18 former Kansas City Chiefs players are getting a second chance at pro football in the UFL this spring

Spring football is back once again, this time under the combined forces of the USFL and XFL, which have merged to form the UFL.  UFL’s spring league football is slated to kick off on Saturday, March 30 with a pair of games. At 1:00 p.m. ET, fans will get the Birmingham Stallions vs. the Arlington […]

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor
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Oct 1, 2018; Denver, CO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Breeland Speaks (57) against the Denver Broncos at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
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Spring football is back once again, this time under the combined forces of the USFL and XFL, which have merged to form the UFL. 

UFL’s spring league football is slated to kick off on Saturday, March 30 with a pair of games. At 1:00 p.m. ET, fans will get the Birmingham Stallions vs. the Arlington Renegades. At 4:00 p.m. ET fans will see the St. Louis Battlehawks take on the Michigan Panthers. 

Eight teams are broken down into two conferences and will face off in a 10-week season with no bye weeks. Conference winners will host semifinals in the postseason against two wild-card teams to determine who will play in the UFL Championship Game.

Several former Kansas City Chiefs players will get a second chance at professional football in this league, including two players selected in the NFL draft by GM Brett Veach. We’ve identified a total of 18 former Chiefs players who are set to suit up and see action this weekend. Only two teams in the league don't have at least one former player from K.C. on their roster.

Arlington Renegades:

  • CB Duron Lowe

Lowe spent some time on the 90-man offseason roster with the Chiefs in 2023.

Birmingham Stallions:

  • WR Gary Jennings
  • DE Taco Charlton

Jennings was a reserve/future signing that spent the offseason in Kansas City in 2022. Charlton played meaningful snaps for the Chiefs in 2020, appearing in seven regular season games. He recorded two sacks and a forced fumble.

DC Defenders:

  • CB DeAndre Baker
  • DT T.J. Barnes
  • OT Yasir Durant
  • TE Alex Ellis
  • WR Ty Scott
  • QB Jordan Ta’Amu

Baker is the most notable player on this list as a former first-round draft pick (by the Giants not the Chiefs). He spent a portion of the 2020 and 2021 seasons in Kansas City, appearing in three games in 2020 as a practice squad elevation. Durant and Barnes also spent time on the 53-man roster in Kansas City, mostly as depth players. Ta'Amu was the scout team QB with the Chiefs for several seasons.

St. Louis Battlehawks:

  • OL Abdul Beecham
  • LB Mike Rose
  • WR Darrius Shepherd

A trio of undrafted players who spent time with Kansas City in past offseasons. 

San Antonio Brahmas:

  • CB BoPete Keyes
  • TE Alize Mack
  • DE Tim Ward

Thakarius "BoPete" Keyes was as seventh-round draft pick by the Chiefs in 2020. He spent just one season in Kansas City before he was waived and claimed on waivers. He's been bouncing around NFL clubs ever since. 

Michigan Panthers:

  • CB Adonis Alexander
  • DE Breeland Speaks
  • DT Daniel Wise

Breeland Speaks is considered Brett Veach's biggest miss. He was the first player ever selected by Veach as GM and it took a trade up in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft to make it happen. Speaks played in all 16 games as a rookie with four starts, recording 1.5 sacks as mostly a rotational player. An injury and suspension saw that he didn't play again until after the Super Bowl LIV win. He was ultimately waived in final roster cuts in August of 2020. He previously played for the Michigan Panthers in the USFL and was one of the league's best edge rushers, recording 53 total tackles and nine sacks in 10 games. 

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