Tag: XFL

Ex-Broncos backup QB named starter for UFL’s Houston Roughnecks

Remember Jarrett Guarantano? He had a brief stint with the Broncos in 2022. He’s now set to start in the UFL this spring.

A former Denver Broncos (backup) quarterback has been named a starter in the United Football League (a new spring league formed by the merger of the XFL and USFL).

The Houston Roughnecks will start Jarrett Guarantano in their season opener next weekend, coach Curtis Johnson announced Wednesday.

Guarantano, 26, played college football at Tennessee and Washington State before entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. After the Cardinals released Guarantano from their practice squad midway through his rookie season, he tried out for Denver. Two weeks later, the Broncos signed Guarantano to their practice squad.

He was elevated to the game-day roster in Week 15 to serve as a backup behind Brett Rypien (Russell Wilson was out with a concussion). Guarantano was fully promoted to the 53-man roster the next week. Denver cut the QB last summer and he signed with the UFL last December.

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Guarantano isn’t the only QB who had a cup of coffee with the Broncos set to play in the UFL this spring.

Case Cookus, who lasted three days in Denver during the 2021 offseason, has had quite a journeyman career. After his brief stint with the Broncos, Cookus went on to spend time with three NFL teams, one CFL team and one USFL team. He is now set to play for the Memphis Showboats in 2024.

Two other ex-Denver quarterbacks — Paxton Lynch and Kyle Sloter — were backups in the XFL last spring but are now free agents.

Also of note: former Broncos coach and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will serve as the head coach of the UFL’s San Antonio Brahmas.

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Vikings agree to terms with former XFL kicker John Parker Romo

The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to terms with former XFL kicker John Parker Romo to hopefully solve their kicking woes.

The Minnesota Vikings have had a need at kicker for quite some time and they have taken a step forward to address the issue.

According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, the Vikings agreed to terms with former XFL kicker John Parker Romo to a contract. He is now the only Vikings kicker on the roster with Greg Joseph still a free agent.

Romo last kicked for the XFL (now UFL) franchise San Antonio Brahmas in 2023. In that season, he made 17-of-19 field goals along with being 2-of-3 from 50+ yards.

Romo is likely the first of at least two kickers the Vikings will bring in this year to try and fix their issues at the position.

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Seahawks nose tackle Austin Faoliu signed by UFL team

Apparently nose tackle Austin Faoliu has signed with the St. Louis Battlehawks.

The NFL season is over, which means it’s spring league time. This year the two biggest spring leagues have combined, with the XFL and the USFL coming together to form the fledgling UFL, which will begin its first season on March 30.

Yesterday we learned at least on Seahawks player will be on a roster. Apparently nose tackle Austin Faoliu has signed with the St. Louis Battlehawks.

Faoliu was at the bottom of the depth chart at nose tackle, with Jarran Reed, Cameron Young and Bryan Mone ahead of him.

Faoliu played his college ball at Oregon and in addition to his stop in Seattle this season he also played a handful of snaps for the Cowboys in the 2021 campaign. In-between, he played for the Seattle Sea Dragons in the XFL in 2022.

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29 ex-Broncos players set to play in UFL this spring

The XFL and USFL merged to form the UFL. The new league will feature 29 former Broncos players, including Super Bowl champion Cody Latimer.

Two more former Denver Broncos were added to the UFL this week when the Memphis Showboats picked wide receiver Damion Willis and the Birmingham Stallions picked safety Alijah Holder in the 2024 dispersal draft. (Update: Holder was later traded to the San Antonio Brahmas.)

More players could be added through free agency, but as of today, there are 29 former Broncos players set to play in the spring league. The UFL was formed in late December when the XFL and USFL merged to create a new combined league.

The most notable ex-Denver player set to suit up in the UFL is Cody Latimer, a former Broncos wide receiver who won Super Bowl 50 in 2016. He has spent time with two other NFL teams and earned All-XFL honors with the Orlando Guardians last spring. Latimer is now a tight end with the San Antonio Brahmas.

Other names that Denver fans might recognize include punter Marquette King and 2022 preseason fan favorite running back Max Borghi. Here’s the full list of ex-Broncos signed up to play in the UFL this spring. The 2024 season will begin in March. 

13 Saints competing in UFL after 2024 super draft

13 ex-New Orleans Saints players are competing after the 2024 UFL super draft, including Emmanuel Butler, Darius Victor, and Abram Smith:

The XFL and USFL merged earlier this year in a much-publicized joining of the two spring leagues, forming the new United Football League (UFL). And quite a few former members of the New Orleans Saints are in the mix with training camp on the horizon.

As part of that reorganization some teams were dissolved, with their players being made available in a multi-phase super draft for the remaining squads. And after all the picks were turned in, a baker’s dozen of former Saints players found themselves either on new teams or surrounded by new teammates.

