The opening week of the NFL preseason kicked off on Thursday night, and a handful of former Tennessee players were in action across the 12 games.

While preseason games may not matter in the marathon of the NFL season, it's an important opportunity for some players to earn roster spots. For others its their professional debuts with their new teams. And for everybody, it's football.

The Vols have had nine players selected in the NFL Draft the past two years (six in 2017 and three in 2018) and have had a handful of other undrafted players land free-agent deals and stick in the league, and many of those first- and second-year pros were in action as many of them try to solidify roles or earn spots on the final 53-man roster or the practice squad for their respective team — or perhaps another interested franchise.

Tennessee has more than three dozen former players currently on NFL rosters, and here's how most of them performed in the first week of the preseason.

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