2022 New Orleans Breakers season
General managerLarry Fedora
Head coachLarry Fedora
Home fieldNone
Results
Record6–4
League place2nd in South Division
Playoff finishLost Division Finals (at Stallions) 17–31

The 2022 New Orleans Breakers season was the first season for the New Orleans Breakers as a professional American football franchise. They play as charter members of the United States Football League, one of eight teams to compete in the league for the 2022 season. The Breakers technically play as a traveling team (since the entirety of the regular season will be played at Protective Stadium and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama) and are led by head coach Larry Fedora.

Offseason

Draft

Kyle Sloter was chosen in the first round. He played for 6 NFL teams and was on the official roster for 2.
Taywan Taylor was selected in the 16th round. Taylor was selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans before going to the Browns in 2019.
Chad Williams was selected in the 17th round. Williams was selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals before playing for the Colts in 2019.

The 2022 USFL draft was conducted entirely on social media. Draft selections by the Michigan Panthers were announced on their social media.[1][2] The Breakers selected NFL journeyman Kyle Sloter in the first round.

New Orleans Breakers
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 8 Kyle Sloter QB Northern Colorado
2 1 Davin Bellamy DE Georgia
3 8 Anree Saint-Amour DE Georgia Tech
4 1 James Folston Jr. DE Pittsburgh
4 9 Nigel Chavis DE Norfolk State Compensatory pick.
5 4 Paul Adams OT Missouri
6 5 Donnell Greene OT Minnesota
7 4 Marquis Lucas OT West Virginia
8 5 Adonis Alexander CB Virginia Tech
9 4 Derrick Jones CB Ole Miss
10 5 Manny Patterson CB Maine
11 4 Ja'Len Embry CB Northern Illinois
11 9 Isiah Brown CB FIU Compensatory selection.
12 1 Zach Smith QB Tulsa
13 3 Shawn Poindexter WR Arizona
14 6 Johnnie Dixon WR Ohio State
15 3 Jonathan Adams WR Arkansas State
16 6 Taywan Taylor WR Western Kentucky
17 3 Chad Williams WR Grambling
18 6 Dartez Jacobs S Georgia State
20 7 Jared Thomas C Northwestern
21 2 Jerod Fernandez ILB North Carolina State
22 1 Steven Rowzee OG Troy
23 8 Liam Dobson OG Texas State
23 9 Jalen Allen OG Charlotte Compensatory selection.
24 8 Shakir Soto DT Pitt
25 1 Kamilo Tongamoa DT Iowa State
26 8 Connor Christian DT Jacksonville State
26 9 Chris Okoye DT Ferris State Compensatory selection.
27 5 Larry Rose III RB New Mexico State
28 4 Jordan Ellis RB Virginia
29 4 Diondre Wallace OLB Towson State
30 6 Vontae Diggs OLB UConn
32 6 Austin MacGinnis K Kentucky
34 2 Salvatore Cannella TE Auburn

Supplemental draft

2022 New Orleans Breakers Supplemental Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 1 Justin Johnson TE Mississippi State
2 8 Keith Washington II CB West Virginia
3 5 Tyrone Logan Jr. RB North Carolina
4 4 Shareef Miller DE Penn State
5 6 Aashari Croswell S Arizona State
6 3 EJ Bibbs TE Iowa State
7 2 Turner Bernard CB San Diego
8 7 Jarey Elder WR West Chester
9 5 Matt White P/K Monmouth
10 4 Toree Boyd OL Howard

Personnel

Final roster

2022 New Orleans Breakers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

  • 31 Jordan Ellis
  • 21 Ezra Gray
  •  6 Anthony Jones

Wide receivers

Tight ends

  • 80 Sal Cannella
  • 81 Justin Johnson
 Offensive linemen
  • 79 Kai Absheer T
  • 77 Paul Adams T
  • 53 Tim Coleman T
  • 69 Jack Kramer G
  • 74 Marquis Lucas T
  • 67 Steven Rowzee G
  • 65 Jared Thomas C

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • -- Donnell Greene T (Did not report)
  • 18 Dartez Jacobs S (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  •  7 Austin MacGinnis K (Did not report)
  • 53 Treyvion Shannon T (Did not report)


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 40 active, 5 inactive, 10 practice squad

The Breakers, like all other teams, have a 38-man active roster with a 7-man practice squad.[3]

Staff

Larry Fedora was chosen as the Breakers head coach. As a Southern Miss and North Carolina head coach, he lead both teams to conference titles.
2022 New Orleans Breakers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks – Noel Mazzone
  • Wide receivers – Pat Washington
  • Tight ends/Special teams coordinator – Matt Butterfield
  • Offensive line – Jim Turner
 Defensive coaches



Schedule

Regular season

The Breakers' 2022 schedule was announced on March 7. They opened the season against the Philadelphia Stars.[4]

Week Date Time (ET) Opponent Result Record TV Recap
1 April 17 5:00 p.m. Philadelphia Stars* W 23–17 1–0 USA Recap
2 April 24 3:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Bandits W 34–3 2–0 NBC/Peacock Recap
3 April 30 8:00 p.m. Birmingham Stallions* L 13–22 2–1 Fox Recap
4 May 8 3:00 p.m. Houston Gamblers* W 23–16 3–1 NBC/Peacock Recap
5 May 14 3:00 p.m. New Jersey Generals L 17–27 3–2 Fox Recap
6 May 22 12:00 p.m. Pittsburgh Maulers* W 26–16 4–2 FS1 Recap
7 May 28 9:00 p.m. Michigan Panthers W 31–27 (OT) 5–2 FS1 Recap
8 June 4 3:00 p.m. Birmingham Stallions L 9–10 5–3 Fox Recap
9 June 12 4:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Bandits* W 17–6 6–3 Fox Recap
10 June 19 8:30 p.m. Houston Gamblers L 3–20 6–4 FS1 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: vs. Philadelphia Stars

Week 1: Philadelphia Stars at New Orleans Breakers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Stars 0 7 10017
Breakers 7 2 8623

at Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

  • Date: April 17
  • Game time: 5:00 p.m. (delayed)
  • Referee: Larry Smith
  • TV announcers (USA): Paul Burmeister, Michael Robinson, Lewis Johnson
Game information

The Breakers started their season against the Philadelphia Stars. The Breakers put the first points on the board with a pick-6 by Vontae Diggs, putting the Breakers up 7-0. In the second quarter, the Breakers blocked a punt in the endzone for a safety, putting the Breakers up 9-0. In the waning minutes of the second quarter, the Stars drove 94 yards downfield, where the Breakers defense committed 20 penalty yards, and scored, putting the Breakers at a 9-7 lead.

In the third quarter, a Kyle Sloter pass was intercepted by the Stars, which set them up with a 38 yard field goal to put the Breakers down 9-10. Halfway into the third, the Breakers took the lead again with a 58 yard touchdown drive and a 2 point conversion, putting the Breakers up 17-10. The Stars responded in the fourth with a 2 play 50 yard drive which included a 42 yard rush, to tie it up 17-17. The Breakers responded on their next drive with a 9 play 63 yard drive, putting the Breakers up 23-17, which would be the final score as both teams traded possessions for the rest of the fourth.

Week 2: at Tampa Bay Bandits

Week 2: New Orleans Breakers at Tampa Bay Bandits – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Breakers 14 7 01334
Bandits 0 3 003

at Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

  • Date: April 24
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m.
  • Referee: Alex Moore
  • TV announcers (NBC/Peacock): Jac Collinsworth, Jason Garrett, Lewis Johnson
Game information
First quarter
  • NO – Kyle Sloter 1-yard rush (Austin MacGinnis kick no good), 7:32. Breakers 6–0. 13 plays, 79 yards, 5:44.
  • NO – T. J. Logan 5-yard rush (Kyle Sloter pass good), 0:15. Breakers 14–0. 12 plays, 70 yards, 5:42.

Second quarter

  • TB – Tyler Rausa 21-yard field goal, 5:54. Breakers 14–3. 11 plays, 69 yards, 6:20.
  • NO – Shawn Poindexter 18-yard pass from Kyle Sloter (Austin MacGinnis kick good), 2:28. Breakers 21–3. 7 plays, 56 yards, 3:23.

