CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Football had six former players recently finish the 2024 National Football League season, with four advancing to the NFL Playoffs with their respective teams.
 
In 2024, Anthony Firkser '17 (NYJ/KC), Truman Jones '23 (KC/NE), Kyle Jusczcyk '13 (SF), Tyler Ott '14 (WAS), Aaron Shampklin '22 (PIT) and Chris Smith '22 (DET) all saw action with their respective clubs. And playing beyond Week 18 of the regular season will be Firkser, Ott, Shampklin and Smith.
 
Firkser played in seven games this season while with the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs. The tight end saw action in four games with the Jets before contributing to three Kansas City victories as the Chiefs won the AFC West with a 15-2 record and secured the conference's No. 1 seed. The 2024 campaign marked Firkser's seventh in the NFL, with the tight end playing for five franchises.
 
Jones completed his second NFL season and split 2024 with Kansas City and the New England Patriots. The defensive lineman joined the Patriots in early December and made his NFL debut in New England's Week 18 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Jones finished the game with two tackles.
 
Juszczyk enjoyed another outstanding campaign for the San Francisco 49ers, playing in all 17 games and earning his ninth straight Pro Bowl selection, which is the most by a fullback in NFL history. He finished the season with 19 catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns, while adding five carries, 26 yards and one TD on the ground. In 12 seasons, Juszczyk has played in 189 games, starting 142, and amassed 2,901 scrimmage yards and 24 total touchdowns.
 
After helping the Baltimore Ravens to the 2023 playoffs, Ott is back in the postseason after playing this year for the Washington Commanders. The long snapper played in all 17 games for a Washington team that finished at 12-5 and with the No. 6 seed in the NFC. Ott, who is in his ninth season, will face the third-seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night in Florida.
 
Shampklin made his NFL debut this season with the Pittsburgh Steelers after stints with the Dallas Cowboys (2022), Indianapolis Colts (2022-23) and Los Angeles Chargers (2023). The running back appeared in three games and finished with six carries, 17 yards and one touchdown for a Steelers team that went 10-7 and secured the No. 6 seed in the AFC. Pittsburgh opens the NFL playoffs on Saturday night at Baltimore.
 
Smith, who spent his rookie campaign with the Detroit Lions in 2023, made his NFL debut this season for the NFC North champions. The defensive lineman played in five games, all of which were Lions victories, and finished with two tackles and a quarterback hit as Detroit secured the NFC's top seed with a 15-2 record.
 
The Crimson is looking to have one of its former players raise the Lombardi Trophy for a second straight year after Jones was victorious with the Kansas City Chiefs last season. Jones' Chiefs defeated Juszczyk '13's San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.