2022 Tampa Bay Bandits season

The 2022 Tampa Bay Bandits season was the first and only season for the Tampa Bay Bandits as a professional American football franchise. They played as charter members of the United States Football League, one of eight teams to compete in the league for the 2022 season. The Bandits technically played as a traveling team (since the entirety of the regular season was played at Protective Stadium and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama) and were led by head coach Todd Haley.

2022 Tampa Bay Bandits season
General manager	Todd Haley
Head coach	Todd Haley
Home field	None
Results
Record	4–6
League place	3rd in South Division
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

Personnel

Final roster

The Bandits, like all other teams, have a 38-man active roster with a 7-man practice squad.^[1]

2022 Tampa Bay Bandits roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Jordan Ta'amu  3 Brady White Running backs (RB) 28 B. J. Emmons 27 Tra Minter 29 Juwan Washington Wide receivers (WR) 18 Dee Anderson 81 Rashard Davis  4 Derrick Dillon 80 Hasise DuBois 13 Vinny Papale 11 Derrick Willies Tight ends (TE) 88 De'Quan Hampton 85 Cheyenne O'Grady

Offensive linemen (OL) 72 Jalen Booth T 73 Juwann Bushell-Beatty T 64 Fred Lauina G 51 Damien Mama G 67 Darrin Paulo T 75 Dallas Warmack G Defensive linemen (DL) 99 John Atkins DT  8 Zac Daew DE 92 Sulaiman Kamara DT 94 Daylon Mack DT 57 Jeff McCulloch DE 90 Austrian Robinson DT 55 Michael Scott DE 98 Jeremiah Valoaga DE

Linebackers (LB) 43 Emmanuel Beal OLB 50 Anthony Butler 56 Travis Feeney OLB  5 T. J. Neal OLB 41 Greg Reaves OLB Defensive backs (DB) 21 Delrick Abrams CB  2 Rashard Causey CB 22 Anthony Cioffi S 40 Stephen Griffin S 24 Jermaine Kelly CB 42 Antonio Reed S Special teams 44 Ryan DiSalvo LS 16 Brandon Wright K

Practice squad 70 Matthew Burrell C/G  7 Christian Campbell CB  1 John Franklin III WR  9 Rannell Hall CB 77 Jarron Jones T 30 Quenton Meeks CB 20 Obi Melifonwu S 25 Keith Mumphery WR  9 Guy Myers QB 12 Tyler Rausa K Reserve -- Tyler Catalina T (DNR) 65 Corbin Kaufusi T (IR) 61 Bruno Reagan C (IR) -- Eli Rogers WR (DNR) -- Adam Shuler DE (DNR) Rookies in italics 40 active, 5 reserve, 10 practice squad

Staff

2022 Tampa Bay Bandits staff

Front office General manager – Todd Haley Head coaches Head coach – Todd Haley Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator - Bob Saunders Running backs/wide receivers - Yale Van Dyne Tight ends/special teams - Frank Gansz Jr. Offensive line - Pat Perles

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/defensive line - Pepper Johnson Linebackers - Trey Jackson Defensive backs - Carnell Lake Defensive assistant - Steven Thompson

Schedule

Regular season

The Bandits' 2022 schedule was announced on March 7. They opened the season against the Pittsburgh Maulers.^[2]

Week	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Result	Record	TV	Recap
1	April 18	7:00 p.m.	Pittsburgh Maulers	W 17–3	1–0	FS1	Recap
2	April 24	3:00 p.m.	New Orleans Breakers*	L 3–34	1–1	NBC/Peacock	Recap
3	April 30	4:00 p.m.	Houston Gamblers	W 27–26	2–1	Fox	Recap
4	May 7	7:00 p.m.	Birmingham Stallions	L 10–16	2–2	Fox	Recap
5	May 13	8:00 p.m.	Michigan Panthers*	W 27–20	3–2	USA	Recap
6	May 21	1:00 p.m.	Philadelphia Stars	L 28–35	3–3	NBC/Peacock	Recap
7	May 28	12:00 p.m.	New Jersey Generals*	L 13–20	3–4	USA	Recap
8	June 5	4:00 p.m.	Houston Gamblers*	W 13–3	4–4	Peacock	Recap
9	June 12	4:00 p.m.	New Orleans Breakers	L 6–17	4–5	Fox	Recap
10	June 18	4:00 p.m.	Birmingham Stallions*	L 18–21	4–6	Fox	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: at Pittsburgh Maulers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bandits	10	7	0	0	17
Maulers	0	0	3	0	3

