After seeing seven players leave the Michigan Panthers to take part in NFL camps after the USFL season, more former Panthers found themselves once again reviving their professional careers. The Panthers lost TJ Carter, DeAndre Torrey, Jameson Houston, Stevie Scott, Lance Lenoir, Tino Ellis and Ishmael Hyman, to NFL contracts many hoped to see many fan favorites return to the USFL especially with hope of Michigan being selected as a Northern Hub.
With only Tino Ellis and TJ Carter being the only two players to remaining on NFL practice squads, five former Panthers remained as free agents. During Wednesday’s XFL draft, the Panthers saw DeAndre Torrey, and Jameson Houston get selected, while former Panthers Jeff Badet, Michael Carrizosa and Daishawn Dixon were also selected to join the league.
While Badet, Dixon, and Carrizosa managed to only last in the league for parts of the season, Jameson Houston was a Panther who stood out throughout the inaugural season, Houston along with Tino Ellis managed to put together a solid season that many did not predict due to an underwhelming record. Houston now will be a member of the Vegas Vipers after being selected with the 9th pick of the 13th round.
The Panthers also lost Deandre Torrey a late season replacement due to injuries to Reggie Corbin. While the 2022 UDFA rookie had a late season cameo for the Panthers he did manage to secure a contract with the Eagles before being cut in August of 2022. Torrey also joins his old teammate on the Vegas Vipers after being drafted with the 69th Overall Pick in 9th Round.
While Daishawn Dixon, and Michael Carrizosa are both new to the XFL, Jeff Badet returns to the league. Badet was with the Dallas Renegades in 2020, playing for his old coach Bob Stoops. Badet recorded 16 receptions for 108 yards in the XFL 2.0, and 1 reception for 12 yards in the USFL. For Daishawn Dixon and Michael Carrizosa this will be the first time they take part in this edition of the XFL. While Dixon’s career in the USFL was short lived, Carrizosa despite being an exception punter is known for his 21-yard missed field goal during the week four matchup between the Stars and the Panthers.
With the supplement draft taking place in January of 2023, look for more USFL players to possibly transition to the XFL. With rumors of Jordan Ta’amu and Bryan Scott already getting a lot of interest from the XFL it only seems inevitable that players will leave. Hopefully for the league that has shown amazing growth in year one, the losses they have suffered so far allows them to dig deeper into the talent pool, and to find the next round of diamonds in the rough.
For Panther fans losing Jameson Houston was especially tough as the secondary is always an area of concern for any football team. However, as fans of alt-football and fans of the Michigan Panthers I’ll be extremely curious to see what happens to the careers of all five former Panthers who are now in the XFL.
