The United Football League is kicking off its 2026 season this weekend, and its roster includes a number of former Miami Dolphins players all trying to gain enough attention to get back to the NFL.

At the very top of that list is cornerback Cam Smith, who will be making his debut for the Columbus Aviators on Sunday night in his first game since the Dolphins’ loss against the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving night 2024.

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Smith was out of the NFL last season after the Dolphins placed him on the Reserve/Non-Football Illness list in late August and then released him off NFI a few weeks later.

The closest Smith got to rejoining the NFL came when he was among a group of players the Kansas City Chiefs brought in for tryouts after they were eiminated from playoff contention — no doubt with an eye toward 2026 — though he wasn’t signed.

Smith is one of two former Dolphins draft picks on a UFL roster along with several former players.

The other draft pick is 2022 fourth-round selection Erik Ezukanma, who plays for the D.C. Defenders.

Guard Solomon Kindley, a Dolphins fourth-round pick in 2020, also was a member of the Defenders when their training camp opened but he was among the players released when teams had to make moves to get to their 50-player roster limit.

Kindley played 29 games with 15 starts in two seasons with Miami before he was released in August 2022 after Mike McDaniel took over as head coach and brought an offensive system that emphasized mobility for his linemen.

Kindley finished the 2022 season on the New York Giants practice squad, but was out of the NFL the past three years.

While he’s still young enough at 28, getting released from the UFL sure seems like a final blow to his pro football career.

For Smith, who is playing for the Columbus Aviators and will face the Orlando Storm on Sunday night, the UFL represents a chance to showcase the skills that were evident in his first training camp with the Dolphins after arriving as a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Smith’s two seasons in Miami were marred by injuries and inconsistency, and he never was able to build on that strong start in camp as a rookie.

Interestingly, Smith’s head coach with Columbus is former Dolphins first-round pick Ted Ginn Jr.

Among the assistant coaches throughout the league — the staffs are about half the size of what we see in the NFL — are former Dolphins player Jeff Zgonina (D-line coach for the St. Louis Battlehawks) and 1999 Dolphins third-round pick Brad Jackson (linebackers coach for the Louisville Kings).

Zgonina’s Battlehawks defeated the D.C. Defenders, 16-10, in their season opener Saturday and Ezukanma (now wearing number 13) did not have a catch. Nor did fellow former Dolphins wide receiver Braylon Sanders.

Among the three games that have been played so far, the longest offensive play belongs to former Dolphins wide receiver Tarik Black, who had a 44-yard reception for Louisville in its 16-13 loss against the Birminham Stallions on Friday night.

FORMER DOLPHINS PLAYERS ON UFL TEAMS

Here’s a list of former Dolphins players, including practice squad or training camp players, among the eight UFL teams:

BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS

CB Ryan Cooper, WR Daewood Davis, G/T Jackson Carman

COLUMBUS AVIATORS

Head coach Ted Ginn Jr., CB Cam Smith, T Aaron Monteiro, RB Zaquandre White

DALLAS RENEGADES

LB Taco Charlton, G Keaton Sutherland

DC DEFENDERS

WR Erik Ezukanma, WR Braylon Sanders

HOUSTON GAMBLERS

CB Damon Arnette, LB Eugene Asante, T Kellen Diesch, T Tedi Kushi, WR Kirk Merritt

LOUISVILLE KINGS

LB coach Brad Jackson, WR Tarik Black, DT Josiah Bronson, CB Cameron Dantzler

ORLANDO STORM

DT Isaiah Mack

ST. LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS

DL coach Jeff Zgonina, DT Neil Farrell Jr., WR Gary Jennings Jr., DT Leonard Payne