Tag: Carson Wells

Five former CU Buffs to play in the UFL’s inaugural season

A few former Buffs are playing in the UFL this spring

Five former Colorado Buffaloes players will be playing in the inaugural season of the United Football League (UFL) this spring.

Although the UFL is new, the teams that comprise the league are not. In late December, the USFL and XFL announced plans to merge into the UFL, which will consist of eight teams and two conferences.

The USFL Conference features the Birmingham Stallions, Houston Roughnecks, Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers, while the XFL Conference will have the Arlington Renegades, D.C. Defenders, San Antonio Brahmas and St. Louis Battlehawks.

The 2024 UFL season will kick off on March 30.

Below are the five former Buffs who are listed on UFL rosters this spring:

Carson Wells signs NFL contract with New England Patriots

Carson Wells signed an NFL contract with the Patriots

After spending the spring in the XFL, former Colorado linebacker Carson Wells is getting another chance to prove himself in the NFL.

The New England Patriots announced on Tuesday that they signed Wells, who had a free agent tryout with his new team over the summer.

In his lone XFL season with the St. Louis Battlehawaks, Wells started in eight games, recording 45 tackles and 3.5 sacks. The Florida native was previously with the Cincinnati Bengals before getting waived last August.

At Colorado, Wells played in 40 career games over four full seasons and was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection in 2021.

The Patriots’ second preseason game comes Saturday at Green Bay.

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Patriots announce release of two special teams contributors

The Patriots were busy on Tuesday with multiple roster moves

Despite being on a plane ride to Wisconsin for joint practices with the Green Bay Packers, the New England Patriots were still busy with multiple roster transactions on Tuesday.

They confirmed the signing of former XFL linebacker Carson Wells, along with announcing the releases of defensive lineman DaMarcus Mitchell and long snapper Tucker Addington.

Mitchell was a significant contributor for the Patriots on special teams in 2022. He appeared in 16 games and was in on 71 percent of the special teams snaps that season.

Meanwhile, Addington was always considered a long-shot to make the roster with Patriots veteran long snapper Joe Cardona signing a new four-year deal with the team in the offseason.

It has been a busy couple of days for New England with the team also announcing the signing of running back Ezekiel Elliott on Monday.

The roster tinkering won’t be ending anytime soon with less than a month away from the 53-man deadline.

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Report: Former XFL linebacker expected to sign with Patriots

The Patriots are reportedly making a move at linebacker.

Former XFL linebacker Carson Wells is reportedly expected to sign with the New England Patriots. The Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed reported the news on Monday.

Wells, who played college football at Colorado, spent some time with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022, before he ended up with the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL.

He compiled 45 total tackles last season with the Battlehawks in 10 game appearances. The Patriots have been moving talent around on their roster in recent days with the team signing running back C.J. Marable and offensive lineman Micah Vanterpool over the weekend.

Of course, that also led to the team releasing linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi and safety Jourdan Heilig.

With the reported Wells signing, the Patriots will have to make room once again by cutting a player already on the roster.

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Patriots reportedly brought in XFL linebacker for workout

A former XFL standout linebacker recently received a tryout for the Patriots.

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The New England Patriots hosted a linebacker last Thursday, as they look to fill the final spot on their current roster.

The XFL announced that New England hosted linebacker Carson Wells for a tryout. Per A to Z Sports’ Doug Kyed, the tryout took place last Thursday.

Wells recorded 45 tackles and 3.5 sacks as an edge player for the St. Louis Battlehawks. He was able to get after the quarterback as well, recording 22 quarterback pressures and 25 defensive stops.

New England did not have trouble getting after the quarterback last season, recording 54 sacks on the season, which was good enough for third in the NFL.

Wells could potentially be a nice depth piece for a New England defense that is already strong. With Matthew Judon and Josh Uche being key parts of the defense, Wells could potentially work his way into the rotation.

New England may make some moves over the next couple of weeks with training camp on the horizon. It’s clear solidifying the defense has been and still is a big priority for the team.

