Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was drafted to the UFL's Orlando Storm on Monday for the team's inaugural season in 2026. The spring league is entering its third year since the USFL and XFL merged, and spring football is entering its fifth straight year in its current format.
Thompson-Robinson flamed out of Philadelphia last summer with his August release and was included, with a draft pick, by the Cleveland Browns to land Kenny Pickett via trade last summer. The 26-year-old was also supposed to be a Jalen Hurts understudy who could step in should Hurts go down, but Thompson-Robinson proved incapable in Kevin Patullo's offense. Then again, few were their best selves in Patullo's system this past season.
This was a player who looked like a potentially electric pro after dazzling under Chip Kelly under center for the UCLA Bruins. Now, Thompson-Robinson is mostly irrelevant in NFL circles and needs this crack at the UFL to keep his career alive.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson Has One Last Chance in UFL
Spring league football has been a springboard to many NFL careers. Per FOX Sports, NFL teams have conducted 160 workouts involving 90 individual UFL players — which includes the 50-plus who have signed with NFL teams. Those numbers are solely from the 2025 season and teams like the Detroit Lions have taken advantage, signing eight former UFL players since the league formed.
The UFL, like the USFL and the XFL before it, also serve as the last resort for players before moving on to a non-football career. Thompson-Robinson is staring down the barrel at make-or-break football in the next few months.
First and foremost, he needs to beat out Jack Plummer as the Storm's starter. If he can't beat out someone who never got a chance to play a snap on the lowly 2024 Carolina Panthers, Thompson-Robinson won't recover from a narrative perspective.
NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported that the Minnesota Vikings had a workout with Thompson-Robinson before they signed Desmond Ritter to their practice squad back in September and he also had a workout with the Green Bay Packers, but never latched onto an active roster.
Even though openings sprouted up around the league throughout the season, Thompson-Robinson didn't get a single look. The Indianapolis Colts went with a 44-year-old who knew the system, Phillip Rivers, over giving Thompson-Robinson a chance to make something happen.
There are only eight UFL teams, limiting his chances to latch on with another team if he's unable to get the starting job in Orlando. There are only so many spots in pro football and with college football producing new prospects every year, his time could be finite.
Thompson-Robinson will have to respond to the pressure to keep playing professional football and his latest stop with the Storm feels like his last resort.