USFL exec VP “Moose” Johnston says the league is a second chance for players; several of those players got their first chance as Cowboys. | From @ToddBrock24f7
Daryl “Moose” Johnston paved the way hundreds of times for the NFL’s all-time leading rusher over the course of his storied career as a fullback for the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s. Now he’s helping pave the way for hundreds of young players to continue their dream of playing football at the professional level.
Johnston is the executive vice president of football operations for the new iteration of the USFL, the resurrected developmental league set to kick off in mid-April. Eight teams will play a ten-game schedule, with all contests being staged in one of two stadiums in Birmingham, Alabama. The championship will be played in Canton, Ohio’s Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
The entire season will wrap up by mid-June, attempting not to compete with the NFL, but to fill the gap left by its offseason. And in that way, the USFL allows its players a narrow but legitimate pathway to wearing the shield.
“There are a ton of guys who things just didn’t quite work out for,” Johnston told Fox Sports. “Football is an unpredictable game and there are a lot of things beyond your control. Just as it goes smoothly for some guys, for others it doesn’t.”
The USFL aims to offer them a second chance.
“They have chased this dream for a long time, but now the dream is almost dead,” Johnston continued. “This is a chance to keep it alive, either by elevating their status in the USFL and rejoining an NFL team, or just the chance to keep playing football and getting paid for it.”
The eight teams of the USFL held their inaugural draft this week, with several familiar names (at least to Cowboys fans) getting the call.
Todd Haley may be the most recognizable to the Cowboys faithful. After coaching the Dallas wide receivers from 2004 to 2006, Haley went on offensive coordinator and head coaching stops at four other NFL clubs. He’ll be the Tampa Bay Bandits’ head coach.
Several wide receivers who spent time in Dallas also found their way to USFL rosters. Lance Lenoir has the most experience; he spent three seasons with the Cowboys and saw action in eight games. He was drafted by the Michigan Panthers. Osirus Mitchell was a practice squadder for most of 2021; he’ll suit up for the Birmingham Stallions. Johnnie Dixon was in training camp in 2021; he’ll play for the New Orleans Breakers. Brennan Eagles was an early cut in 2021’s camp, but he’ll get another shot with the Philadelphia Stars.
Quarterback Clayton Thorson served on the Cowboys practice squad for the 2019 campaign and was in 2020’s camp. He was the fifth overall draft pick by the Houston Gamblers on Tuesday night.
Running back Mike Weber is a former seventh-round draft pick by the Cowboys. After taking over Ohio State’s backfield when Ezekiel Elliott went pro, the two were reunited in Dallas in 2019. Weber failed to make the team in Dallas, but stayed on with the practice squad that season. After stints with the Chiefs, Packers, and Giants, he’ll now tote the rock for the New Jersey Generals.
Several other players who had a moment with the Cowboys will get a new opportunity in the USFL, too, including defensive tackle Shahir Soto (Breakers), safety Tyree Robinson (Stallions), and tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty (Bandits).
It’s a long shot for them all. But in speaking of the planned trajectory of the USFL as a whole, Johnston said the goal of season one is simply to hit the field, season two is to get better, and to be great by season three.
A handful of former Cowboys are now a step closer to meeting that first goal for themselves.
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