Ex-Jets are sprinkled throughout the spring football league
While most of the attention this month will be on free agency and the new league year, we also have some spring football to look forward to. The first season of the new UFL – formed following a merger between the USFL and XFL – gets underway in a few weeks.
Having taken the best teams from each league, combined a few teams and held a dispersal draft, the league and its eight franchises are ready to go with a mixture of young players that never made it to the NFL, players who recently couldn’t get back into the league and players who’ve been trying to make an impression in spring football for some time.
Seven of the eight teams (with the one exception being the Birmingham Stallions) have ex-Jets players on the roster. Let’s recap who some of the most interesting ones are as they seek to make it back into the NFL.
St. Louis Battlehawks
In 2021, the New York Jets signed Freedom Akinmoladun off the street due to a Covid outbreak on the defensive interior. He put in a solid performance in his only appearance for the Jets – a win over Jacksonville.
The other five ex-Jets on the Battlehawks roster did not see any regular season action in their time with the Jets. Wide receiver Jerome Kapp is best remembered for his Eminem impersonation on Hard Knocks. The others are quarterback Brandon Silvers, cornerback Anthony Cioffi and edge rushers Pita Taumoepenu and John Daka.
The Battlehawks are also coached by a former Jets player, tight end Anthony Becht.
San Antonio Brahmas
The Jets used a draft pick to trade for defensive back Quincy Wilson in 2020, but he only made three appearances with them, although he did start one of them.
Ex-Jets kicker Matt Ammendola is back in spring football despite playing a few games for Houston this year, where he had mixed results. He kicked in 11 games for the Jets in 2021.
Three other ex-Jets – offensive lineman Derrick Kelly, edge rusher Wyatt Ray and wide receiver KD Cannon – are also on the team. None have ever played for the Jets in the regular season.
Arlington Renegades
Arlington has seven ex-Jets, the most interesting of which might be Dru Samia. Samia failed to make the Jets roster back in 2021, after having started 13 games at guard for the Vikings in the previous season. He was 305 pounds at the 2019 scouting combine but is now listed as an edge defender!
Wide receiver Deontay Burnett only caught 10 passes in his five appearances with the Jets back in 2018, but he did start one game. Linebacker BJ Bello was just a special teamer in his eight 2019 appearances, but he did score a touchdown on a blocked punt. You may also remember wide receiver Calvin Jackson for some of his late-game heroics combining with Chris Streveler in the 2022 preseason.
The other three ex-Jets on the Renegades roster are safety Jared Mayden, offensive lineman Teton Saltes and defensive lineman Trevon Coley. None of these made any regular season appearances with the Jets.
DC Defenders
DC only has two ex-Jets in their ranks, defensive linemen TJ Barnes and Tim Ward. Nose tackle Barnes won a title last year with the Renegades, but he’s 33 now. He played in 12 games as a Jet, back in 2014 and 2015. Ward started last year strong in the XFL with five sacks in five games but then got hurt. He played in 11 regular season games with the 2021 Jets.
Memphis Showboats
Memphis just has two ex-Jets on their team, tight end Wes Saxton and edge rusher Jeremiah Valoaga. Saxton played in just one NFL game, all the way back in 2015 against the Dolphins in London, but he is still trying to get back into the NFL almost a decade later.
Michigan Panthers
Linebacker Noah Dawkins, who played in seven regular season games with the Jets from 2020 to 2021 is on the Panthers team, along with safety Kai Nacua, who played in three games for the Jets in 2021. And, yes, he is Puka’s brother.
Javin White just played in one regular season game for the Jets, also in 2021. It will be interesting to watch him, as the undersized former linebacker is going to try his hand at cornerback.
Houston Roughnecks
Houston has a few interesting former Jets, including cornerback Jimmy Moreland, who right up until final cuts looked like he might have a shot at being on the team last season.
They also have running back Mark Thompson, who was the USFL offensive player of the year last season. He spent several weeks on the Jets’ practice squad back in 2018. Tight end Braedon Bowman played in three regular season games with the Jets, albeit all the way back in 2016.
Perhaps the most interesting player here is Isaiah Zuber, who has been on various practice squads in recent years but still hasn’t played since his rookie year in 2020. Zuber, who was with the Jets in 2021, is apparently converting from wide receiver to cornerback.
We’ll update you on any interesting storylines that could affect the Jets after the season.
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