PFT: United Football League and USFL, XFL Articles

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... ufl-season

>>King was named the All-UFL punter for his work this spring with the Arlington Renegades, but that hasn’t landed him an NFL job, and he’s publicly asking for one. King posted a video of one of his punts on social media and asked when an NFL team will give him a chance.

“You can’t tell me that there are 32 punters better than me. All UFL Punter in a league where punting isn’t easy at all! I’m manifesting a call from an NFL team again soon,” King wrote.<<

He should be getting a shot in camp somewhere

CBS-S picking it up too:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/marq ... r-than-me/

[MGB01]

Appreciate my guy's self-confidence but no team is signing a 35 (36 during the season) y/o punter who hasn't punted in the league in six years when you can find those guys. Besides, his last year in the league wasn't even as good as the much-criticized Daniel Whelan's, which is where he's about.

I would like it as a reminder for the Gruden cheerleaders, 'Oh yeah, that'.

[4th&long]

PFT, at least until NFL picks up steam in camp etc..., picks up the Houston Roughnecks GM change, spread the word on UF is good.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... will-lewis

>>  The Houston Roughnecks (along with the other seven UFL franchises) need a new coach. The Roughnecks have gotten an new General Manager.

Via Pro Football Newsroom, Lionel Vital is out. Will Lewis is in.

The Roughnecks finished 2024 with the worst record in the league, at 1-9.

Vital worked for the Patriots from 2000 through 2004 as a scout for a year and then assistant director of college scouting. He spent 2005-06 with the Ravens. He joined the Falcons in 2007 as assistant director of player personnel. From 2013-15, he was the director of player personnel in Atlanta. He worked for the Cowboys from 2016 through 2021. Vital retired from the NFL in 2022, before coming out of retirement last year to take a job with the UFL.  <<

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... vin-austin

>>  The Saints signed former UFL receiver Kevin Austin Jr. to a one-year deal, the team announced Monday.Austin spent the spring with the Birmingham Stallions, finishing with 15 receptions for 253 yards and two touchdowns.He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2022 out of Notre Dame, signing with the Jaguars. <<

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... e-robinson

>>  The Seahawks signed running back Kairee Robinson, the team announced Wednesday. Robinson is an undrafted rookie out of San Jose State.Robinson was a first-team All-Mountain West selection in 2023, rushing for 1,194 yards and 18 touchdowns.
 In his five seasons at San Jose State, Robinson rushed for 2,713 yards and 31 scores. He added 708 receiving yards with five receiving touchdowns.
 Running back Ricky Person Jr. was released with an injury settlement to make room on the 90-player roster.
 Person, 24, competed in the spring season with the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions. He had 93 rushes for 297 yards and six touchdowns in nine games, along with 13 receptions for 150 yards. <<
 

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... l-with-ufl

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... and-speaks

>>Breeland Speaks was a disappointment as a second-round pick of the Chiefs in 2018, and he hasn’t played in an NFL game since his rookie year. But a strong season in the UFL has revived his pro football career.

Speaks signed with the Jaguars today, giving him another chance to make an NFL roster. A defensive end who had 9.5 sacks for the Michigan Panthers, Speaks will now try to make a Jacksonville team that would like to bolster its pass rush.

<<

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... jets-games

>>UFL coaches don’t have UFL employment in the offseason. St. Louis Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht does.Becht, a first-round pick of the Jets in 2000 from West Virginia, will be replacing Marty Lyons as the Jets’ radio analyst in 2024, according to BarrettSportsMedia.com. <<

[4th&long]

>> UFL star Jake Bates likely earns Lions’ kicking job with 4-for-4 day on field goals <<

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... ield-goals

>>No player may have done more to revitalize his career in the UFL than Jake Bates.

 Bates, a kicker who became notable for making three field goals of 60 yards or longer while playing for the Michigan Panthers this spring, earned himself a spot on the Lions’ preseason roster and now appears to have earned the Lions’ kicking job for the regular season.

 Today Bates nailed the game-winning field goal as time expired in the Lions’ preseason win over the Chiefs, and he went 4-for-4 on field goals including a 55-yarder. Bates did miss an extra point, but his strong leg is what the Lions like about him and why he now looks like he will be Detroit’s kicker when the regular season starts.

 When Bates signed he was expected to compete with Michael Badgley for the job, but Badgley suffered a season-ending injury and the Lions have no other kickers on the roster. <<

This games was in KC so Jake nailed them outdoors where he has the most difficulty

[4th&long]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... is-garrett

>>  The Cardinals have brought linebacker Chris Garrett back to the NFL.Garrett played one game for the Rams after being picked in the seventh round of the 2021 draft and spent time with the Vikings and Seahawks after being cut in August 2022. He moved on to the UFL this year and was named the league’s special teams player of the year after posting 14 tackles and two forced fumbles in that role for the St. Louis Battlehawks.

 The Cardinals also announced the signing of defensive tackle T.J. Carter and the release of long snapper Joe Shimko.<<