UFL SENDS 26 PLAYERS TO NFL TRAINING CAMPS
The UFL’s latest ‘graduating’ class has grown to 26 after three late additions secured NFL contracts as training camps opened across the league.
A social media post issued by the UFL initially highlighted 23 players from its 2026 season preparing to compete for places on 53-man NFL rosters, but that number has since risen with Carolina signing Louisville Kings edge rusher Cam Gill and Houston Gamblers defensive tackle Kyon Barrs, before the Los Angeles Rams added Birmingham Stallions safety Alex Cook.
Cook’s arrival completed the set as all eight UFL teams now have at least one member of their 2026 roster in an NFL camp, spread across 12 clubs. The movement provides a more immediate measure of the league’s development role than the larger figure of 56 — subsequently amended by the UFL to 57 — former spring football players under contract at the beginning of training camp. That total includes established NFL players such as Brandon Aubrey, KaVontae Turpin (b oth Dallas Cowboys) and Jake Bates (Detroit Lions), whereas the group of 26 all appeared in the UFL this spring.
Cook became Birmingham’s first representative when he signed with the Rams on Monday. The former Washington safety recorded 45 tackles, six pass break-ups and an interception for the Stallions, scoring twice on defensive returns. His signing followed a Carolina double as the Panthers responded to a season-ending injury suffered by second-year edge defender Nic Scourton by adding Gill, the UFL Defensive Player of the Year, on Friday. Gill led the league with 11 sacks and registered 37 tackles during Louisville’s championship season. He produced another sack in the United Bowl, helping the Kings defeat the D.C. Defenders 27-20, and returns to the NFL after previously appearing in 40 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Carolina then added Barrs a day later. The 309lb interior lineman produced 32 tackles and 3.5 sacks for Houston, earning an All-UFL selection before becoming the eighth Gamblers player to receive an NFL contract.
The initial group was headlined by St Louis receiver Hakeem Butler, the perennial training camp call-up who joined the Denver Broncos after becoming the first two-time UFL Offensive Player of the Year. Butler caught 29 passes for 641 yards and three touchdowns in 2026 and ended the campaign as the modern UFL’s career receiving leader. Denver also signed Battlehawks return specialist Sean Fresch, while the United Bowl-winning Kings sent kicker Tanner Brown to New Orleans and championship MVP Ian Wheeler to Buffalo. Receivers Tarik Black and Lucky Jackson joined Detroit before Gill completed Louisville’s five-player contingent.
Despite a tough season, Houston has supplied more players than any other UFL club. In addition to Barrs, safety Major Burns and offensive tackle Gottlieb Ayedze signed with Miami; receiver Kaden Davis joined Chicago; defensive back Ameer Speed moved to Dallas; and quarterback Hunter Dekkers and receiver Jalen Moreno-Cropper landed with New Orleans. Receiver Lawrence Keys III signed with Detroit.
Five Columbus Aviators also enter NFL camps. Linebacker Tony Fields II joined the Bears, offensive lineman Chris Glaser signed with Dallas, edge defender Jacoby Windmon went to Pittsburgh, receiver Tay Martin joined Detroit and Antwane Wells signed with Atlanta.
Dallas Renegades cornerback Shaun Wade earned an opportunity with Philadelphia, while receiver Denzel Mims remained in Big D with the Cowboys. D.C. contributed receiver Erik Ezukanma to the Eagles and defensive lineman Devonnsha Maxwell to Atlanta, where he was joined by Orlando Storm edge rusher Keshawn Banks. The complete group is rounded out by Atlanta’s third UFL signing, Wells, and the late arrivals of Gill, Barrs and Cook.
The UFL had announced 23 NFL contracts within eight days of the United Bowl, compared with ten during the corresponding opening week in 2025. NFL teams also requested dozens of workouts involving players who were not immediately signed, leaving scope for the current total to increase as injuries and roster evaluations reshape camps.
Reigning UFL MVP Jack Plummer remains outside the group of 26 but has now attracted interest from two NFL teams, working out for San Francisco before being assessed by Miami this week, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Plummer led the UFL in passing yards (2,188), completions (195) and passer rating (104.1) during Orlando’s inaugural season, throwing 17 touchdowns against only one interception as the Storm finished 8-2 and claimed the league’s top playoff seed. The 26-year-old previously spent time with Carolina after going undrafted out of Louisville in 2024, including a late-season promotion from the Panthers’ practice squad.
His continued wait also underlines the difference between attracting NFL attention and obtaining a camp place. Sixty-one UFL players had reportedly participated in 74 workouts by the end of July, but fewer than half had converted that interest into contracts. None of the 26 who succeeded is guaranteed a place beyond the summer, and competition will become more severe as the NFL approaches its final cutdown.
“You get to see them, they’re playing in the spring so they’re in shape, so they’re just coming off running around, being football ready,” Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said when explaining the appeal of UFL players. “That’s enticing to us, too. If you need a guy, at least you know — you’ve got evidence right there — versus someone who’s been home for three months, [who] say they’ve been working out but you don’t know. It’s not ‘football working out’ like these guys are.”