Former Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett will reportedly suit up for a new developmental football league called “The Spring League.”
It wasn’t that long ago that we were watching former Ohio State football stars compete in the AAF and the XFL leagues. While the XFL is coming back next year under new leadership with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson purchasing the league, it appears there’s another developmental league that’s coming as well.
Oh yeah, and a very prominent former Buckeye and Big Ten player will be taking part.
On Monday, FOX Sports announced that it would be carrying games this fall from “The Spring League” — a professional football development league started in 2017 which starts its inaugural season this year. It all came a little out of the blue, but it begins its schedule on Oct. 27. The games will take place on weekdays and the first three weeks (of five) will take occur at the Alamodome in San Antonio. According to the release, Barrett will be a part of all the fun and will lead the Alphas.
There are other notables taking part according to the release, not the least of which involves former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson. Patterson and Barrett’s teams are not scheduled to meet unless it happens in the championship.
The last time we saw Barrett, he was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers in August and has since been a free agent. He’s had previous stints on practice squads with the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks but could never carve out a spot on the field with active games.
Maybe this will get him the playing time needed to make a name for himself once again.
Along with J.T. Barrett and Zach Mettenberger, the former Michigan football QB will join the pro development league which kicks off in Oct.
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It wasn’t that long ago that we were watching former Michigan stars compete in the AAF and the XFL. While the XFL is coming back next year under new leadership with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson purchasing the league, there is but another football league coming into the fray.
And a former prominent Wolverine will be taking part.
On Monday, FOX Sports announced that it would be carrying games this fall from The Spring League — a professional football development league started in 2017 which starts its inaugural season this year — which begins its schedule on Oct. 27. Its games will take place on weekdays and the first three weeks (of five) will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Among the participants this year will be former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson, who will lead the Blues.
As noted, Patterson isn’t the only former college star who will take part. Former Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett (Alphas) and former LSU signal caller Zach Mettenberger (Generalss) have also signed on.
Patterson will be coached by former longtime NFL defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, who recently was the DC for the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks. Perhaps the most interesting coach to join the league is Jerry Glanville, the former Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons head coach who most recently was the defensive coordinator for the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers.
After going undrafted in 2020, Patterson signed a free agent deal with the Kansas City Chiefs before being cut over the summer. He had a workout with the Houston Texans in recent weeks, but nothing appears to have come from that.
Patterson’s upcoming schedule with TSL are as follows:
Week One: Tues., Oct. 27 – Blues vs. Alphas – 12 p.m. EDT
Week Two: Wed., Nov. 4 – Blues vs. Aviators – 5 p.m. EST (TV: FS1)
Week Three: Wed. Nov. 11 – Blues vs. Generals – 8 p.m. EST (TV: FS1)
Week Four: Wed. Nov. 18 – Blues vs. Alphas – 3 p.m. EST
The Houston Texans worked out two quarterbacks, Kelly Bryant and Shea Patterson.
The Houston Texans have worked out a pair of quarterbacks on Tuesday.
The club worked out former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson along with former Missouri quarterback Kelly Bryant, who also played for Clemson from 2015-17, even leading the Tigers to a College Football Playoff championship game appearance at the end of his final season.
To date, Bryant has had a workout with the Arizona Cardinals in August. Patterson was in the virtual offseason with the Kansas City Chiefs after going undrafted. The Super Bowl champions waived him in July.
For the Texans, what they are looking for in an extra quarterback isn’t necessarily someone with the same skillset as Deshaun Watson as much as a signal caller who can help keep practices flowing smoothly and provide an added benefit to the quarterback room.
“I think like there’s probably some guys out there that have experience, but I wouldn’t say that’s the number one key for that role,” coach Bill O’Brien said on Sept. 2. “I think it’s more about, hey, does this guy have the capacity to learn, does he understand his role, is he a good guy, will he fit into the quarterback room well.”
The Texans also worked out former Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots, and Miami Dolphins cornerback Nate Brooks.
Houston also worked out former Green Bay Packers receiver Trevor Davis, who also played with the Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, and Chicago Bears.
The former Michigan football QB is getting another chance at his NFL dreams.
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It’s been something of a bumpy road for former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson.
After coming to Ann Arbor in 2018 after spending his first two years at Ole Miss, Patterson took a little while to get acclimated to Pep Hamilton’s offense. He wasn’t asked to do too much, but was stellar in the daunting three-game stretch against Wisconsin, MSU and Penn State. The slow breakdown of teams worked against most, but not Ohio State nor Florida, but with Josh Gattis taking over as offensive coordinator in 2019, it seemed better things were on the horizon for the former five-star.
However, Patterson sustained an injury on his first play from scrimmage, and the passing game didn’t take off until midseason. By the end of the year, he was thriving, as the first quarterback in Michigan history to have three-straight games with more than 300 yards passing.
But, when draft day came, Patterson’s name was uncalled. In fact, he didn’t get an opportunity until a week after the draft, when Kansas City finally picked him up as an undrafted free agent. However, it didn’t last long as he was cut over the summer.
Now, he may have another shot, as it’s reported that he got a workout on Tuesday with the Houston Texans.