Here’s the list:

XFL and USFL merge to become the UFL, new season begins March 30

We will have to wait to see if any Penn State pklayers will be playing in the newly merged UFL this spring.

Football is about to undergo some big changes in 2024, and that is not limited to just the seismic shifts in college football conference realignment.

This may not be college football related, but the spring football calendar just got a bit more crowded alongside the spring football practices going on at Penn State and across the nation. On Sunday, the XFL and USFL formally announced their anticipated merger and confirmed the new season between the brand new United Football League will kick things off on March 30.

The XFL and USFL have each been professional football leagues serving as a potential path to the NFL for players out of college who didn’t latch on with an NFL roster for one reason or another or players looking to redeem themselves a bit with hopes of making it back to the NFL. A handful of former Penn State players have taken part in each spring football league over the last few years, and we will be sure to keep an eye on the UFL rosters moving forward to see if any former Nittany Lions are to be found in the newly merged league.

You have to love how the league is going to make its debut as week. The champions of each league from last season, the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL and the Arlington Renegades of the XFL, will take center stage in the first game of the year. It’s not quite like a professional wrestling title belt unification match, but we’ll take it!

The Renegades acquired the rights to former Penn State defensive star Grant Haley, most known for his return of a blocked field goal for a touchdown against Ohio State in 2016.

The full list of teams expected to play in the newly rebranded league will be confirmed on Monday during ESPN’s broadcast of College GameDay from the Rose Bowl.

Consider this the professional football equivalent of the Big Ten added four teams from the Pac-12 or the Big 12 picking the scraps of the Pac-12. Maybe Oregon State and Washington State can petition to join the UFL?

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USFL, XFL merge to create United Football League

The XFL and USFL have merged to become the United Football League

The USFL is no more for the second time. The XFL is no more for the third time.

However, there will be a spring league: The United Football League.

The announcement was made by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia on the FOX Sports NFL pregame show.

The first game will be on March 30 of the new league.

The opening game will feature USFL champion Birmingham Stallions against the XFL champion Arlington Renegades.

Panthers sign offensive lineman to practice squad on Tuesday

The Panthers have added OT Badara Traore to their practice squad, just one day after he signed a letter of intent with the XFL’s DC Defenders.

The Carolina Panthers added a pretty big hog molly to their practice squad on Tuesday.

As reported by Darin Gantt of Panthers.com, the team has inked offensive tackle Badara Traore to the group. The 6-foot-7, 327-pound lineman now accounts as the 16th member of the practice squad.

A Hyde Mark, Mass. native, Traore played his first two years of collegiate ball at ASA College in Brooklyn, N.Y. He then transferred to Louisiana State University in 2018, where he started five of his 26 games for the Tigers.

Traore would crack into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears in the spring of 2020. He’d stick around in the Windy City for two seasons as part of the Bears’ practice squad.

After being waived by Chicago in the summer of 2022, Traore was claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He appeared in one game for Jacksonville in 2021 and, following another release, one game for the Arizona Cardinals in 2022.

Traore now joins the Panthers just one day after signing a letter of intent for the XFL’s D.C. Defenders.

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Two former Dolphins sign with XFL teams on Thursday

Some former Dolphins find homes in the XFL.

Around the NFL, there are only 2,208 roster and practice squad spots for players to make a name for themselves. So, if a player can’t find a place to play with one of the 32 teams, they have the option to go to another league.

That’s exactly what two former Miami Dolphins did on Thursday, as offensive lineman Larnel Coleman and defensive back Keidron Smith have signed with the Houston Roughnecks and Orlando Guardians, respectively, of the XFL.

Coleman, 25, was a seventh-round pick of the Dolphins in 2021 after a collegiate career at UMass. He spent his rookie season on injured reserve and was on Miami’s practice squad in 2022 when he was signed by the Carolina Panthers. He’s only played in one NFL game.

Smith, 24, was an undrafted free agent signed by the Dolphins after this year’s draft following his time with Kentucky. However, he was waived during roster cuts. He spent some time with the Washington Commanders practice squad.

The XFL season is planned to begin in late March 2024.

Former Vol signs letter of intent with XFL

Former Vol signs letter of intent to play in the XFL.

Former Tennessee kicker and punter Paxton Brooks signed a letter of intent to play in the XFL during the upcoming season.

Brooks played for the Vols from 2018-22 for head coaches Jeremy Pruitt and Josh Heupel. He came to Tennessee from Airport High School in West Columbia, South Carolina.

Brooks was invited to the 2023 National Football League scouting combine.

He was a four-time member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll and a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy in 2022 at Tennessee.

Brooks appeared in 61 games for the Vols. He averaged 42.3 yards per punt, ranking eighth all time in program history.

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire