2022 Michigan Panthers season

2022 Michigan Panthers season
General manager	Jeff Fisher
Head coach	Jeff Fisher
Home field	None
Results
Record	2–8
League place	3rd in North Division
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 2022 season was the Michigan Panthers' first season as a professional American football franchise. They played as charter members of the United States Football League, one of eight teams to compete in the league for the 2022 season. The Panthers technically played as a traveling team due to them playing at Protective Stadium and Legion Field. The Panthers were led by head coach Jeff Fisher, who also operated as the de facto general manager.

Offseason

Draft

Shea Patterson was selected first overall by the Panthers.

Paxton Lynch was selected in the twelfth round by the Panthers.

The 2022 USFL draft was conducted entirely on social media. Draft selections by the Michigan Panthers were announced on their social media. The Panthers selected former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson first overall. The Panthers also selected former Broncos quarterback Paxton Lynch, a first round draft pick in the NFL, in the twelfth round. Another notable player selected was wide receiver Jeff Badet, who played alongside Oklahoma and future Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield in his Heisman Trophy season.

2022 Michigan Panthers Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	1	Shea Patterson	QB	Michigan
2	8	Adewale Adeoye	DE	Utah
3	1	Cavon Walker	DE	Maryland
4	8	Chase Deemor	DE	Central Washington
5	5	Keith Williams	OT	Colorado State
6	4	Teton Saltes	OT	New Mexico
7	5	Joshua Dunlop	OT	UTSA
7	10	Joshua Taylor	OT	Mississippi Valley State	Released before regular season.
8	4	Tino Ellis	CB	Maryland
9	5	Jameson Houston	CB	Baylor
10	4	Dominique Martin	CB	Tarleton State
11	5	Jalin Burrel	CB	New Mexico
12	8	Paxton Lynch	QB	Memphis
13	6	Quincy Adeboyejo	WR	Ole Miss
14	3	Lance Lenoir	WR	Western Illinois
15	6	Jeff Badet	WR	Oklahoma
16	3	Ray Bolden	WR	Stony Brook
18	3	Orion Stewart	S	Baylor
19	6	Kieron Williams	S	Nebraska
20	2	Sean Richard Pollard	C	Clemson
21	7	Justin Lorenz Hughes	ILB	Kansas City
21	11	Taiwan Jones	ILB	Michigan State	Compensatory selection.
22	8	Marquel Harrell	OG	Auburn
23	1	Daishawn Dixon	OG	San Diego State
24	1	TJ Carter	DT	Kentucky
25	8	Jaquan Bailey	DT	Iowa State
26	1	Kyshonn Tyson	DT	Grand Valley State
27	4	Stevie Scott III	RB	Indiana
28	5	Reggie Corbin	RB	Illinois
29	5	Terry Myrick	OLB	Eastern Michigan
30	4	Frank Ginda	OLB	San Jose State
31	5	Tre Threat	OLB	Jacksonville State	Released before regular season.
33	6	Michael Carrizosa	P	San Jose State
34	7	Joseph Magnifico	TE	Memphis
34	11	La'Michael Pettway	TE	Iowa State	Compensatory selection.

Supplemental draft

Marcus Baugh was selected in the third round of the supplemental draft. Baugh was on four NFL rosters but only received one ball in his NFL career.

2022 Michigan Panthers Supplemental Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	8	Warren Saba	DB	East Carolina
2	1	Maea Teuhema	OG	Southeastern Louisiana
3	4	Marcus Baugh	TE	Ohio State
4	5	Sean Williams	OLB	Navy
5	3	Cameron Scarlett	RB	Stanford
6	6	Connor Davis	TE	Stony Brook
7	7	Joseph Putu	CB	Florida
8	2	Devin Ross	WR	Colorado
9	3	Tejan Koroma	OG	BYU
10	6	Shane Griffin	LS	West Chester

Free agency

Position	Player	Former team	Date
OG	Cordel Iwuagwu	Cleveland Browns	April 1
DT	Walter Palmore	Carolina Panthers	April 1
OT	Syrus Tuitele	Fresno State Bulldogs	April 12

Personnel

Final roster

The Panthers, like all other teams, had a 38-man active roster with a 7-man practice squad.