#Texans have worked out QB Shea Patterson, QB Kelly Bryant, WR Trevor Davis, and former North Texas DB Nate Brooks.
Patterson, in just two years, has the seventh-best career passing record in a Michigan uniform. He also is sixth and eighth in completions, and has two of the best single seasons in Wolverines history, with the No. 2 year for the program with 3,061 yards in 2019 and No. 9 with 2,600 in 2018.
It appears the Ravens are already looking ahead to the Week 3 matchup with the Chiefs.
The Baltimore Ravens appear to already be looking ahead to their Week 3 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Ravens are scheduling former Chiefs QB Shea Patterson to come in for a workout. Patterson signed with the Chiefs following the 2020 NFL Draft as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan. At the time he was the only player in attendance at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine who wasn’t on an NFL roster.
The former Wolverines quarterback didn’t last too long in Kansas City. He spent a portion of the virtual offseason program with the Chiefs but was promptly released after the team brought back veteran QB Matt Moore. He never ended up doing any on-field work with the team.
Free agent QB Shea Patterson is set to work out for the #Ravens this morning, source said, as teams tinker with their emergency lists and practice squads. He recently spent time with the #Chiefs.
Now, Rapoport says this workout is intended for emergency lists or the practice squad, but the Ravens already have three quarterbacks on the active roster and one on the practice squad. We all know what’s really at play here.
It’s common practice in the NFL for teams to bring players in for workouts in hopes of probing them for information on an upcoming opponent. Baltimore seems to want every possible edge they can get against Kansas City in Week 3. They well know that the “Monday Night Football” matchup with the Chiefs could determine the No. 1 seed in the AFC by the end of the season.
In the long run, any information Patterson could provide probably wouldn’t give the Ravens much of an advantage, if any at all. Still, it’s noteworthy that they’re bringing him in so close to this pivotal matchup with Kansas City.
The former Wolverines QB is getting a chance to earn his way up at an AFC powerhouse.
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It took a week after the 2020 NFL Draft for former Michigan football QB Shea Patterson to be signed as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs, but he was quietly released early in the offseason.
The NFL season started this past Thursday, and though Patterson hadn’t landed anywhere, he kept working out and striving to get better, as indicated by his social media. Now he’s getting an opportunity—not a job, but an opportunity—to showcase his skills for a friendly face.
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has been on record that he likes players from his brother Jim’s team. Though he only has one Wolverine on his roster at the moment — left guard Ben Bredeson — the elder Harbaugh also drafted Chris Wormley, who was dealt to the Steelers this summer.
According to Ian Rapoport, Harbaugh and the Ravens are giving Patterson a shot as he comes in for a workout.
Free agent QB Shea Patterson is set to work out for the #Ravens this morning, source said, as teams tinker with their emergency lists and practice squads. He recently spent time with the #Chiefs.
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Of course, if Patterson impresses and the Ravens bite, it’s not a guarantee that he makes the active roster eventually, as he could be relegated to the practice squad, as mentioned. But the powerhouse team with Lamar Jackson leading the charge certainly could use some extra insurance given his penchant for running.
Now that Patterson’s healthy — he sustained an injury on the first play from scrimmage in 2019 — he could certainly use any opportunity to prove that he’s a better QB than people are giving him credit for.
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The Kansas City Chiefs are now down to just four quarterbacks on the 90-man offseason roster.
Earlier it was reported that the Kansas City Chiefs re-signed veteran QB Matt Moore and now we have the corresponding roster move.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Chiefs have waived Michigan Wolverines undrafted free agent QB Shea Patterson. Kansas City signed Patterson back in May when he was the only remaining player of the 337 players in attendance at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine who hadn’t been drafted or signed by a team. He was the last undrafted free agent signed by the Chiefs following the 2020 NFL Draft.
It appears his time in Kansas City was short-lived. While he was once a promising prospect, the team didn’t even wait to Patterson in action on the field before cutting him free. They only engaged in virtual team meetings while he was with the team.
The Chiefs have waived former Michigan QB Shea Patterson, per source. He was signed as an undrafted free agent this year.
This roster move, in coordination with the decision to re-sign Moore, makes it abundantly clear that the Chiefs wanted another quarterback on the roster that knows the playbook already. This doesn’t bode well for the new players on the roster who might not have a lot of time to get the playbook and scheme down ahead of the 2020 season.
Patterson spent two seasons as the starter for the Michigan Wolverines, playing in 26 games, completing 706 passes for 5,661 yards, 45 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He’ll now be looking for a new home ahead of the 2020 NFL season, which might be a difficult task amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Expect this roster move to be made official when the NFL’s transaction report comes out later this afternoon.
How does Pittsburgh UDFA WR Maurice Ffrench fit with the Kansas City Chiefs?
Maurice Ffrench was an esteemed player in every regard at the University of Pittsburgh. During his freshman season, when the team was in a bind due to injuries Ffrench stepped in and played cornerback for two games. He played some defense prior to college but was recruited as a receiver. While he didn’t catch any passes that season, he was utilized on jet sweeps, accumulating a whopping 10.2 yards per carry on the ground.
