Jun 14, 2025; St. Louis, MO, USA; UFL Owner Dany Garcia presents DC Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta'amu with the UFL Championship MVP trophy after the DC Defenders defeat the Michigan Panthers 2025 UFL Championship game at The Dome at America’s Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images Jeff Le-Imagn Images

Commanders react to major title win with familiar names involved

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By David Harrison | Last updated Jun 15, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The Washington Commanders helped celebrate another sports championship in the DMV, congratulating the DC Defenders on their UFL title victory Saturday night.

If you watched the game, you saw several former Commanders on the field. One site noticed as many as five former members of the franchise, overall.

While Washington itself will look to become the next pro sports franchise to bring a championship home to DC, it is good to see former members of the roster finding success at the top of their respective mountains.

"Offensive lineman Mason Brooks was previously on the Commanders practice squad. Defensive backs coach Vernon Dean played for the Redskins for six seasons. Linebacker Ferrod Gardner was signed by the Commanders in the 2023 offseason. Safety Montae Nicholson was drafted by the Redskins in the fourth round of the 2017 draft and started 26 games for the team in three seasons. Quarterback and UFL Championship MVP Jordan Ta’amu was on the Washington Football Team’s practice squad in December 2021," the MCS Staff noted in their recap of the championship game.

The MVP of the title game, Ta'amu, never made it onto the NFL field for a regular season game, but has had stints with the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, and Minnesota Vikings, along with the Commanders.

His alternate league experience spans multiple stops as well, spending time with the St. Louis BattleHawks and the Tampa Bay Bandits before catching on with the Defenders in 2023.

In those other leagues, Ta'amu has won several awards including this year's championship MVP to include being the XFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 as a member of the All-XFL Team, and led the UFL in passing touchdowns just this season, the second time he's led one of these leagues in that category.

The most recent name on this list is Brooks, who grew a cult following among Washington fans during his time with the squad, but was unable to earn a spot with the team once general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn arrived.

While he never appeared in a regular season game for the Commanders he certainly showed potential, leading to stops with the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts before landing with DC.

The Defenders defeated the Michigan Panthers, 58-34, to with the UFL Championship Game.