The Alliance of American Football officially got underway tonight, and I get the impression that many of you tuned in for at least some of it. For those of you who watched, you might have been disappointed to see many former Pittsburgh Steelers players as inactives, such as Demarcus Ayers, but there was at least one who stood out in his game.
That would be linebacker Terence Garvin, who helped lead his Orlando Apollos to a big win in their inaugural game. He intercepted two passes in the contest, including a late pick six that sealed a blowout victory over the Atlanta Legends, whose offensive coordinator is another former Steelers—Michael Vick.
Garvin recorded 10 tackles, including a couple for a loss, in addition to his two interceptions, legitimately showing NFL ability, but that should be no surprise, given that we already know that he has been capable in the past of playing at that level.
Garvin was originally a rookie minicamp invitee for the Steelers back in 2013. He impressed enough to earn a contract and then ended up making the roster that summer, becoming a standout on special teams and even earning some defensive playing time in obvious passing situations.
He would play three seasons for the Steelers through the 2015 season, during which he remained a core member of the special teams units and was regularly one of the most dynamic players of the preseason even if he no longer had the opportunity to play behind Ryan Shazier and Lawrence Timmons.
In 2016, Pittsburgh chose not to tender him as a restricted free agent, which gave him the opportunity to hit the open market, and he continued to find opportunities for himself. He spent the 2016 season in Washington and then was with the Seattle Seahawks in 2017. After failing to make the Miami Dolphins’ roster in 2018, however, he spent a brief period of time with the San Francisco 49ers before being released in late September.
Garvin’s is a common story, and is likely one that will resume in the NFL soon. Playing mostly on special teams (though he made three starts for the Seahawks), he has recorded 78 tackles with a sack and a half with a forced fumble and a pass defensed in five-plus NFL seasons.
The Apollos, along with the rest of the AAF teams, are playing through a 10-week season right now, but an NFL team can sign any of their players at any point. Garvin will have plenty of opportunities over the next two months to expand his resume and find yet another NFL job shortly. He got off to a great start tonight.