Game information

First quarter TB – B. J. Emmons 3-yard run (Tyler Rausa kick), 10:49. Bandits 7–0. Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 4:11. TB – Tyler Rausa 23-yard field goal, 1:06. Bandits 10–0. Drive: 10 plays, 54 yards, 4:50. Second quarter TB – Jordan Lasley 3-yard pass from Jordan Ta'amu (Tyler Rausa kick), 1:17. Bandits 17–0. Drive: 8 plays, 38 yards, 3;28. Third quarter PIT – Ramiz Ahmed 28-yard field goal, 4:25. Bandits 17–3. Drive: 10 plays, 46 yards, 4:55. Fourth quarter No scoring plays Top passers TB – Jordan Ta'amu – 20/32, 185 yards, TD, 2 INT PIT – Josh Love – 9/16, 121 yards Top rushers TB – B. J. Emmons – 19 rushes, 40 yards, TD PIT – Garrett Groshek – 16 rushes, 55 yards Top receivers TB – Cheyenne O'Grady – 8 receptions, 86 yards PIT – Jeff Thomas – 4 receptions, 43 yards

Week 1: Tampa Bay Bandits at Pittsburgh Maulers – Game summary

at Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

• Date: April 18 (delayed)
• Game time: 7:00 p.m.
• Referee: Bryan Banks
• TV announcers (FS1): Curt Menefee, Joel Klatt, Brock Huard
• Recap

The Bandits started their season against the Pittsburgh Maulers. The Bandits dominated the first half, scoring 17 unanswered points with 2 touchdowns and a 23 yard field goal. On the Bandits first drive of the game, they drove downfield 68 yards to score with a B. J. Emmons 3 yard rushing touchdown. The teams would trade punts until what would be the Bandits last drive of the first quarter saw them drive 54 yards down field and kick a 23 yard field goal to put them up 10-0 at the end of the first. The teams traded punts again until near the end of the second quarter when a short punt by the Maulers put them at the Pittsburgh's 38 yard line. The drive ended when Jordan Ta'amu threw a 3 yard touchdown pass to Jordan Lasley to put the Bandits up 17-0 heading into the half, which would be the only points Tampa would score. The second half saw the Maulers drive 46 yards to hit a 28 yard field goal to put the Bandits at 17-3, which would be the final score.

Week 2: vs New Orleans Breakers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Breakers	14	7	0	13	34
Bandits	0	3	0	0	3

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 BIRM – 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.

Week 2: New Orleans Breakers at Tampa Bay Bandits – Game summary

at Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

• Date: April 24
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. EDT
• Referee: Alex Moore
• TV announcers (NBC/Peacock): Jac Collinsworth, Jason Garrett, Lewis Johnson

The Bandits faced their division rival New Orleans Breakers. The Breakers struck first on a 79 yard touchdown drive, but the extra point was missed, putting the Bandits down at 0-6. After a Bandits punt, the Breakers marched 65 yards downfield to score another touchdown, converting a 2-point conversion to bring the Bandits down 0-14. 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 Bandits to 3-14. The Breakers responded with a 56 yard touchdown drive to put the Bandits down two scores at 3-21.

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

Week 3: at Houston Gamblers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bandits	7	7	3	10	27
Gamblers	10	13	3	0	26

Week 3: Tampa Bay Bandits at Houston Gamblers – Game summary

at Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

• Date: April 30
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
• Referee: James Carter
• TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Brock Huard

The Bandits will play against division rival Houston Gamblers.

Standings

South Division
#	view talk edit	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

Bandits did not make it to the playoffs after a lost against the New Orleans Breakers.

References

1. "USFL to have a "player selection meeting" on February 22–23". Pro Football Talk. January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
2. "2022 Tampa Bay Bandits Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved April 8, 2022.