The National Football League regular season opened last week and three players with local ties were on practice teams around the league.

Former Shepherd tight end Dominique Jones, who has been in similar circumstances with other NFL teams, was placed on the practice squad of the Baltimore Ravens when the regular season opened for that team in Denver.

Howard Jones, who last played at Shepherd in 2013, had Tampa Bay place him on its practice team before it opened with a loss at home to Tennessee. Jones had been an undrafted free agent and signed with Pittsburgh in 2014. He spent the entire 2014 season on Pittsburgh’s practice squad.

And former Jefferson High player Dewey McDonald was placed on the practice team of the Indianapolis Colts. McDonald spent his last year in college (2013) at California of Pennsylvania before being taken as an undrafted free agent by the Colts for the 2014 season.

After starting the season on the practice squad, McDonald was brought to the game roster in late September and remained there throughout the rest of the 2014 regular season. He participated in the playoffs when the Colts won their NFL division.