Notre Dame Football Alum Jadarian Price and Eli Raridon Deliver in NFL Debuts

Jadarian Price and Eli Raridon lined up on opposite sidelines for the NFL’s season opener Wednesday night, and both former Notre Dame teammates came away with good debuts. Price ran for 52 yards on 10 carries in Seattle’s 13-10 win over New England at Lumen Field, a rematch of Super Bowl LX. Raridon caught a touchdown pass for the Patriots.

Raridon’s catch was the first touchdown of the 2026 NFL season. He went his entire senior year at Notre Dame without scoring one.

Both debuts came three days after Notre Dame opened its season against Wisconsin, where the players now working at Raridon’s and Price’s old positions had big moments of their own.

Raridon’s long road ends in the end zone

New England reached first-and-goal at the Seattle 2 with the game scoreless in the second quarter. Drake Maye found Raridon alone in the end zone, and the tight end the Patriots drafted 95th overall in April had a touchdown on his first night as a pro. It was Raridon’s only catch of the night, but it was a big one.

Raridon tore an ACL in December 2021 while playing high school basketball, then tore it again in October 2022 during his freshman year in South Bend. He spent three seasons as a reserve, catching 16 passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns across 28 games, before starting all 12 games in 2025. His senior year produced 32 catches for 482 yards and no scores, though his 15.1 yards per catch showed his potential as an offensive weapon.

New England didn’t wait long to use him. Raridon spent much of training camp as the second tight end next to Hunter Henry in the starting offense’s two-tight-end looks, and he watched most of the preseason from the sideline with the veterans, the treatment teams usually save for players they already count on.

Price makes his first NFL touches count

By his own count, Price hadn’t played in a game since November. Leg soreness cost him practice time in August, and Seattle kept him out of all three preseason games.

It didn’t show. His first NFL carry went for 13 yards, and he broke off a 12-yarder up the sideline later in the night. He also caught two passes for 6 yards. Price shared the work, but he carried 10 times for 52 yards in a game that produced 23 total points is a solid opening line for a rookie back.

The Seahawks took Price 32nd overall to help replace Kenneth Walker III, the Super Bowl LX MVP who signed with Kansas City in free agency. With Zach Charbonnet still recovering from a torn ACL, Price figures to see plenty of early-season work. He never carried a full load at Notre Dame while sharing the backfield with Jeremiyah Love, and he still ran for 674 yards and 11 touchdowns on 113 carries last fall.

Seattle’s win had one more Irish connection. Safety Julian Love intercepted Maye with the score tied in the fourth quarter, and the Seahawks kicked the go-ahead field goal on their next possession.

The next wave at Lambeau

Notre Dame’s first touchdown of the season came from nearly the same spot as Raridon’s. Sophomore tight end James Flanigan caught a 3-yard pass from CJ Carr in the first quarter Sunday night, one yard farther out than Raridon would score three days later. It was the first touchdown of Flanigan’s career, and it happened in the stadium where his father and grandfather, both named Jim Flanigan, played for the Packers. He finished with two catches for 10 yards after going without a reception in four appearances last season.

Aneyas Williams spent two years behind Price and Jeremiyah Love waiting for his first college start. He got off to a slow start, like the rest of the offense on Sunday, but he came alive in the second half where he showed a glimpse of what he is capable of. The Irish ran for 29 yards on 16 carries in the first half and led only 13-10 at the break. Williams opened the third quarter by finishing a 70-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, then scored from 5 yards out on Notre Dame’s next possession. He ended the night with 90 yards on 20 carries, and the Irish averaged a little better than 5 yards per rush over the final two quarters.

Notre Dame scored touchdowns on all three of its second-half possessions, and Nolan James Jr. finished the last one. The sophomore running back caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Carr with 1:51 left to close out the 41-13 win.

Notre Dame hosts Rice on Saturday. After a first half in which the run game never got going, the Irish will want Williams and the rest of the backfield finding room well before the break this time.