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Carson Wells invited to free agent tryout with Patriots

Following a strong spring in the XFL, Carson Wells could make an NFL return

Former Colorado football linebacker Carson Wells is looking to use his XFL success to catapult himself back into the NFL.

The XFL announced on Friday that Wells, who had 45 tackles and 3.5 sacks for the St. Louis Battlehawks this spring, received a tryout invite from the New England Patriots.

His tryout reportedly took place on Thursday.

Wells agreed to an undrafted free-agent deal with the Cincinnati Bengals last May but was released following just one preseason game.

Other former Buffs who played in the XFL this spring include Steven Montez, Drew Lewis, Phillip Lindsay and Javier Edwards. Montez was invited to a rookie minicamp with the San Francisco 49ers last month.

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CU Buffs in the XFL: Opening weekend roundup

A few former #cubuffs fared well in Week 1 of the XFL season

The XFL is back! This past weekend marked the return of the professional spring football league that gives players, including a few former CU Buffs, another opportunity at moving up to the NFL.

For those who don’t know, this is the third time that the XFL has launched as an offseason alternate to the NFL. The league lasted one season under the direction of WWE chairman Vince McMahon in 2001 and made a return in 2020 before being shut down by COVID-19.

Four forever Buffs took the field for XFL teams this weekend. Below is a quick recap of how they performed:

Bengals waive former Buffs LB Carson Wells

The Bengals announced that Carson Wells has been waived

The Colorado Buffaloes saw a few players earn undrafted free agent deals this offseason.

Nate Landman signed with the Atlanta Falcons and has been impressive during training camp. Carson Wells then earned a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.

However, unfortunately, Wells has been waived by the Bengals as they try to cut down their roster with the regular season a few weeks away.

Wells saw limited action in the Bengals’ preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals, playing just 18 snaps and registering one tackle, but there just simply wasn’t any room for him on the roster.

After all, the Bengals won the AFC and lost in Super Bowl 56 to the Los Angeles Rams and added talent this offseason, so Wells always had an uphill battle at earning a roster spot.

Wells earned a lot of pre-draft hype and still failed to hear his name called on draft night.

Now, he will hope for another opportunity with an NFL team, and a spot on a practice squad seems likely at this point.

We will continue to monitor Wells’ NFL journey, and hopefully, he can find another team willing to give him a chance.

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Carson Wells finds NFL home with Cincinnati Bengals

Carson Wells signed a free-agent deal with the reigning AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals

The Colorado Buffaloes watched their second superstar linebacker in as many days find an NFL fit on Sunday when Carson Wells landed an undrafted free-agent deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.

A four-year starter with the Buffs, Wells cemented himself as a clutch defender, ranking top-10 in program history with 41 third down stops and 38 tackles for a loss. It was a surprise to me, at least, to see him snubbed in the draft. But, there’s a lot to be excited about him joining the reigning AFC champs.

Although he just barely missed playing alongside Chidobe Awuzie and Josh Tupou in Boulder, Wells now joins a Bengals’ defense littered with former Buffs.

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Carson Wells speaks on NFL draft process

It’s NFL draft time and Carson Wells is ready

Colorado Buffaloes linebacker Carson Wells is hoping to hear his name called this weekend during the 2022 NFL draft.

However, it remains to be seen how anything will turn out when the draft begins, and late-round selections are always hit or miss.

Wells has appeared in some mock drafts but has gone undrafted in others, so his landing spot is completely up in the air.

Nonetheless, he has a positive spirit heading into the NFL Draft and is just hoping that somebody takes a chance on him (h/t Brian Howell of BuffZone).

“We just need one, baby. I know wherever I end up, I’m gonna do my best to stick.”

Wells has the right mindset, and if one team comes calling on him, he will give it everything he has.

Wells also popped up in a top 300 rankings piece by The Athletic, so his name is out there and generated some buzz during the Colorado Pro Day as well.

If Wells doesn’t hear his name called in any of the seven rounds, it shouldn’t take too long for him to get an undrafted free agent deal, so at the very least, Wells will be on an NFL roster sometime next week.

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