Former Steelers WR Deon Cain savors MVP trophy after winning USFL championship
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It has been three years since Deon Cain wore a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform, the last time he donned any NFL team’s colors in the regular season.
Based on his performance Saturday in the USFL championship game, the 26-year-old wide receiver could expect his phone to ring this summer, with an NFL franchise seeking depth at the position waiting on the other end.
In the second year of the spring football league’s rebirth, Cain was named the title game’s most valuable player when his three touchdown receptions helped the Birmingham Stallions defeat the Pittsburgh Maulers, 28-12, to repeat as USFL champions.
Cain caught four passes for 70 yards from quarterback Alex McGough, the league’s regular-season MVP, with touchdown catches that got extensively longer, spanning 3, 20 and 40 yards.
“It’s a dream come true,” Cain said while hoisting the MVP trophy postgame.
Cain won a single-coverage matchup in the back of the end zone on his 3-yard score, made a contested catch just beyond the pylon for his second touchdown and then outmaneuvered three defenders for the ball on his 40-yard TD catch that sealed the win for Birmingham in the fourth quarter.
Cain had just 182 receiving yards during the regular season, making his impact more on special teams by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns. He made his mark there again in the championship game with 101 kickoff return yards.
“The work that was put in, it needed to be done,” Cain said. “There was a lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears behind this trophy because of my teammates.”
Cain joined the Steelers in 2019, when he was signed off the practice squad of the Indianapolis Colts, who had selected him in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Clemson. He appeared in six games for the Steelers down the stretch, catching five passes for 72 yards. He spent most of the 2020 season on their practice squad and didn’t have a catch in two games on the active roster.
Cain spent parts of the past two seasons on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad and signed with the Stallions this spring.
Returning to an NFL training camp was the last thing on Cain’s mind Saturday as he wore protective goggles that shielded his eyes from the celebratory beverage that was sprayed by Stallions players after the win.
“Really, I just want to keep going, keep putting my best foot forward,” Cain said. “I was blessed with the opportunity to come to the USFL and showcase my talent. I wanted to figure out the right plan for me to help this team win. They plugged me in the right way, embraced me and let me shine the best way I could. I am grateful to have the opportunity to have these guys behind me to help me lead the way and give me the confidence to go out every Saturday and Sunday and play the best way that I could.”
Cain was one of five players with ties to the Steelers playing for the Stallions. Tight end Jace Sternberger, who spent the past two seasons on the Steelers practice squad, led the USFL with seven touchdown catches in the regular season and had three receptions for 65 yards Saturday against the Maulers.
The others were defensive back Brian Allen, defensive lineman Khalil Davis and offensive lineman Derwin Gray. The Maulers had former practice squad player Mark Gilbert, a defensive back, on their roster.
Birmingham coach Skip Holtz, who has guided his team to a 21-3 record the past two seasons, expects some roster turnover next season because of his team’s success.
“I’d love to keep them all, but I hope they all get that opportunity (to go to the NFL),” Holtz said. “They all deserve it. They’ve earned it. I’d love to have them all back, but that is all part of this league. That’s why we do it.
“Football teams have a life expectancy of one year, especially in this league. A lot of these guys are going to get the opportunity to move on. I’m going to cheer like crazy for them and hope they make it big.”
Daryl Johnston, the former Dallas Cowboys running back who is the USFL’s president of operations, said players from the spring league received a combined 188 workouts from NFL teams after the USFL’s 2022 season concluded. He counted 60-plus players getting invitations to NFL training camps and 19 ending the year on a 53-man roster.
“We did some great stuff last season,” Johnston said. “How do you match that and follow that up? Now that you have competition out there (in the rebooted XFL) taking players from your league to their league? We’ll find out.”
Source: TribLIVE