2022 Michigan Panthers final roster

	Quarterbacks 18 Eric Barriere 12 Paxton Lynch Running backs  3 Reggie Corbin 15 Cameron Scarlett 25 Stevie Scott III 30 DeAndre Torrey Wide receivers 13 Ishmael Hyman  7 Lance Lenoir  8 Joe Walker Tight ends 85 Marcus Baugh 88 Connor Davis 17 Ryan O'Malley 11 La'Michael Pettway		Offensive linemen 64 Joshua Dunlop T 79 Brodarious Hamm T 54 Cordel Iwuagwu G 56 Tejan Koroma C 50 Teton Saltes T 75 Maea Teuhema G 77 Keith Williams T Defensive linemen 55 Adewale Adeoye DE 94 JaQuan Bailey DE 96 T. J. Carter DT 42 Vantrel McMillan DE 99 Cavon Walker DE 90 Ethan Westbrooks DE 97 Tre Williams DE		Linebackers  4 Frank Ginda OLB 32 Justin Hughes ILB 44 Terry Myrick OLB 10 Alexander Vainikolo Defensive backs 23 Jalin Burrell CB  5 Tino Ellis CB  1 Jameson Houston CB  6 Sean Mahone S 21 Dominique Martin CB 14 Joseph Putu CB 30 Cory Rahman S Special teams 52 Shane Griffin LS 35 Kyle Kramer P 16 Cole Murphy K		Reserve lists -- Quincy Adeboyejo WR (Did not report) -- Ray Bolden WR (Did not report) -- Marquel Harrell G (Did not report) -- Taiwan Jones ILB (Did not report) Practice squad 27 Eddie Graham CB 19 Josh Love QB 70 Walter Palmore DT 76 Sean Pollard C 18 Devin Ross WR  9 Marcus Simms WR 63 Syrus Tuitele T 92 Kyshonn Tyson DT 20 Kieron Williams S 24 Sean Williams S Rookies in italics 50 active, 8 inactive

Staff

Jeff Fisher was chosen as the Panthers' head coach. As an NFL head coach, he led the Tennessee Titans to a Super Bowl appearance.

2022 Michigan Panthers staff

Front office General manager – Jeff Fisher Head coaches Head coach – Jeff Fisher Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Eric Marty Offensive line – Neil Callaway Running backs – Mark Stewart

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Daniel Carrel Defensive line – Kwahn Drake Assistant defensive line – Tony Brown Defensive backs/Special teams – Jeff Imamura

Schedule

Regular season

The Panthers' 2022 schedule was announced on March 7. They opened the season against the Houston Gamblers.

Week	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Result	Record	TV	Recap
1	April 17	12:50 p.m.	Houston Gamblers*	L 12–17	0–1	NBC/Peacock	Recap
2	April 22	8:00 p.m.	New Jersey Generals	L 6–10	0–2	USA	Recap
3	May 1	2:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh Maulers*	W 24–0	1–2	USA	Recap
4	May 6	10:20 p.m.	Philadelphia Stars*	L 25–26	1–3	FS1	Recap
5	May 13	8:00 p.m.	Tampa Bay Bandits	L 20–27	1–4	USA	Recap
6	May 21	7:30 p.m.	Birmingham Stallions	L 17–33	1–5	NBC/Peacock	Recap
7	May 28	9:00 p.m.	New Orleans Breakers*	L 27–31 (OT)	1–6	FS1	Recap
8	June 5	12:00 p.m.	Philadelphia Stars	L 24–46	1–7	Fox	Recap
9	June 11	1:00 p.m.	New Jersey Generals*	L 23–25	1–8	NBC/Peacock	Recap
10	June 19	12:00 p.m.	Pittsburgh Maulers	W 33–21	2–8	USA	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. * mean that they host the game, since all eight teams play at the same stadium

