The United Football League helps scratch the football itch for NFL fans in the offseason. The spring football league has risen in popularity thanks to television deals with ESPN, Fox and ABC.
Lions coach Dan Campbell has enjoyed watching the UFL, and believes the league could serve as a developmental-type league for the NFL. When asked specifically about it at Lions training camp on Friday, Campbell opened up about the advantages of taking players in from the UFL.
"I don't make those decisions - nobody cares what I think about that," Campbell began when asked if he thought the UFL should be developmental. "NFL Europe was awesome back in the day because that was a chance to really develop guys. We've gotten a couple players out of [the UFL] 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."
It's an intriguing idea that the NFL could consider. For now, the UFL will need to continue to be viable as a league for the forseeable future in order for this to even remotely become a possibility.
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