The teams of the United Football League have announced their rosters for the 2026 season. In the flurry of announcements, the news was released that former New Orleans Saints quarterback Hunter Dekkers was drafted by the Houston Gamblers.
Dekkers, an undrafted free agent from Iowa Western Community College, never played a snap for the New Orleans Saints. Despite that, he was very obviously a player that the Saints were interested in. The Saints released and signed Dekkers to their practice squad multiple times as the season went on.
Dekkers will hope to restart his football career, which nearly ended before it began, in the UFL. However, he was not the only quarterback added by the Houston squad. He'll have to go through a competition with former Houston QB Donovan Smith in order to be the starting QB for a professional football team.
In Houston, former Saints QB Hunter Dekkers can have a second start for his career
Hunter Dekkers nearly ended his football career in May 2023 when he was still at Iowa State after being accused of placing 366 bets totaling more than $2,800. Not only did Dekkers violate NCAA rules, the majority of his bets were illegal. 297 of the bets Dekkers placed came when he was under the age of 21, which is Iowa's minimum gambling age. He was charged with a misdemeanor in underage gambling as a result and was fined $645.
Now in Houston, with a team ironically named the Gamblers, he has a second chance for his football career. If he plays well enough, the Gamblers might want to bring him back for another season, or even better for Dekkers, an NFL team might want to give him a roster spot.
Dekkers never really had that chance with the Saints. He was buried as the fourth quarterback on the depth chart and served as depth at the position. The UFL gives him an actual opportunity to showcase his talent for more teams to see.
Training camp in the UFL starts in early March. Should Dekkers win the starting job, Saints fans will have the opportunity to witness their former quarterback in action during the opening weekend of UFL football, which starts on Friday, March 27.