Game summaries

Week 1: at Houston Gamblers

Week 1: Houston Gamblers at Michigan Panthers – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamblers	3	14	0	0	17
Panthers	0	0	6	6	12

at Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

• Date: April 17
• Game time: 12:50 p.m. EST (delayed)
• Referee: Bryan Banks
• TV announcers (NBC/Peacock): Jac Collinsworth, Jason Garrett, Lewis Johnson

Game information

First quarter HOU – Nick Vogel 37-yard field goal, 7:07. Houston 3–0. Drive: 9 plays, 29 yards, 3:32. Second quarter HOU – Reggie Northrop 13-yard fumble return (Dalyn Dawkins rush), 15:00. Houston 11–0. HOU – Isaiah Zuber 12-yard pass from Clayton Thorson (Dalyn Dawkins rush failed), 5:08. Houston 17–0. Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 3:00. Third quarter MICH – Lance Lenoir 8-yard pass from Shea Patterson (Shea Patterson pass failed), 9:42. Houston 17–6. Drive: 10 plays, 74 yards, 5:25. Fourth quarter MICH – Stevie Scott III 3-yard rush (Stevie Scott III rush failed), 10:20. Houston 17–12. Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 4:01. Top passers HOU – Clayton Thorson – 9/17, 73 yards, TD, INT MICH – Shea Patterson – 17/25, 192 yards, TD Top rushers HOU – Mark Thompson – 13 rushes, 71 yards MICH – Stevie Scott III – 18 rushes, 72 yards, TD Top receivers HOU – JoJo Ward – 7 receptions, 48 yards MICH – Lance Lenoir – 6 receptions, 71 yards, TD

The Panthers started their season against the Houston Gamblers. The Gamblers scored the only points of the first quarter on a 37-yard field goal by Nick Vogel. In the first play of the second quarter, the Panthers were poised to score the first touchdown at 2nd & goal before a Shea Patterson fumble was returned 90 yards for a touchdown by Gamblers Reggie Northrop which, after a successful 2-point conversion, put the Panthers down 0–11. The Panthers forced a Gamblers 3 and out, and on the ensuing punt, returned the punt 40 yards for touchdown. However, an unnecessary roughness call on the Panthers negated the touchdown, putting them on their own 45 yard line. The Gamblers stretched out their lead with a 65-yard drive topped off by an Isaiah Zuber 12-yard touchdown reception, putting the Panthers down 0–17 after a failed 2-point conversion.

We came out hot, on fire. We executed that first half. Second half, it got a little rocky. We had to get back, get our mindset right. A win is a win.

— Reggie Northrup, April 17, 2022, Fox Sports

The Panthers came out strong after halftime, driving 74 yards downfield for a touchdown. However, they missed the 2-point conversion, keeping the Panthers down 2 scores and a 6–17 deficit. They had a chance to put the game within 1 score with a 43-yard field goal, but it was missed. In the fourth quarter, the Panthers drove downfield 66 yards for the touchdown, which included a clutch 4th and 6. They again missed a 2-point conversion to put the game within 3. The Panthers had a chance to take the lead with 5:12 remaining in the 4th, but failed to convert a 4th and 26 with 0:09 remaining, and turned it over on downs to lose 12–17.

Week 2: at New Jersey Generals

Week 2: Michigan Panthers at New Jersey Generals – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	6	0	0	6
Generals	3	7	0	0	10

at Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

• Date: April 22
• Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST
• Referee: Duane Heydt
• TV announcers (USA): Paul Burmeister, Michael Robinson, Lewis Johnson

Game information

First quarter NJ – Nick Rose 21-yard field goal, 5:25. Generals 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 59 yards, 6:11. Second quarter MICH – Cameron Scarlett 4-yard rush (Michael Carrizosa kick failed), 13:39. Panthers 6–3. Drive: 3 plays, 20 yards, 1:07. NJ – Darius Victor 1-yard rush (Nick Rose kick good), 1:57. Generals 10–6. Drive: 11 plays, 67 yards, 6:27. Top passers NJ – Luis Perez – 13/19, 97 yards, INT MICH – Shea Patterson – 14/29, 124 yards Top rushers NJ – Darius Victor – 11 rushes, 40 yards, TD MICH – Stevie Scott III – 7 rushes, 25 yards Top receivers NJ – Darrius Shepherd – 5 receptions, 58 yards MICH – Marcus Baugh – 3 receptions, 38 yards

