Category Archives: NFL

NFL, ufl, XFL

Smith, Justin (WR)

CARD: Upper Deck Game Day Moments 2024
ACQUIRED: IP, 2025

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Justin Smith played WR at Norfolk State from 2017-2021.
  • He tallied 102 receptions for 1741 yards and 15 TDs.
  • Undrafted he’d end up joining the XFL in 2023 playing for the Houston Roughnecks.
  • Starting 5 contests he pulled in 16 receptions for 238 yards and a 47 yard TD.
  • When the Roughnecks joined the USFL conference, the players were all released back into the draft pool.
  • The Brahmas with a good portion of former Roughneck coaches, cannibalized the former XFL Roughnecks roster and grafted them onto the Brahmas.
  • Justin was a nine game starter for SA in 2024, posting 25 receptions for 264 yards and 1 TD.
  • As the Brahmas collapsed in 2025, Justin only saw action in 6 games starting 3.
  • He’d catch 9 passes for 159 yards including a 56 yard long.
  • About a week and a half after I got his autograph, the team inexplicably cut him.

NOTES:

I had been wanting this card since I discovered it on the Upper Deck website. Unfortunately it’s a Game Day Moments card so it was out of print. I made some trades to get other ones but I couldn’t pry this one off of even a guy who had 15 extras- which was quite frustrating. My friend Jake (who I met through the website doing trades) was my guest at the game and had this extra one. Well not really an extra. He had this base card and a gold version of it. He sympathized with my case and we worked out a deal for it, so I could have it on the spot.

I had been pointing out Smith at every home game. He was missing in action the first 4-5 weeks and then exploded when Hogan was in at QB. I yelled that out to him and we pointed back and forth. When I told him I had his card, Justin said that he’d be more than happy to sign it after the game.

He then proceeded to get his bell rung on his only catch of the day he made. Still he was of his word and when he came over I asked how he was doing and he said that he was doing fine now.

NFL

Hawkins, Brad

CARD: Pro Set Leaf 2022
ACQUIRED: 2025, Box Breaker

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Brad Hawkins played DB at Michigan from 2017-’21.
  • He appeared in a school record 56 contests- with 31 starts at FS.
  • Over his college career he tallied 178 combined tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 8 pass deflections, and 2 forced fumbles.
  • Undrafted in 2022, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons but didn’t make the squad.
  • Signed about a month later by the Patriots- he played in the preseason for New England.
  • After being cut, he was resigned to their practice squad and cut again.
  • Resigned to a reserve/futures contract, he’d be released during final cut downs in 2023.
  • Joined the University of Michigan as a graduate assistant in 2024.

NOTES:

On a whim every once in a while I buy a blaster box of the Walgreens football cards. 1 in 4 is a hit. Blah. Blah. Blah. Probably have opened 10 or so of these and this was the first autograph I’ve ever gotten.

Arena, CFL, NFL, The Spring League, ufl, usfl

Bethel-Thompson, McLeod (2) ‘MBT’

CARDS: Upper Deck USFL 2023, Upper Deck CFL 2023
ACQUIRED: TTM 2023, C/o Home
SENT: 12/4/23 RECEIVED: 5/9/25 (522 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

I was genuinely surprised to get McLeod’s autograph back on his parallel card after such a long wait. It had been so long that I had just given up in general on it after I had seen a few successes on him trickle in but nothing for me. Maybe he thought he mailed it out or the mailman lost it at the facility and delivered it months or a year later.. Who knows? But he was kind enough to drop the extra UD CFL card in for me.