Ahmed (28 years old) 10 of 13 field goals He appeared in six games this season for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League, a spring league formed when the XFL merged with the USFL. The Stallions released him last week to make room for Chris Bluitt, who has played in two games for Washington in 2021.
NFL franchises cannot contact players from UFL playoff teams until the end of the season. The league’s conference championship game is this weekend.
Ahmed went undrafted after hitting 15 of 20 field goals at Nevada in 2018. He signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears in 2020 but was released during training camp. After spending the 2021 season in the USFL, where he hit a league-record 61-yard field goal, he was signed to the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad for 2022. Ahmed was promoted to the Packers’ active roster and handled kickoff duties. for the Week 10 game against the Dallas Cowboys, his only NFL experience.
The Commanders signed McManus to a one-year, $3.6 million deal in March after deciding not to re-sign kicker Joey Slye. By releasing McManus, the Commanders could have to absorb up to $1.5 million in dead money from his signing bonus, depending on the salary cap. But that figure could be less, depending on the contract’s forfeiture language and whether McManus violated it by failing to notify commanders of the alleged incident before signing.
“The allegations against Brandon are and remain absolutely false,” McManus’ attorney, Brett R. Gallaway, said in a statement Sunday.
Washington has struggled to find a reliable kicker since releasing Dustin Hopkins after Week 6 of the 2021 season after more than six years with the team. Blewitt replaced Hopkins, but was released after blocking three kicks in two games. Slye attempted 12 field goals in 2021 after replacing Blewitt, but missed time with a hamstring injury, leading Washington to bring in Brian Johnson. Slye has made 44 of 54 field goal attempts and 56 of 63 extra point attempts over the past two seasons.
