photo by: AP Photo/Gary McCullough

Tennessee Titans defensive end Amani Bledsoe (94) runs to the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. The Titans defeated the Saints 21-23.

For the last two years, Amani Bledsoe has been training like he’s in the middle of a football season. He’s been waiting for an opportunity, anything to show that he can be an NFL defensive lineman.

That opportunity comes on Saturday when Bledsoe will play his first football game since 2021. Bledsoe signed with the Arlington Renegades of the UFL in January, and his season begins against the San Antonio Brahmas at Choctaw Stadium.

“It’s a blessing to be out here playing ball, helping the team win it anyway I can,” Bledsoe said. “(I want) to do my job at a high level for the team, helping the team win and just creating championship habits and a championship culture.”

Bledsoe signed with the Tennessee Titans after going undrafted in 2019, but his biggest role with the Cincinnati Bengals a year later. He played in 14 games, started four, and achieved the lifelong dream of playing in the NFL.

But things didn’t go smoothly. Bledsoe was suspended twice, including a 17-game suspension that lasted the 2023 season. The last time he was on an NFL roster was in April of 2023 with the Atlanta Falcons.

But Bledsoe is ready to show he can play and contribute at the highest level.

As a defensive lineman, Bledsoe believes he brings versatility to the game. He played in both 3-4 and 4-3 schemes, which helped him become capable of playing inside or on the edge, which he did at times in the NFL. Bledsoe views himself as a hybrid player who can — and has — played at various defensive line spots.

Bledsoe credited his former Oklahoma defensive line coach, Calvin Thibodeaux, who is now coaching the defensive line at Southern Methodist. With Thibodeaux, Bledsoe said he learned the basics of the position, particularly hand placement and striking.

“Anywhere in the trenches, if you don’t have the mindset where you want to play physical, it’s not gonna be a clean practice or game for you,” Bledsoe said. “Jurrell Casey used to always say it’s about the mindset, which everything is in life, but especially with our position. You have to want to play physical and do your job and be intentional and not just go through the motions.”

Throughout Bledsoe’s playing career, he’s been in the trenches. He started playing football as a five-year-old kid in Wichita and was notably bigger than the other kids his age. He moved to Lawrence before high school and enrolled at LHS as a freshman. There, he wasn’t sure how good at football he was until he started to get noticed by colleges at different camps. He would compete against older kids in the camps because he would dominate the other freshmen and sophomores there.

“You never really know how good you are until you get out there on the field and start getting recruited,” Bledsoe said.

As Bledsoe was building up his college recruitment profile, the Lions were building into a formidable team. They went 10-1 in Bledsoe’s senior year, with the only loss coming to Blue Valley in the second round of the playoffs.

“That senior year is just kind of fun to see everyone cut it loose,” Bledsoe said. “(To) see the talent, the speed, the strength… just everyone’s different ability. We had all the fundamentals, but everyone’s got their own little flavor and how they play.”

Bledsoe graduated from Lawrence as a four-star recruit and committed to Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. He’d only get one year with Stoops there, but the two reunited — Stoops is the head coach for the Renegades — this spring.

“The culture, seeing how they go about their business on and off the football field and how much they care about the players (set Oklahoma apart),” Bledsoe said. “You appreciate seeing people be great at what they do no matter what it is in life.”

Bledsoe’s freshman year ended quickly as he failed a test for performance enhancing drugs and was suspended for a year. He returned to start in eight games as a sophomore with 19 tackles and two sacks before starting all 14 games as a junior and recording 37 tackles with another two sacks.

His time in Norman, Okla., wasn’t enough to get Bledsoe drafted. After talking to a few teams late in the draft, Bledsoe signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent primarily because of the coaching staff and 3-4 base defensive system they ran. He joined the team with a good crop of rookie defensive linemen and got down to learning the ins and outs of the position and NFL defensive schemes. Although he stayed on the practice squad that year, the development showed up in 2020 when he played for the Bengals.

It has all led him to Arlington, where Bledsoe has a chance to make his comeback in football. Above all, he wants to show he can be a winning player. To him, that means physicality with great fundamentals.

“It’s a good goal for anyone in this league to want to get back to the NFL,” Bledsoe said. “The simple thing for me is just to dominate this football field, do my job, and show what I’m capable of… to show NFL teams that I’m still capable of playing at a high level and can help any organization win.”

Stoops is, for the most part, the same kind of coach that he was at Oklahoma with Bledsoe. He’s someone that brings intensity and pushes his players to be better. In many ways, he’s the kind of coach a player would want to help get them back to the NFL.

“If you got a guy like that that’s leading the charge, you’re not going to want to let that guy down,” Bledsoe said. “You want to fight for him to the end.”

There’s a lot that Bledsoe likes about this Renegades team, especially the defensive line. After finishing what Bledsoe described as a “really good camp,” he’s excited to see what his teammates are capable of. The defensive line has impressed him through practices, and he’s ready to see them all shine on the field, including himself. He said the group has the season goal of leading the league in sacks and being around the top-five or top-three teams in stopping the run.

The versatility that Bledsoe has from his experience playing at Oklahoma and in the NFL should help the Renegades have a strong defensive front. No matter the situation or where he’s at on the line, he can make an impact against the run or pass.

“I’m excited — obviously, it’s been a while since I have played in a real game,” Bledsoe said. “I’m just ready to go out there, play my brand of football, play with great technique, help the defense and help the team win in any way I can.”

photo by: AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton

Tennessee Titans defensive end Amani Bledsoe (94) rushes Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

photo by: AP Photo/Nick Wass

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Amani Bledsoe (93) in action during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Washington Football Team, Friday, Aug. 20, 2021, in Landover, Md.

photo by: AP Photo/Aaron Doster

Cincinnati Bengals’ Amani Bledsoe participates in a drill during an NFL football practice in Cincinnati, Saturday, July 31, 2021.

photo by: Nick Krug

Oklahoma defensive lineman Amani Bledsoe (72) wrestles with Kansas offensive lineman Zach Hannon (56) during the third quarter on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 at Memorial Stadium.

Lawrence High defensive lineman Amani Bledsoe (72) comes around to wrap up Free State quarterback Bryce Torneden (1) for a sack during the first half on Friday, Sept. 17, 2015 at Free State High School.

photo by: Nick Krug

Lawrence High defensive lineman Amani Bledsoe (72) celebrates a sack during the first half on Friday, Sept. 17, 2015 at Free State High School.