The brand new Alliance of American Football league makes its debut on Saturday.
The eight-team developmental league will play four games per weekend for each of the next 10 weeks, split over Saturdays and Sundays and aired on CBS, TNT and NFL Network.
All teams set their final 52-man rosters last week, and a handful of former Chicago Bears players will be involved in the spring league.
Here are a few names you might recognize if you tune in for this season of AAF.
Mike Singletary
No, “Samurai Mike” didn’t dig his pads and helmet out of his closet. He’s putting the headset back on as the head coach of the Memphis Express franchise.
The Bears Hall of Fame linebacker is also currently the head coach at Trinity Christian Academy, a high school in Texas. His last job in the NFL was as a defensive assistant on the Los Angeles Rams in 2016.
Of course, Singletary spent two season as the San Francisco 49ers in 2009 and 2010.
His Express are headlined by former LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger and former Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg.
They open their season against Trent Richardson and the Birmingham Iron on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. central on CBS Sports Network.
Jared Allen
Jared Allen is coming out of retirement either. He’s taken an executive role with the AAF in the “player relations” department, and he’s invested his own money into the league.
“We want the players to feel like they have a stake in this league,” Allen told Sports Illustrated. “You’re not just here to put dollars in someone’s pocket. You’re here to better yourself, better your talents, and open some doors just through networking and the people that you’re meeting.”
He’s better known for his time with the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings, but he put up 5.5 sacks in 18 games with the Bears in 2014 and 2015.
Will Sutton
A third-round pick in 2014, Will Sutton struggled with the Bears’ transition to a 3-4 defense under John Fox and Vic Fangio.
He didn’t record a single sack in 36 games over three seasons in Chicago, and he never stuck on with another team after the Bears released him in 2017.
He spent the last two preseasons with the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers before officially signing with the Arizona Hotshots of the AAF in September.
Sutton’s new team lacks some of the NFL star power of other rosters in the league, but college football fans will recognize names like Trevor Knight, Josh Huff, Scooby Wright, Rahim Moore and head coach Rick Neuheisel on the Hotshots.
Evan Rodriguez
Evan Rodriguez didn’t last long with the Bears after Phil Emery drafted him in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
He caught four passes in 12 games during his rookie season, but he was arrested twice in the 2013 offseason, and Chicago released him that June.
Rodriguez went on to appear in eight more games with the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2013 and 2014, but he was out of football until joining the American Flag Football League for 2017 and 2018.
Next week, he’ll take the field for the San Antonio Commanders and catch passes from former North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams under the tutelage of former Nebraska and Oregon State head coach Mike Riley.
De’Vante Bausby
Joining Rodriguez on the San Antonio Commanders is former Bears cornerback De’Vante Bausby, and undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh State.
He started to make a name for himself in Chicago in the preseason of 2016, starting that year on the practice squad before making it up to the active roster for four regular season games.
Bausby spent the last two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, earning a Super Bowl ring along the way, but he was waived in December and signed with the Commanders in January.
The San Antonio AAF roster features quite a few players who spent at least part of an offseason with the Bears, including running back David Cobb, wide receiver Demarcus Ayers, offensive lineman Cyril Richardson and defensive back Nick Orr.
