22 former Chiefs players are getting another chance in the UFL, including draft picks from Brett Veach and John Dorsey

It's the time of the year for spring football. 

The UFL is back for a second year after its inaugural season in 2024. The league is slated to kick off on Friday, March 28, with a matchup between the St. Louis Battlehawks and the Houston Roughnecks at 8:00 p.m. ET on FOX.

On Saturday, March 29, the San Antonio Brahmas will take on the Arlington Renegades at 4:00 p.m. ET on FOX. On Sunday, March 30, you can watch the Michigan Panthers face off against the Memphis Showboats at Noon ET on ESPN. That will be followed by the weekend's final game between the Birmingham Stallions and the DC Defenders at 3:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. 

In this league, eight teams are divided into two conferences. They will face off in a 10-week season with no bye weeks. Conference winners will host semifinals in the postseason against two wild-card teams to determine who will play in the UFL Championship Game in June.

Several former Kansas City Chiefs players will get a fresh opportunity to play professional football in this league, including three players that Kansas City selected in prior NFL drafts. 

We’ve identified 22 former Chiefs players who spent time with the team in some capacity and who are set to suit up and see action this weekend. Only two teams in the UFL, the Arlington Renegades and Birmingham Stallions, don't have at least one former player from K.C. on their roster. 

Here's a look at the former Chiefs players who will play in the UFL this season:

DC Defenders

• CB DeAndre Baker
• OT Yasir Durant
• CB Kelvin Joseph
• QB Jordan Ta’amu
• WR Ty Scott

Baker is the only player on this list who played meaningful snaps for Kansas City. The former first-round draft pick by the New York Giants suffered a broken femur in the 2020 season, which derailed what could have been a promising revival of his NFL career. 

Joseph is the most recent player to play for the Chiefs after spending the entire 2024 offseason with the team before being released during the team's 53-man roster cuts in August. 

Ta'amu didn't amount to more than a reserve in Kansas City, but he has been a starter for the Defenders for the past two seasons. 

Houston Roughnecks

• TE Geor’Quarius Spivey
• CB Damon Arnette

Spivey joined the Chiefs' training camp late in 2024 and was released during roster cuts. Arnette spent a brief period with the team before off-field issues led to his release.

Bonus: Eyabi Okie-Anoma was never under contract by the team, but he did participate in rookie minicamp last season.

Memphis Showboats

• RB Deneric Prince
• OT Nick Torres

Prince spent the entire 2023 NFL season on the Chiefs' practice squad. He appeared in two games that season and signed a reserve/future contract in 2024, but he didn't make it through the team's 53-man roster cuts. Torres spent the 2024 offseason with the Chiefs after signing as a UDFA out of Villanova.

Michigan Panthers

• DB DJ Miller
• S Tyree Gillespie
• DE Breeland Speaks

Speaks is the most notable player on this list as Brett Veach's first-ever draft pick in the 2018 NFL draft. A knee injury cut the former second-round pick's NFL career short, but he's made a nice career in the UFL. This marks his third season playing for the Michigan Panthers. He was named the UFL Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Gillespie has spent time on the Chiefs' practice squad, while Miller spent the 2024 offseason in Kansas City.

San Antonio Brahmas

• QB Kevin Hogan
• CB BoPete Keyes
• TE Alize Mack
• TE Izaiah Gathings
• OL Vitaliy Gurman

This list includes a pair of Chiefs draft picks: Kevin Hogan and BoPete Keyes. Hogan, a 2016 fifth-rounder out of Stanford, is one of John Dorsey's picks. He only lasted one season in Kansas City and hasn't played football since 2022.

Keyes is a former special teams ace who was drafted in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft. He played in eight games with Kansas City, starting in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Mack, Gathings, and Gurman all spent most of their time with the team during various offseasons, though each of Mack and Gathings spent brief stints on the practice squad.

St. Louis Battlehawks

• LB Mike Rose
• LB Ola Fatukasi
• OG Abdul Beecham
• WR Gary Jennings
• DT Phil Hoskins

Hoskins won Super Bowl LVII with the Chiefs as a practice squad member. Everyone else spent brief offseason stints with the team before failing to make final roster cuts.