Seven former Bengals set to begin 2025 UFL season and two of them will be on the same team

Just because some Cincinnati Bengals players don't work out in the NFL does not mean their professional careers are over.

The UFL is set to kick off its second season following its 2024 merger between the XFL and USFL. Rosters for all eight teams in the league were finalized Thursday. 

Seven former Bengals by my count are listed on opening day rosters for the 2025 season, and two of them are teammates! 

LB Will Clarke, Arlington Renegades

Clarke was drafted by the Bengals all the way back in 2014, making him the oldest and most experienced former Bengal listed here. Clarke spent three years playing for Cincinnati before being cut leading up to the 2017 season. He would join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 15 games that season and played another three games for the club in 2018. Last year, he posted 24 tackles and two sacks for the Renegades.   

C Keaton Sutherland, Birmingham Stallions

Sutherland signed with the Bengals as a college free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft. He played one game for the team as a rookie, ended up with the Miami Dolphins for a bit, and came back to Cincy from 2020-21. He played in two more games for the Bengals during those years. 

C Lamon Gaillard, DC Defenders

Gaillard was claimed by the Bengals prior to training camp in 2021 and he spent the year on the practice squad. He signed a futures contract in 2022 and spent the offseason in Cincinnati before being waived with an injury settlement right before the 2022 season. He started four games for the Defenders last year, three at left guard, and one at center.

WR Kwamie Lassiter II & OL O'Shea Dugas, Memphis Showboats

Lassiter was a Bengals UDFA signing in 2022 and spent the next three years mostly on the practice squad. He appeared in two games for Cincinnati, his last being in 2023 when he caught his first and only NFL reception against the Arizona Cardinals, the team his late father played for from 1995-2002. 

Dugas had a shot to make the 2019 Bengals as a rookie UDFA but suffered an injury and was placed on the Reserve/Injured list. He missed the cut in 2020 but came back to the practice squad later for a week later in the year. He spent the last three years playing mostly left guard for Birmingham.

LB Noah Dawkins, Michigan Panthers

Dawkins was an undrafted free agent signing by the Bengals back in 2019. He was released by the club later in the season and the Bucs picked him up immediately. He spent time with the New York Jets from 2020-21 and the Chicago Bears rostered him during the 2022 offseason. He's played over 600 snaps for Michigan since 2023.   

CB Darius Phillips, San Antonio Brahmas

Phillips taken in the fifth round of the 2018 draft by Cincinnati and lasted the duration of his rookie contract through the 2021 season. He was demoted from his role as punt returner that year and left in free agency the following offseason. He had a great 2024 season for San Antonio as Pro Football Focus' highest-graded cornerback (91.6)