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After a football career that began with a first-round draft pick and included a very short stint with the Buffalo Bills, Corey Coleman finally found his home in the USFL.
The Philadelphia Stars wideout finished atop the league with 669 receiving yards, and on June 21 was named to the All-USFL Team for offense. Though his NFL career ended in disappointment, Coleman fulfilled his preseason goal of proving that he still has plenty of game left in him.
Record-Setting Season for Former Bills Player
Coleman had a record-setting season in the USFL, breaking the receiving record of 540 yards set by KaVontae Turpin last year. The USFL just completed its second season after being revived in 2022.
For Coleman, the USFL offered a chance to turn around a football career that had fizzled out in the NFL. Though he came into the league as a first-round pick with the Cleveland Browns, Coleman struggled with injuries and appeared in just 27 total games over his first three years.
Coleman left the Browns in a trade during the summer of 2018 sent him to Buffalo, but the Bills released Coleman less than a month later as the team made final cuts. Though he bounced around the league for a few more seasons, Coleman only appeared in eight more games, making five catches for a total of 71 yards.
Coleman appeared to embrace the opportunity in the USFL, telling Fox Sports that he was impressed with what he saw in the league.
“There is some talent in the USFL,” Coleman said. “There are some guys that can really ball.”
Coleman added that he was happy to have been selected by the Stars and given an opportunity to show that he could still play.
“I just really want to give thanks to them for giving me a chance,” Coleman said. “They gave me the opportunity to come in here and really show that I can still play this game at a high level.”
Return to the NFL in His Future?
After his breakout season in the USFL, Coleman could generate some interest from NFL teams. Cory Kinnan of USA Today’s Browns Wire speculated that the strong season could earn him another shot at an NFL roster, a path that several players have already taken. After the USFL’s inaugural season, several players earned contracts from NFL teams and a handful made it through final cuts to land on 53-man rosters.
One of the most successful was the player whose record Coleman just broke. After his strong performance in the USFL’s inaugural season, then-receiving leader Turpin earned a contract from the Dallas Cowboys and shined as a return specialist. He averaged 10.4 yards per punt return and 24.2 yards per kickoff return, earning a Pro Bowl spot as a kick returner.
Turpin got a personal call from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones delivering the news, though the USFL standout admitted he thought it was bad news at first.
“The first thing that hit my mind was ‘Dang I got cut,'” Turpin said. “Because most people don’t get calls from the owner, but that was the first thing that came to my mind. That I had gotten cut.”
“It brought me to tears,” he added. “It’s been a long journey the way I came into the NFL, and to have that individual recognition is a dream come true.”