Not many people watch the UFL in the spring, but Lions coach Dan Campbell says it’s a place to see some talented professional football players — and he’d like to see it become an official NFL farm system.
Asked today whether he would like the NFL to adopt the UFL as a farm system, in which NFL teams could send players down to the UFL to get them more experience, and call them up when needed, Campbell first said that’s way above his pay grade. But then he weighed in and said he approves of the idea.
“I don’t make those decisions — nobody cares what I think about that. I think it would be great. NFL Europe was awesome back in the day because that was a chance to really develop guys,” Campbell said. “We’ve gotten a couple players out of there and I know other teams have. 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. 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, they say they’ve been working out but you don’t know. It’s not football working out like these guys are.”
Last year the Lions signed Jake Bates from the UFL’s Michigan Panthers, and he became one of the best kickers in the NFL. So Campbell knows first-hand that there’s talent to be found in spring football. Even if the NFL has so far shown little interest in any kind of formal arrangement that turns the UFL into the NFL’s official minor league.
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