at Bears, 7 p.m.

Friday

Dolphins at Giants, 6 p.m.

Lions at Steelers, 6 p.m. (NFL Network)

Vikings at Bengals, 6:30 p.m.

Browns at Packers, 7 p.m.

Raiders at Cardinals, 9 p.m. (NFL Network)

Saturday

Seahawks at Chiefs, 3:30 p.m. (NFL Network)

Colts at Bills, 6 p.m.

Chargers at Titans, 7 p.m.

Cowboys at Rams, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Sunday

Texans at 49ers, 6 p.m. (NFL Network)