The developmental league features former Browns and prospects
The United Football League (UFL) closes out its second season this Saturday with the UFL Championship Game, Saturday, June 14, with kickoff at 8:00 pm (Eastern). The game will be broadcast by ABC and ESPN+ and played at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.
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The Michigan Panthers, whose home city is Detroit, will square off against the DC Defenders out of Washington, DC. Each club won its conference title game on the road as DC defeated the league’s best team, the St. Louis Battlehawks, 36-18, while the Panthers knocked off the three-time champion Birmingham Stallions 44-29.
So, a new champion will be crowned.
Several former Cleveland Browns will be on each roster. For the Panthers, S Kai Nacua and RB Nate McCrary. On the other sideline, K Matt McCrane, CB Kiondre Thomas, and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams are with DC.
Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Two former Browns players, Birmingham DT Perrion Winfrey and LB Willie Harvey of the Battlehawks, were selected to the All-UFL team.
The UFL is designed to allow players to keep their careers alive and showcase their talents on new tape. From the league last year, a total of 80 players signed NFL contracts, and 37 were on 2024 NFL teams either on the main roster, IR, or practice squads.
The UFL has proven to be a valuable pipeline for NFL teams looking to find talent.
There are several players to watch on both squads in this weekend’s title game who could be potential future signings for the Browns in positions of need.
LINK: UFL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME TICKETS
Photo by Samuel Corum/UFL/Getty Images
LB Anthony Hines – Defenders
6’-3”, 226 pounds
Jersey: #57
40 time: 4.68
How is the linebacker room for the Browns? MLB Jordan Hicks is productive but was injured last year. JOK is already on IR and will not play. Devin Bush has had legal issues, charged with assault. Winston Reid, Bookie Watson, and Mohamoud Diabate are thumpers, but in only their second year. The team signed veteran Jerome Baker, who is on his fourth NFL club. Easton Mascarenas-Arnold is an undrafted rookie, while Carson Schwesinger was drafted high but is a rookie as well.
Hines could add to this group and just might stick. At Texas A&M, he had 106 total tackles with three sacks. He closes quickly and is a consistent heavy hitter. Exceptional talent against the run and has long arms. The knock on him is that he is only average in coverage and lacks pop to anchor.
He went undrafted and was in the New York Jets camp. In the UFL this year, Hines had 53 total tackles for 10 games, which ranked #13. He added three sacks and scored two defensive touchdowns. At season’s end, he was named to the All-UFL team.
Photo by Rick Ulreich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
S Arnold Tarpley – Panthers
6’-1”, 208 pounds
Jersey: #2
40 time: 4.67
One position that is in dire need is safety. Rodney McLeod, Cleveland’s coach on the field, retired. D’Anthony Bell signed with the Seattle Seahawks while Jog Thornhill was released with one year left on his contract.
This left Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman as the group’s only remaining members. Players signed to this group later are veterans Rayshawn Jenkins and Damontae Kazee, plus undrafted rookies Chris Edmonds and Donovan McMillon.
Tarpley was an All-State athlete in high school. At Vanderbilt, they played him right off at nickel but mainly safety. He became a three-year starter with 21 starts in 47 appearances, accumulating 85 solo stops, 123 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, eight batted passes, 2.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
In 2023, Tarpley played for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL and was voted to the All-USFL team after he finished with 42 tackles and three picks.
Arnold Tarpley with the INT pic.twitter.com/THR4iQU6Fl
— United Football League (@TheUFL) March 30, 2025
He then signed a two-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons for $1.755 million but was cut on the last cutdown date. This year in the UFL, he was named to the All-UFL team.
Photo by Maria Lysaker/UFL/Getty Images
OT Yasir Durant – Defenders
6’-7”, 330 pounds
Jersey: #70
40 time: 5.52
One position on the Browns roster that is in great need of quality deep is offensive tackle. Both starters, RT Jack Conklin and LT Dawand Jones, are injury-prone. Veteran Cornelius Lucas was signed in free agency, but he will turn 34 years old this summer. Five other tackles are under contract who are either very young or have limited experience.
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That would change if the Browns signed Durant.
After a very good college career at Arizona Western and then Missouri, Durant was not selected in the 2020 NFL draft despite being projected to be taken in rounds 3-4. He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and made their final roster. Durant played in 11 games with one start. After one season, the Chiefs traded him to the New England Patriots, and he was cut on the final cutdown. From there, the New Orleans Saints signed him to their practice squad. Later, he signed with the Denver Broncos but was released during training camp.
This is the second year that Durant has played for DC. At season’s end, he was named to the All-UFL team. He has played in 19 NFL games with two starts at both tackle and guard, so he has versatility.
Durant’s frame is beefy, wide, and long. He is able to use his length for extended feel and contact with rushers. His hand placement is a bit weak and labors out of his stance and into skip pulls. At times, he will struggle to open his hips and recover around the top of the rush.
Photo by Rick Osentoski/UFL/Getty Images
ST Kedrick Whitehead – Panthers
5’-11”, 195 pounds
Jersey: #32
40 time: 4.57
If there is one thing the Browns try to accomplish each season is to have one of the best special-teams units in the league. Cleveland brought in coordinator Bubba Ventrone from the Indianapolis Colts a few seasons ago to turn this group around, who has done a terrific job with the transformation.
But any great special-teams unit needs great special-teams players. Kedrick Whitehead was voted the UFL’s “Special Teams Player of the Year” for a reason – he is constantly around the return man and is a sure tackler.
Whitehead had an exceptional college stint at Delaware but went undrafted. He was invited to rookie minicamp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where, at the conclusion of three days of workouts, practices, and meetings, he was one of just four players to sign a UDFA contract which placed him in training camp. But a lower-body injury became an issue, and he was listed on the final cuts.
Tampa Bay continued to pay for his rehab away from their facilities where he spent the fall and winter working in rehab before signing with Michigan of the UFL.
BLOCKED! pic.twitter.com/JjkM3k2eZV
— Michigan Panthers (@USFLPanthers) April 14, 2024
At the end of this year’s UFL season, Whitehead was named All-UFL as a cornerback and also selected with his special-teams accolades, where he contributed on 118 snaps. He had 54 total tackles and four tackles for loss.
In the conference final versus Birmingham, he lined up at his normal position of gunner on the punt unit and caught a pass to convert a first down.
Coach Ventrone seeks out talented special-teams players because he knows the process is to hire dependable, quick tacklers.