Lost in the midst of a busy Friday of UFL news: former Houston Roughnecks DL Shakel Brown signed with the San Francisco 49ers.
Shakel Brown joined the Houston Roughnecks as an offseason signing by GM Will Lewis. He was poised to boost a defensive line that saw some changes between 2024 and 2025.
Brown ended up seeing action in just two games, and was cut midway through the season. With Olive Sagapolu, Israel Antwine, and Darrius Moragne taking the majority of the minutes – there wasn’t much room left for Shakel. Still, he totaled two tackles on 50 snaps.
Shakel played his college football at Troy, although it did include one year at Itawamba CC. At Troy, Shakel totaled 58 tackles and 4.5 sacks, starting in five of 29 games played. He ended up earning an opportunity with the Tennessee Titans, signing as an UDFA in May of 2023.
Brown was then picked up by the 49ers, where he spent almost a year on their practice squad. He’s already familiar with San Francisco’s personnel, hence why he was brought back due to injuries.
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One of the reasons for his signing: former Stallions DE Bradlee Anae was placed on IR after one game. Anae, who had an excellent campaign with Birmingham, landed in San Francisco and showed out last week – but unfortunately went down with an injury during practice this week.
Without the national platform that the UFL provided him with, who knows if this would have been made possible. You can stay up to date on all UFL to NFL signings with our official tracker.
What are your thoughts on Shakel Brown signing with San Francisco? Which Roughnecks player should sign to the NFL next?…