The Panthers played against their division rival New Jersey Generals to open Week 2. The Generals struck first on a 21-yard field goal to put the Panthers down 0–3. In the second quarter, Panthers safety Orion Stewart intercepted Luis Perez and brought it back to the Generals 20 yard line. The Panthers capitalized, scoring a touchdown three plays later, putting the Panthers up 6–3. After trading punts, the Generals drove downfield that was capped off by a Darius Victor 1 yard rush, putting the Panthers down 6–10.

We've got to settle down at the quarterback spot. Offensively, we have an extra day this week, and we need it. We have got to figure out who we are and what we can do best, and focus in on those type of things.

— Panthers head coach, Jeff Fisher, April 22, 2022, Fox Sports

The Panthers received the ball to start the second half. They drove downfield on a 15 play, 53 yard drive that ate up more than half the third quarter. On the Generals 21 yard line, the Panthers attempted a 39-yard field goal, but it was missed. In the fourth quarter, the Generals had a chance to go up 13–6, but they also missed a 34-yard field goal. Both teams failed to score in the fourth quarter, ending up in a 6–10 Panthers loss, dropping to 0–2.

Week 3: vs. Pittsburgh Maulers

Week 3: Pittsburgh Maulers at Michigan Panthers – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Maulers	0	0	0	0	0
Panthers	16	0	0	8	24

at Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

• Date: May 1
• Game time: 2:30 p.m. EST
• Referee: Larry Smith
• TV announcers (USA): Jac Collinsworth, Jason Garrett, Corey Robinson

The Panthers played against division rival Pittsburgh Maulers in week 3. The Panthers earned their first win with a 24–0 shutout against the Maulers. The Panthers scored two touchdowns in the first half, one coming off an opening drive touchdown capped off by a 2-point conversion to bring the Panthers to 8–0. After a muffed punt by the Maulers which set the Panthers up at the Maulers 5 yard line. Three plays later, starting quarterback Paxton Lynch rushed for 1 yard, bringing the Panthers to a 1 score lead at 16–0.

We didn't throw it as well as we would have liked, but the passing game is complemented by the run game. Now I think people have respect for our run game.

— Panthers head coach, Jeff Fisher, May 1, 2022, Fox Sports

The teams did not score for forty-six minutes. In the fourth quarter, the Panthers scored off a 63-yard touchdown drive with a successful 2-point conversion, bringing the score to 24–0 for the Panthers, which would be the final score.

Week 4: vs. Philadelphia Stars

Week 4: Philadelphia Stars at Michigan Panthers – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Stars	0	0	0	0	0
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0

at Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

• Date: May 6
• Game time: 10:20 p.m. EST
• Referee: Bryan Banks
• TV announcers (FS1): Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Brock Huard

The Panthers will play against division rival Philadelphia Stars.

Standings

North Division
#		W	L	PCT	GB	DIV	PF	PA	STK
1	(y) New Jersey Generals	9	1	.900	-	6–0	232	182	W9
2	(x) Philadelphia Stars	6	4	.600	3	4–2	262	243	L1
3	(e) Michigan Panthers	2	8	.200	7	2–4	211	236	W1
4	(e) Pittsburgh Maulers	1	9	.100	8	0–6	147	243	L5
(x)–clinched playoff berth; (y)–clinched division; (e)–eliminated from playoff contention

Postseason

After the 2022 USFL season, the Panthers ended up with a 2–8 record, as they were able to get the 1st round pick and the 1st pick of every other round in the 2023 USFL draft after beating 1–9 Pittsburgh Maulers in week 10. Michigan was eliminated from playoff contention after a 46–24 loss against the Philadelphia Stars.