13 former Cincinnati Bengals players set for another year of pro football in the UFL, including a former first-round draft pick
John Ross and Jackson Carman headline a baker’s dozen former Bengals players on UFL rosters to start the 2026 season.
The United Football League is starting its third season after merging the USFL and XFL, and there’s at least one Cincinnati Bengals player on seven of the league’s eight teams.
The 2026 season officially kicks off this Friday evening when the Birmingham Stallions take on the Louisville Kings. Five former Bengals will be featured in that game alone.
Let’s go through all of the players now in the UFL who used to at least be rostered in Cincinnati.
2026 UFL Week 1 Schedule Quick Facts
- Friday, March 27 (8 p.m. ET, FOX): Birmingham Stallions at Louisville Kings
- Saturday, March 28 (Noon ET, ESPN): DC Defenders at St. Louis Battlehawks
- Saturday, March 28 (4 p.m. ET, FOX): Houston Gamblers at Dallas Renegades
- Sunday, March 29 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN): Columbus Aviators at Orlando Storm
St. Louis Battlehawks
WR Hakeem Butler: Signed to the offseason roster during training camp in 2024, Butler only spent a month in Cincinnati before being released leading up to the regular season.
Orlando Storm
CB Micah Abrahan: Signed to the Bengals’ practice squad in the middle of the 2024 season and kept through the beginning of the 2025 offseason.
CB Allan George: Signed as a UDFA in 2022, George appeared in four games for Cincinnati as a rookie being elevated off the practice squad. He remained with the team during the entire 2023 offseason.
Louisville Kings
DL Travis Bell: Claimed off waivers by the Bengals late in 2023 and then waived leading up to the 2024 season.
DC Defenders
DL Devonshaa Maxwell: Signed as a UDFA in 2023, Maxwell suffered a season-ending injury leading up to his rookie season. He was released by Cincinnati in 2024.
Dallas Renegades
DL Domenique Davis: Signed to the Bengals’ practice squad in 2022 and stayed there for over two years, appearing in two games in the 2022 season. Davis spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers throughout the 2025 offseason.
OL Keaton Sutherland: Originally a UDFA signing in 2019, Sutherland was cut leading up to that season and spent the next year with the Miami Dolphins. He returned to Cincinnati in 2020 and spent the next two years on the practice squad.
Columbus Aviators
LB Noah Dawkins: Signed as a UDFA in 2019, Dawkins was on the Bengals’ practice squad for the first few weeks of that season before being released.
P Brad Robbins: Drafted in the sixth-round by Cincinnati in the 2023 NFL Draft, Robbins spent his rookie season as the club’s punter. He was placed on Injured Reserve to start the 2024 season and was released after returning. He appeared in one game with the Buffalo Bills in 2025.
Birmingham Stallions
DE Amani Bledsoe: Signed with the Bengals in 2020 and played in 14 games. He re-signed in 2021 but never played for the club again.
OL Jackson Carman: Cincinnati’s second-round pick from the 2021 NFL Draft, Carman spent three years with the Bengals trying to make it as a starter and was released before his fourth year in 2024. He joined the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad that year and played in eight games.
CB Shaquan Loyal: Signed with Cincinnati as a UDFA in 2025 and was waived during cuts leading up to the 53-man roster.
WR John Ross: The Bengals’ first-round pick from the 2017 NFL Draft only played four years with the Bengals. He briefly spent time with the New York Giants in 2021, and attempted an NFL comeback with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2o23. He last played with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024.
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