Former UFL Star Joins Saints to Counter Injury Woes

Report: New Orleans Saints Will Sign Former UFL Star Defender To Add Linebacker Depth Amid A Rash Of Injuries

New Orleans Saints helmet / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Saints added more linebacker depth to combat a recent string of injuries on the defensive side. On Monday night, it was announced that the Saints will sign Mike Rose, who starred in the United Football League this past spring. This was first reported by ML Football.

Head coach Dennis Allen confirmed several injuries for the New Orleans defense over the weekend. Those include linebackers Demario Davis (hamstring) and Pete Werner (shoulder). Neither are serious issues, but both players will miss some time for precautionary reasons. As a result, the Saints tried out three linebackers on Monday before reaching the decision to sign Rose.

Mike Rose has played for the St. Louis Battlehawks the last two springs in the UFL and XFL. The Battlehawks won the XFL division this past spring with a 7-3 record before losing in the playoffs to the San Antonio Brahmas. St. Louis had former NFL players Anthony Becht as head coach along with Chris Claiborne and La'Roi Glover as defensive assistants.

This past spring, Rose was one of the defensive stars for the Battlehawks. He recorded 48 tackles, including 30 solo stops, while intercepting two passes and forcing a fumble in seven games. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Rose had the third highest total grade and third highest coverage grade among UFL defenders.

St. Louis Battlehawks linebacker Mike Rose (27) tackles Seattle Sea Dragons running back Morgan Ellison (25) / Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Rose, 24, has good size at 6'4" and 250-Lbs. He played collegiately at Iowa State. With the Cyclones, Rose was a two-time 1st Team All-Big 12 defender and 2020 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

After not being selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Rose was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs but was released during training camp. He'd land with the Battlehawks in 2023 before being signed by the Miami Dolphins last offseason, but was again released before the start of the regular season.

New Orleans kicks off their preseason schedule by playing at the Arizona Cardinals this Saturday.