Five Georgia Southern football players were given the opportunity to begin their career at the next level in NFL, announced Saturday.

While none of these players were drafted, being a free agent still gives these Eagles a chance to play at the next level if they work hard enough.

Tight end Ellis Richardson signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Bears while the other four have accepted invites to rookie minicamps. Running back Wesley Fields accepted a minicamp invite for San Francisco. Safety Sean Freeman and offensive lineman Curtis Rainey both accepted invites for Atlanta’s minicamp. Finally, safety Joshua Moon accepted his minicamp tryout invitation for Jacksonville.

Richardson logged impressive statistics as a senior, catching 10 passes for two touchdowns during his final season.

Fields was a second-team All-Sun Belt selection his senior year while leading the team in both rushing and receiving yards in the same season. The running back saw 200 carries for 1,050 yards while notching nine touchdowns. Fields is now the third Eagle to go to a 49ers’ minicamp, following Matt Breida and Jerick McKinnon.

Freeman showed for 39 tackles- with 26 of them being solo tackles, six pass breakups and a forced fumble in the 2018 season for the Eagles. The safety was also only able to compete in 10 out of the 13 games during the 2018 season due to a leg injury putting him out for three games.

Rainey was a first-team All-Sun Belt selection after playing in all 13 games on the season while starting 11 of them. The offensive lineman was on the field for 736 offensive snaps on the season as well as playing all 68 offensive snaps in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, where GS saw their second bowl win in program history.

Moon played in 12 games during the 2018 season while logging 41 solo tackles and 30 assisted tackles, totalling out to 71 tackles on the season. Moon was also responsible for two forced fumbles against Arkansas State, one interception against Texas State, and one pass breakup against UMass.

Kaitlin Sells, The George-Anne Sports Editor, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu