When Denver Broncos linebacker Dondrea Tillman joined the Birmingham Stallions in 2022, he viewed it as a means to an end. With some spring success with the then-USFL team, Tillman hoped the NFL would be his next stop.
At the time, he didn't recognize that realizing his dream might come with a daunting reality: He could find himself playing two full seasons in the same calendar year.
And that's exactly what happened last year, when Tillman won a UFL championship with the Stallions and then turned around and embarked on an entire season with the Broncos, for whom he played 13 games, including the playoffs.