Fourth quarter

  • NO – Austin MacGinnis 22-yard field goal, 14:49. Breakers 24–3. 10 plays, 55 yards, 2:54.
  • NO – Johnnie Dixon 4-yard pass from Kyle Sloter (Austin MacGinnis kick good), 11:33. Breakers 31–3. 5 plays, 31 yards, 1:50.
  • NO – Austin MacGinnis 30-yard field goal, 1:11. Breakers 34–3. 4 plays, 7 yards, 1:44.

The Breakers faced division rival Tampa Bay Bandits. The Breakers struck first on a 79 yard touchdown drive, but the extra point was missed, putting the Breakers at 6-0. After a Bandits punt, the Breakers marched 65 yards downfield to score another touchdown, converting a 2-point conversion to bring the Breakers to 14-0. The Bandits responded in the second quarter with a 69 yard field goal drive capped off by a 21-yard field goal by Tyler Rausa to bring the Breakers at 14-3. The Breakers responded with a 56 yard touchdown drive that included a 29-yard one-handed catch by wide receiver Johnathan Adams, deemed the catch of the season,[5] to put the Breakers up 21-3.

In the second half, the Bandits turned it over on downs while the Breakers were unable to score. In the fourth quarter, the Breakers stretched their lead to 24-3 after a 22 yard field goal. They triumphed more, scoring a touchdown off a Ta'amu interception, putting them at a commanding 31-3 margin. They then made a 30-yard field goal to put them at 34-3 with a little over a minute, which would be the final score.

Week 3: vs. Birmingham Stallions

Week 3: Birmingham Stallions at New Orleans Breakers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Stallions 0 10 01222
Breakers 0 6 7013

at Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

  • Date: April 30
  • Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
  • Referee: Larry Smith
  • TV announcers (Fox): Curt Menefee, Joel Klatt, Brock Huard
Game information

The 2-0 Breakers played against division rival, the 2–0 Birmingham Stallions. In what started off as a slow offensive performance for both sides, the Stallions got a 7-0 lead on a J'Mar Smith screen pass to Marlon Williams. Later into the 2nd quarter, the Breakers scored on a 10 yard pass from Kyle Sloter to Johnnie Dixon which made the Stallions lead trim down to 7-6. With 7 seconds left in the half, Brandon Aubrey made a 33-yard field goal to give Birmingham a 10-6 lead at the half.

Coming out of the half, the Breakers conducted an 8:50 17 play drive to regain the lead at 13-10 on an 11 yard pass from Sloter to Dixon. This would be the last time the Breakers would score all game. Birmingham would score 12 points in the final quarter of play. A touchdown from Smith to Victor Bolden Jr, a safety forced by Dondrea Tillman, and a Brandon Aubrey field goal. Birmingham would end up winning 22-13. The loss put the Breakers at 2nd in the South Division.

Standings

South Division
#
W L PCT GB DIV PF PA STK
1 (y) Birmingham Stallions 9 1 .900 - 5–1 234 169 W1
2 (x) New Orleans Breakers 6 4 .600 3 3–3 196 164 L1
3 (e) Tampa Bay Bandits 4 6 .400 5 2–4 162 195 L2
4 (e) Houston Gamblers 3 7 .300 6 2–4 196 208 W2
(x)–clinched playoff berth; (y)–clinched division; (e)–eliminated from playoff contention

Postseason

Round Date Time (ET) Opponent Result Record TV Recap
Division Finals June 25 8:00 p.m. at Birmingham Stallions L 17–31 0–1 NBC/Peacock Recap

References

  1. ^ "USFL DRAFT DETAILS: TIME, DRAFT ORDER, SELECTION PROCESS". foxsports.com. 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  2. ^ "USFL DRAFT 2022: NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS' ROUND-BY-ROUND PICKS". foxsports.com. 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  3. ^ "USFL to have a "player selection meeting" on February 22–23". Pro Football Talk. January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  4. ^ "2022 New Orleans Breakers Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  5. ^ Young, RJ (April 25, 2022). "BREAKERS' ROUT OF BANDITS A WARNING SHOT TO REST OF USFL". theusfl.com. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
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