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The UFL has only existed for two weeks and Jake Bates has already managed to make a name for himself. The Michigan Panthers kicker is drawing NFL attention after an impressive debut that saw him boot a field goal from beyond 60 yards in each of his first two games.
NFL teams started to take notice of Bates after he hit a game-winning kick from 64 yards in Week 1, and now, it appears they’re practically drooling over him after he followed that up with a 62-yard field goal in Week 2. The two kicks made Bates just the second player in football history — along with former Cowboys kicker Brett Maher — to hit a field goal of 60 yards or more in consecutive weeks.
According to Panthers head coach Mike Nolan, several NFL teams have tried to contact Bates, which is a problem, because it’s against the rules for an NFL team to contact a UFL player during the season.
“Outsiders don’t touch our players too much during the season,” Nolan said Tuesday, via the Detroit Free Press. “With Jake, somehow some of them are trying to make efforts to do that, to be honest with you, and hopefully that backs off a little bit because that’s not — they’re not supposed to do that. And maybe that’s rumor, but I had heard something the other day and I kind of said, ‘Well, let’s make sure we nip that in the bud,’ because, look, I want Jake to do well and I want him to get a chance.”
NFL teams are allowed to contact the team about Bates, but they aren’t allowed to have direct contact with the player. If anyone in the UFL knows the rules about who NFL teams are allowed to have contact with, it’s definitely Nolan, who has 33 years of NFL coaching experience under his belt, including a five-season stint as the 49ers’ head coach.
Nolan wants to see Bates get to the NFL, but that can’t happen until after the UFL season ends in June.
“I’d love to see him in the NFL,” Nolan said. “No one right now can do him any…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ufl-coach-accuses-nfl-teams-of-breaking-this-rule-with-standout-ufl-player-theyre-not-supposed-to-do-that/
Author : John Breech
Publish date : 2024-04-10 13:44:20
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