Spring football might just be here to stay. Unlike the MLB and the NBA, the NFL long abandoned its version of the minor leagues when NFL Europe folded in 2007. Aside from more entertainment-style leagues like the original XFL and Arena Football, players who didn't latch on relatively quickly didn't have very many options to further their playing careers.
While the Canadian Football League has been going strong for nearly seven decades, the list of former CFL players who have made their way to the NFL is not very long. What's more, the vast majority of major successes happened decades ago when pay structures were closer between the two leagues. Browns fans still haven't forgotten CFL import Jeff Garcia, who came to Cleveland with high hopes but left without an impact.
The chain reaction that started in 2019 with the Alliance of American Football eventually gave way to the XFL (2.0), USFL, and finally the UFL, seems to have stabilized a footprint for spring football. There have been dozens of players signed from these ranks to compete for roster spots in the following NFL offseason.
In honor of the UFL's third season kicking off on March 27, here are five former Cleveland Browns who will be suiting up in 2026 with the undeniable goal of getting back to the NFL.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson came to Cleveland as a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The one-time pipe dream of an answer to the Browns' QB conundrum, he quickly seemed out of his element at the NFL level. In 15 appearances with five starts, DTR went 1-4, completing 52.6 percent of his passes for 880 yards, one touchdown, and a whopping 10 interceptions. His 45.2 career passer rating is, well, nauseating.
DTR was unceremoniously paired with a fifth-round pick in a trade for the Eagles' Kenny Pickett , who somehow had a better stint in Cleveland despite never playing a regular-season snap for the Browns. He never made the Eagles' roster and now finds himself competing to be the starting QB for the Orlando Storm.
Still only 26 years old, the athletically gifted Thompson-Robinson isn't out of chances to blaze a trail back into the NFL. For now, though, it seems his only NFL purpose was to add an absurdly long surname to " the jersey ."
The second member of the disappointing 2023 draft class to grace this list is former third-round pick Siaki Ika out of Baylor. The 6-foot-3, 335-pound behemoth only lasted one season, playing in a total of four games in Cleveland, where he did not record a single statistic. It will be up to historians to comb through the tape to see if Ika, in fact, ever stepped foot in Cleveland.
After being released, Andrew Berry's mentor Howie Roseman signed him to the Eagles' practice squad - a decision that may have netted Ika a Super Bowl ring if nothing else. After bouncing on and off the Chiefs ' practice squad, he chose to join the Renegades, ostensibly for a chance to show what he can do.
At only 25 years old, Ika has a real chance to earn a spot on a 90-man roster this summer if he performs well. That's a big if , though.
Tony Fields came to Cleveland as a fifth-round pick out of West Virginia. His career could hardly be called a disappointment, as he spent three full seasons with the Browns as well as parts of a fourth. He was never able to carve out a big-time role on defense (never more than 25 percent of snaps in a season) and saw an injured reserve stint turn into his walking papers in 2024.
A regular on special teams in his tenure, Fields totaled 88 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries as a Brown. After failing to make the Rams ' roster in 2025, he was out of football before joining the Aviators.
Similar to other members of this list, Fields is still young at 26 years old. It's not out of the question that he can play himself into a roster spot in 2027.
Watson (an unfortunate surname in Cleveland these days) entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Atlanta Falcons . The college tight end added 30 pounds in the offseason in an attempt to transition to the offensive line. He didn't make the Falcons' final roster but wound up with the 49ers , where he stuck around for a year on the practice squad.
Late in the 2023 season, the Browns poached him from the 49ers, and he wound up appearing in seven games with zero starts. Following the season, when legendary offensive line coach Bill Callahan departed to Tennessee to coach with his son, Brian, the Browns were able to coax a seventh-round draft pick out of the Titans in return for Watson. He wound up starting four games for the Titans but was released before the season ended.
After brief stints with the Vikings and Raiders , Watson found himself looking for another opportunity, which led him straight to the UFL.
Charlie Thomas had a short stint with the Browns after going undrafted out of Georgia Tech in 2023. He's somewhat of a linebacker-safety tweener at 6-foot-3 but only 216 pounds. Nonetheless, he made enough of an impression to stick around, bouncing from the practice squad to the active roster, ultimately appearing in four games.
He totaled two tackles on 40 special teams snaps and signed a futures contract to stick around and compete for a spot in 2024. A summer injury led to his release on August 1, 2024. He remained a free agent until the Browns brought him back almost exactly a year later, though that stay was only a few days and he spent the season out of football.
He's still plenty young at 26 years old, so there's a real chance that an impressive showing for the Gamblers gets him another opportunity in the summer. That would seem to be the best possible outcome for Thomas and all of his counterparts on this list.
For a who's who of Cleveland Browns obscure trivia, here is the full list of former Browns suiting up for the UFL in 2026:
Birmingham Stallions:OL Zack Johnson , OL Alex Taylor-Prioleau.
Columbus Aviators:LB Tony Fields II, LB Storey Jackson , RB Toa Taua , WR Easop Winston Jr.
Dallas Renegades:DT Siaki Ika.
DC Defenders:RB Deon Jackson .
Houston Gamblers:LB Marvin Moody, LB Charlie Thomas.
Louisville Kings:DT Josiah Bronson , OL Leroy Watson.
Orlando Storm:OL Jason Ivey, S Nate Meadors , QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
St. Louis Battlehawks:OL Javion Cohen , WR Blake Jackson .
This article was originally published on www.dawgpounddaily.com as These former Browns are getting one last shot to make it back to the NFL .
