The United Football League, the merger between the XFL and USFL, held a “Dispersal Draft” on Monday to round out the rosters of the teams that survived the two leagues combining, selecting players from franchises that folded, including the Pittsburgh Maulers. Five former Pittsburgh Steelers were picked up.
RB Jaylen Warren headlines the list, selected by the San Antonio Brahmas.
Samuels, the Steelers’ fifth-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, spent three full seasons with the team. As a rookie, he carried the ball 56 times for 256 yards. His best season came as a sophomore, scoring his first NFL touchdown while finishing second on the team with 47 receptions. But without a defining trait, he fell out of favor by 2020. He struggled to see the field, recording only nine carries throughout the year, also missing time due to COVID.
Pittsburgh took him to 2021 training camp but released him at final cutdowns. Signed to the practice squad, the Steelers cut him in late October, and he signed with the Houston Texans two days later. He carried the ball five times for 9 yards in three games with the team. Since then, he spent time on the Arizona Cardinals’ offseason roster and most recently was with the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks, now rebranded as the Houston Gamblers. And now, he’s with the Brahmas, who moved on from head coach Hines Ward to hire Wade Phillips.
Beyond Samuels, two other former Steelers were selected. OL Rashaad Coward will join Samuels in San Antonio. Signed by Pittsburgh ahead of the 2021 season, Coward only played two offensive snaps for the team, serving as veteran depth and experience throughout the summer. He’s bounced around since, spending time with Atlanta, Arizona, and most recently was with the Houston Texans during training camp this past summer.
OL Chris Owens is now a member of the Arlington Renegades. His time in Pittsburgh was brief, signed by the Steelers as an UDFA from Alabama after the 2022 NFL Draft. Our camp notes on him were short as he struggled to find playing time before being released as the team trimmed its roster from 90 to 85.
“A potential camp sleeper who never worked out. Such is life. Owens was perhaps a bit misplaced in Pittsburgh. A tackle-turned-center at Alabama, the Steelers primarily worked him at right guard throughout training camp. Probably not his most natural or comfortable spot. Instead, the team shifted Nate Gilliam to center, a natural guard, which was always a curious decision.
Owens logged a tiny bit of time at center but nothing about his game stood out. Consistently running third-team, opportunities were scarcem and he didn’t play in the opener against Seattle. Days later, he’d be waived as part of the team’s initial cutdowns. He was picked up by the Giants but released a few days ago and will try to catch on during the season. Nothing about his play ended up being all that notable.”
As noted, he spent time with the New York Giants and was drafted by the XFL in November 2022. Now, he’ll try to find his footing in the UFL.
Defensively, one former Steeler picked in the draft was DL Donovan Jeter, who was selected by the DC Defenders. Like Owens, Jeter was an undrafted free agent who signed with the Steelers after 2022. Hailing from Michigan, he had the body type of a Steelers defensive end with good size and length who flashed in camp but didn’t do enough to stick. Here are our notes from the time.
“An often-forgotten name along this defensive line, Jeter’s survived the initial ten cuts that whittled the Steelers’ roster by ten spots. Jeter ran as a reserve nose tackle but saw more snaps as other guys in his room, like Doug Costin, were released, coupled with injuries ahead of him to guys like Montravius Adams. Jeter was a bit better pass rusher than I anticipated with active hands the ability to stay clean. He isn’t a great athlete and his run defense was just average but there were at least flashes from him this summer. More than I expected.”
Released at final cutdowns, he’s spent time with the Giants, Chicago Bears, and Washington Commanders.
The most notable ex-Steelers defender drafted is DB Quincy Wilson. A former second-round pick out of LSU who never panned out in the league, Pittsburgh signed him in 2022 after getting hit hard by injuries. He was part of a M*A*S*H unit secondary that beat Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, logging 11 snaps in a 20-18 win. Released later in the year, that’s been his last NFL appearance. Wilson is now a member of the Brahmas, joining Samuels and Coward.
The UFL will hold a Phase 2 draft on Jan. 15 where additional players will be selected to round out each team’s 75-man roster. The UFL will kick off its inaugural season on March 30.
