A little over a week after former Alcorn State quarterback Felix Harper signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent, the team announced that the one-time SWAC Player of the Year has been waived.
Harper released a statement on Twitter in which he expressed gratitude for the Cleveland Browns inviting him to their rookie minicamp and signing him. He also assured supporters that being cut will not “deter him.”
“I won’t give up on my dream of playing professional football and showing that an HBCU quarterback can deliver at the best level,” Harper wrote in a statement posted on social media.
✍🏽.. pic.twitter.com/vv6XivNAGm
— Felix Harper🌹 (@Semi_Famous2) May 24, 2022
At the conclusion of the NFL draft, the 2019 SWAC Player of the Year was only one of two HBCU quarterbacks who were invited to NFL rookie minicamps along with 2021 SWAC Player of the Year Aqeel Glass.
There are many HBCU quarterbacks who have not only yet been signed but have not even received minicamp offers, including former MEAC Offensive Player of the Year and Norfolk State quarterback Juwan Carter.
Harper was one of three former HBCU players to sign with NFL teams as an undrafted free agent along with Markquese Bell (Florida A&M), Will Adams (Virginia Union), and Ryan McDaniel (North Carolina Central).
Without ruling out the possibility of another NFL team signing Harper as an undrafted free agent, another option could be the USFL.
The USFL has recently signed six former HBCU players in the past week (Marquis McClain, Southern; Ezra Gray, Alabama State; Cory Rahman and Eddie Graham, Tennessee State; Kingston Davis, Miles; Darvin Kidsy, Texas Southern).
However, there is only one former HBCU quarterback that is signed to a USFL team, DeAndre Johnson with the New Jersey Generals.
