Thomas Odukoya set to be first Dutch player to play in the NFL in 24 years

Next season will be the first time in 24 years that a Dutch man will play in the NFL, the highest American football league. The Tennessee Titans selected Thomas Odukoya from Almere for the next NFL season, which starts next month.

The Tight End heard on Tuesday that he had made the Titans' 53-man squad after an impressive preseason. The Titans play their first regular season match on September 8 against the Chicago Bears.

"I thought I was going to get cut," he told NOS. "' This is a tough day,' they said, 'because we're going to have to send a lot of really good players away. And then, 'But that's not the case with you.' Man, I was out of it. And then they pointed upstairs to a hidden GoPro camera to film my reaction," he added.

Odukoya was first signed by the Titans as a free agent following the 2022 NFL draft after playing in 40 games for Eastern Michigan University. He has been a reserve player for the team since then.

This came after the 27-year-old had won the Dutch national MVP award while attending Helen Parkhurst High School in Almere. He was the team captain for three years at the school.

The last Dutch player in the NFL was Harald Hasselbach, who won the Super Bowl twice with the Denver Broncos.