The UFL season is almost over. The Championship game is on June 16th. After that we will sadly be football free for a painful 45 days until the Bears and Texans take the field for the annual Hall of Fame game on August 1st.
This weekend will mark the end of the regular season for the four UFL teams that didn’t make the playoffs. The Detroit Lions, as well as the rest of the NFL, will likely be looking to sign players out of the league as they have been doing for the past few years. He’s four players to keep an eye on for the Lions.
Keep in mind that a lot of these guys will be coming into the league with opportunities to challenge for a spot at camp. These guys aren’t expected to start. They’re expected to be good depth or practice squad guys.
Markel Roby, Safety, Houston Roughnecks
The Lions’ safety group isn’t totally defined just yet. The expectation is that Brian Branch will be moving back there, but we haven’t seen it yet due to Branch being out with an injury. We know that Melifonwu and Joseph aren’t going anywhere and C.J. Moore is likely to grab a spot too. After that it’s up in the air.
Roby has had a nice season for the Roughnecks that saw him finish the year with 48 tackles, two interceptions and a league high seven pass breakups. He would be someone that would be worth a look at camp. So far he hasn’t had any NFL experience after going undrafted in 2022.
Chris Rowland, Receiver, DC Defenders
The NFL switched to a brand new kick off format this year and it’s all based off the one that the UFL has been using. Rowland led the league in return yards this season with 947 yards.
It’s definitely going to be worth it for teams to try to put players who have already figured out how to best play in this format in place this year. The Lions are a team that needed a kick returner long before the format changed. Rowland could be that guy.
He does have some NFL experience. He was with the Falcons and Titans in 2020 and 2021. He played two games for the Falcons in 2020 and was used as a return man in both games.
Malik Fisher, Edge, DC Defenders
It’s weird that Fisher has no NFL experience. He was invited to the Saints rookie minicamp after going undrafted, but that was it for him. That’s despite some scouts calling him one of the most slept on guys in the 2022 NFL Draft.