His versatility only evolved from there, being utilized at numerous receiver spots, as a return specialist on kicks and punts, and on jet sweeps. Starting in 2018, Ffrench burst onto the scene as a receiver. He shined working the intermediate routes for the Panthers offense. While he wasn’t invited to the combine and didn’t have a pro day, he’s previously been clocked running a 4.4 40-yard dash.
Stats:
2016: Seven games played. 12 carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Two tackles.
2017: 11 games played. 25 catches for 272 yards. Nine carries for 71 yards.
2018: 14 games played. 35 catches for 515 yards and six touchdowns. 19 carries for 164 yards and two touchdowns. 20 kick returns for 547 yards and two touchdowns.
2019: 11 games played. 96 catches for 850 yards and four touchdowns. Nine rushes for 22 yards. 27 punt returns for 166 yards.
We’ve learned that the Chiefs are looking to add another receiver with the ability to return punts and kickoffs so that Mecole Hardman can take a larger role on offense. Most of the undrafted free agent receivers they brought in seem to have special teams experience and Ffrench is no exception. In fact, he had the ninth most kick return yards in the FBS in 2018.
Ffrench appears to believe he’s a fit for the Chiefs as well. He had them circled as a team he was interested in as soon as they began to show interest ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft.
“They get their playmakers the ball. They let them get out there and run, and they throw short passes to help them create missed tackles and some YAC,” Ffrench told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Right after the seventh round, me and my agent looked at the depth charts and what types of offenses I could be in. Would I be able to make an impact? Would I be able to get on special teams? Would I be able to fit in? And for me, that was the Chiefs.”
As a senior at Pitt, Ffrench broke Larry Fitzgerald’s single-season record for receptions with 96. His hands are probably the strongest part of his game, but he needs to work on his deep ball tracking, especially going into an offense like Kansas City. He’ll need to earn his stripes on special teams if he’s to make the 53-man roster, but he feels like someone who could have a future as a slot receiver for the Chiefs.
How does Michigan UDFA QB Shea Patterson fit with the Kansas City Chiefs?
Shea Patterson was a highly-touted recruit out of high school. He was brought to Ole Miss under Hugh Freeze in 2016, earning the second-string job behind starting QB Chad Kelly. When Freeze resigned suddenly in 2017, it opened up the opportunity for Patterson to transfer without losing a year of eligibility.
Instead of sticking with the Rebels under Matt Luke and competing with QB Jordan Ta’amu, Patterson transferred to the University of Michigan. There he had a chance to play for coach Jim Harbaugh. Patterson was named the starter for the Wolverines in 2018.
Consistency has been a big problem for Patterson since joining the college football ranks. He has some brilliant moments when improvising, but he also has some questionable decisions that need to be coached out of him. He’s done an alright job taking care of the football in his career, but he still misses too many easy throws.
In Patterson’s final season at Michigan he started to get into some more advanced RPO concepts and he saw mixed results. The biggest problem became fumbles at the mesh point, with Patterson putting the ball on the ground. At the same time, he did a much better job identifying the correct read compared to previous seasons.
Stats:
2016: Three games played. 72-of-132 for 880 passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.
2017: Seven games played. 166-of-260 for 2,259 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
2018: 13 games played. 210-of-325 for 2,600 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
2019: 13 games played. 214-of-381 for 3,061 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
It’s easy to see what Andy Reid and the Chiefs’ evaluators like about Patterson. He’s a former five-star recruit that didn’t exactly meet his expectations in college. They’re hoping that they can find a diamond in the rough that can play well in their system.
Patterson is a bit of a game manager type at quarterback. He has decent arm strength and accuracy. He has good mobility and is capable of working off-script. The best thing is the improvement that he showed in the RPO game during his senior season. The Chiefs ran the most RPOs in the NFL last season, so having a quarterback who can execute on those plays is important, even if it’s only during practice.
With all of that in mind, it’s hard to imagine that Patterson will be anything more than a training camp arm in Kansas City. He’ll have a chance to compete with former Ole Miss teammate Jordan Ta’amu for the No. 3 job for the Chiefs. The No. 2 job is squarely Chad Henne’s because there’s no way for Kansas City to get out of his contract in 2020 without burning money.
Notre Dame vs Michigan was a huge way to open the 2018 season. Relive it Saturday-many national writers seemed to have missed it originally.
Some people, national football writers and media members specifically, almost want to refuse to believe that the biggest game of college football’s opening weekend in 2018 actually happened.
However, it did. Notre Dame beat Michigan 24-17 in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated. You can relive that on Notre Dame’s YouTube channel this Saturday night starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.
As the year went on Notre Dame kept winning, albeit not always in the most impressive of ways. However, it was often treated as if that season opener was never actually played because Michigan would wind up being a team that much of the media wanted to treat as a legitimate championship contender, even with the Notre Dame loss.
Michigan would end up getting pummeled by Ohio State to close the regular season while Notre Dame would go 12-0 before getting run out of the Cotton Bowl by Clemson.
Maybe much of the college football world will actually watch it this time around because they seemed to have missed the boat on it originally.
